Shrubs are generally 1 to 6 metres tall with multi-stemmed woody stems.
There are many shrubs in Australia's flora, which is fortunate as they provide the bulk of the mid layer of the garden. Shrubs have multiple uses in the garden:

- Anchoring a house into the landscape, by planting shrubs around the base of the house
- As a hedge or screen, to section parts of the garden or create privacy
- As accent plants with their interesting forms
- Mass planted for high impact
- As ground covers - those with a spreading habit
- As habitat for birds, particularly small ones, and other creatures
There are multiple forms, shapes, textures, colours (flowers and foliage) among Australian plants as shown below - Westringia 'Smokey', Westringia fruticosa, Crowea 'Festival' among others.