A bad scare for the shrubs (5)
I believe the answer is:
acers
'the shrubs' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both plants as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'a bad scare' is the wordplay.
'a bad' indicates anagramming the letters.
'scare' is an anagram of 'ACERS'.
'for' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for acers that I've seen before include "Maples" , "trees" .)