Holly Shrubs - Burning Bush - Balloon Flowers

Holly Shrubs are rich colored evergreen plants. This plant family represents a large number of different varieties. Their planting zones can range from a cold hardy zone three to a milder climate of zone nine.

The plant family also produces fine looking trees that are a wonderful in full sun but can take a little bit of shade.

The Nellie Stevens, Robin, Yaupon, and Burfordi trees are great to plant in a natural setting. I have used them in designing an already wooded area. They also can act as a back drop along a fence or outdoor structure.

The Yaupon is a favorite of many in zones seven through nine. It is noted for the beautiful red berries appearing throughout the winter months.

The Yaupon will grow anywhere from three to eighteen feet high and four to eighteen feet wide.

The Weeping Yaupon is wonderful in a small area and gives a garden some height. It can grow fifteen to twenty feet in height.

The Nellie Stevens will grow ten to twenty feet also as will the Burfordi. You can plant these trees throughout different gardens on your properly, giving you a lush green color year around.

Many of the Holly shrubs look vary similar and sometimes hard to identify one from the other. These shrubs are used a lot in foundation planting in many new and older homes. One of the most popular bush is the Carissa.

The Carissa can grow three to four feet tall and two to four feet wide. It is noted for its shiny leaves but also sharp pointed tips on the leaves. I usually recommend to my clients not to put them near a doorway or any area where children may be around.



The Rotunda is a larger Holly specimen and has the same characteristics of the Carissa. The Rotunda will grow three to four feet high and up to eight feet wide. Two other specimens that will enhance formal or informal gardens are the Helleri and Soft Touch.

Hollies for Gardeners is a fantastic book to find out all the details on how and where to plant these delightful species. A wonderful gift idea for that special gardener.

The Helleri is a wonderful shrub for filling in dead spaces. It grow three to four feet tall and three to four feet wide.

It has small leaves and will compliment a variegated shrub such as a Mop Cypress or Golden Euonymus.

The Soft Touch is one of my favorites to plant throughout a landscape. The leaves are softer by nature and this plant will grow two to four feet tall and two to three feet wide.

The Soft Touch is being used more and more everyday. Many of these plant specimens are considered to be in the Chinese Holly family, such as the Burfordi, Rotunda, and Carissa.





Take a look in the Cypress gallery page for ideas to use with a Holly. The Helleri is also used as a foundation plant.

To compliment any of these Hollies, you can plant some Burning Bushes throughout a garden area.

The Burning Bush is also known as a Windged Euonymus. This is a cold hardy shrub and can grow in zones three through nine and some of ten.

This deciduous shrub can grow anywhere from six to twenty feet tall and ten to fifteen feet wide.

There is a smaller version which is called the Compacta. It will grow six to eight feet high and five to seven feet wide. Take a look at a couple of pictures of the Burning Bush.


One of the most spectacular sites of the Burning Bush is in the fall when the leaves start turning.

Berries appear on the bush and then the wonderful transformation begins of the green leaves turning into the full mass of vibrant red. Take a look at this close up as well as the entire bush taken two days ago. It is at about at full peak.





The Burning Bush will take full sun but doesn't like excessive moisture. This bush is excellent in front of a Nellie Stevens.

Another option is along a fence or natural rocks or stone walls. The Spruce or Arborvitae family are also good accents with the Burning Bush.

Notice how both of these shrubs are 100 percent in full bloom. The one on the left is the bush we took on the picture above.

Look at how the some of the leaves have fallen and also how the tones of the leaves have changed.














Together with the Holly shrubs, trees, Winged Euonymus or Burning Bush, your gardens can have a wonderful array of color. I use these two plant specimens a lot together but also like to give an area a little more color during the growing season.

Spring Flower Ornaments is a special section in our Nature Store. These ornaments are a great way to bring the beauty of the outdoors into your interior space.

I love to put nature ornaments on a small artificial tree, and use it as a decorative accent in a room. You can also put a string of miniature lights around the tree to highlight your nature ornaments. Great for many different theme base rooms.

The Balloon Flower is a great complimentary flower to go with the Holly and Burning Bush. This mass of flowers are stunning during the summer months.

Now is great time of year to buy Balloon Flower seeds and start them indoors, or get ready to plant them straight into the ground. Great price for seeds from Seeds And Things. I have had good success with both germinating Balloon flowers indoors and straight into the ground.

Feel free to browse through our Take a look at a close up of a Balloon flower and think of using this beauty as an accent plant.

As fall arrives the flowers die out but the leaves of the balloon take on their fall foliage. The golden yellow leaves bring on a great autumn look, as the balloon plant becomes a wonderful accent around the burning bush and the holly evergreens. The fall leaves of this plant also compliment different Maple trees.

The Holly, Burning Bush and Balloon Flowers will compliment each other in most any garden. You can fertilize these plants one to two times a year with a slow nitrogen release fertilizer.

You can purchase the fertilizer at any major chain store, nursery or garden center.

These plants are durable and provide different colors and textures throughout many months of the year. Consider using the three plant combination to add some real warmth and beauty to your landscape gardens.