The woody middle layer
The Shrub Layer
The shrub layer is made of woody plants that occupy the space between small trees and ground-level vegetation. Shrubs often thrive along edges where light and shelter meet.
Role in the design
What this layer contributes
Shrubs can provide fruit, browse, habitat, screening, biomass, and dense cover. Their reachable scale also makes pruning, harvest, and containment easier than in the tree layers.
Living library
Explore shrub plants
164 records in this layer
Perennial
African Blue Basil
Ocimum kilimandscharicum
USDA zones 10–11
Evergreen Tree
Agarita
Alloberberis trifoliolata
USDA zones 7–9
Perennial
Aji Amarillo
Capsicum baccatum
USDA zones 9–11
Deciduous Tree
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
USDA zones 6–10
Perennial
American Black Currant
Ribes americanum
USDA zones 3–7
Perennial
American Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
USDA zones 4–8
Perennial
American Gooseberry
Ribes hirtellum
USDA zones 4–6
Perennial
American Hazelnut
Corylus americana
USDA zones 4–9
Deciduous Tree
American Plum
Prunus americana
USDA zones 3–8
Deciduous Tree
Anacacho Orchid Tree
Bauhinia lunarioides
USDA zones 8
Evergreen Tree
Annatto
Bixa orellana
USDA zones 10–12
Perennial
Aronia Purple
Aronia x prunifolia
USDA zones 4–7