The 12 Best Shrubs for Containers and Garden Beds

By Calin Oancea and Florin Gabriel

4/27/20247 min read

We found that selecting the right shrubs for your containers and garden beds can really upgrade your outdoor spaces but choosing the right plants isn't always easy.

In this article, we feature the top 12 shrubs that are perfectly suited for growing in your raised garden beds based on our experience and one of multiple other specialists.

Here are the 5 key takeaway plants that are our top picks from this article:

  • Round Leaf Mint Bush

  • Cigar Flower Bush

  • Boxwood

  • Hydrangea

  • Rhododendron

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a red Impatiens flower in a full sun basket
a red Impatiens flower in a full sun basket

Impatiens

  • Height: 15-30 cm (6-12 in)

  • Color Varieties: Pink, red, white, purple, orange

  • Growing Conditions: Partial to full shade, moist, well-drained soil

Although Impatens typically are hanging basket flowers for shade, certain varieties also grow well in full sun, especially when they are well-watered. After growing them we experienced that the shade shrubs are an excellent choice for adding color to your hanging planters in sunnier and shadier spots.

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a leafy Cigar Flower Bush with orange flowers
a leafy Cigar Flower Bush with orange flowers

Cigar Flower Bush

  • Height: 50-60 cm (20-24 in)

  • Color Varieties: Orange-red

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun; well-drained soil

The Cigar Bush is notable for its unique, tubular orange-red flowers that resemble lit cigars. The container plant thrives in full sun and is perfect for garden beds where its quirky blooms can be appreciated up close. This plant is a hummingbird magnet, adding a lively element to your garden spaces.

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one Round-leaf Mint Bush with purple flowers
one Round-leaf Mint Bush with purple flowers
  • Height: 1-1.5 m (3-5 ft)

  • Color Varieties: Purple

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Prostanthera rotundifolia, commonly known as the Round-leaf Mint Bush, has amazing pink-purple flowers that appear in spring. After inspecting it we concluded that this shrub is perfect for adding color and an Asian touch to garden beds and containers while also being low maintenance bushes.

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Round-leaf Mint Bush

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Petunia

  • Height: 15-30 cm (6-12 in)

  • Color Varieties: Available in pink, purple, red, white, and bi-colors

  • Growing Conditions: Thrives in full sun with well-drained soil

Petunias are great hanging basket flowers due to their wide range of colors and ability to bloom prolifically throughout the summer. We grew them multiple times ourselves and found that these resilient flowers are perfect for sunny spots where they can soak up the sun all day.

multiple white-pink Petunia flowers
multiple white-pink Petunia flowers
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a bunch of pink Cleome blooms in garden beds
a bunch of pink Cleome blooms in garden beds

Cleome

  • Height: 90-150 cm (3-5 ft)

  • Color Varieties: Pink, white, purple

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun; well-drained soil

Cleome is a thriller plant for containers that is commonly known as spider flower. We found that its height makes it an excellent background thriller plant for baskets and larger pods in mixed floral arrangements but it is also a great deer-resistant bush to grow in your containers.

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a Rhododendron container bush with white flowers
a Rhododendron container bush with white flowers
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Rhododendron

  • Height: 1-2 m (3-6 ft)

  • Color Varieties: Pink, red, white, purple

  • Growing Conditions: Partial shade; acidic, well-drained soil

Rhododendrons (Azaleas) are evergreen shade plants that bloom in spring. After growing them we found their unique flowers and preference for shady conditions make them perfect for garden beds under tree canopies.

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a red flowering Hydrangea raised bed shrub
a red flowering Hydrangea raised bed shrub

Hydrangea

  • Height: 1-2 m (3-6 ft)

  • Color Varieties: White, pink, blue, purple

  • Growing Conditions: Partial sun; moist, well-drained soil

Hydrangeas have large, showy blooms which can change color based on the soil pH. We saw that they are one of the best-performing shrubs containers while making a stunning focal point in garden beds.

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Munstead Wood Rose

  • Height: 90 cm (3 ft)

  • Color Varieties: Deep velvety crimson

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun; well-drained, fertile soil

We saw that the Munstead Wood Rose has deeply cupped blooms that emit a strong, old rose look. It's a compact variety ideal for container gardening or as a standout addition to garden beds with its rich, dark red flowers and excellent disease resistance.

one large Munstead Wood Rose in a container
one large Munstead Wood Rose in a container
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a Kumquat bush with a bunch of Kumquat fruits
a Kumquat bush with a bunch of Kumquat fruits

Kumquat Bush

  • Height: 2-4 m (6-13 ft) can be pruned to maintain a smaller size in containers

  • Color Varieties: Bright orange fruit

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Kumquat Bushes are decorative garden bed shrubs for full sun that produce small edible citrus fruits that are sweet. These bushes can be pruned to desired sizes, we found that they are nice for balcony gardens or in larger garden beds similar to most small citrus trees.

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multiple container Forsythia bushes with yellow flowers
multiple container Forsythia bushes with yellow flowers
  • Height: 1-3 m (3-10 ft)

  • Color Varieties: Yellow

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

After growing multiple Forsythia ornamental bushes in our garden we saw that they are among the first to bloom in spring, with vibrant yellow flowers that cover the branches before the leaves emerge. But when you grow Forsythias in containers make sure that these fast-growing shrubs do not grow too large.

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Forsythia

a green deer resistans hedge called Boxwood
a green deer resistans hedge called Boxwood

Boxwood

  • Height: 30-60 cm (1-2 ft)

  • Color Varieties: Green

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Boxwoods are classic hedging evergreen shrubs used in formal garden designs. We saw that they thrive in various light conditions and can be easily shaped to suit any garden style.

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a leafy Cordyline plant in a container
a leafy Cordyline plant in a container

Cordyline

  • Height: 1-3 m (3-10 ft)

  • Color Varieties: Green, red, purple, variegated

  • Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; well-drained soil

Cordyline, often referred to as ti plants, adds a bold tropical touch to garden compositions with its colorful, sword-like foliage. The tropical plant is versatile in its use in both containers and as a focal point in garden beds, tolerating a range of light conditions from full sun to partial shade.

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Calin Oancea
Calin Oancea
Green Box
Green Box

Article By:

Calin is a gardening specialist knows a lot about gardening and plants. He is the founder of this website and is responsible for most of the content.

Reviewed By:

Florin, a more technical guy, is responsible for the design, reviewing the articles and making improvements, and optimizing for SEO so that everything we publish looks deam good.