Multiseason must-haves for your garden
Sure, many shrubs have stunning flowers in spring, fall or summer — some even bloom throughout more than one season. But that doesn’t have to be the only or main reason you choose which ones to plant. In fact, it may be better if it’s not. The more unique traits a shrub has, the better it will look in the landscape, whether it’s a focal point or part of a big grouping.
Choose shrubs with unique traits
What’s a unique trait? Start with the foliage. Look for foliage that changes colors throughout the year. But don’t stop there — select shrubs with glossy, textured or uniquely shaped leaves, too. If you want to draw birds to your yard through fall and winter, go with shrubs that form berries. No matter how stunning they are, blooms fade, so you should be able to rely on a shrub for its other great characteristics. And if you just can’t get enough of a shrub’s flowers, find a rebloomer. With some deadheading, you can have more than one flush of flowers.
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Meet 5 shrubs with multiseason interest
Want to see just how easy it is to get tons of year-round interest with shrubs? Plant the five below anywhere in your yard in groupings, as specimens mixed into beds and borders or in containers. Even if you choose just a few of your favorites, you’ll still get lots of multiseason appeal. Look for these, or others that rebloom or have interesting foliage the next time you’re at the garden center.
Tiny Wine® ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolious )
Type Shrub Blooms White flowers in late spring, bronze to maroon foliage all year long, dwarf Light Full sun Size 3 to 4 ft. tall and wide Hardiness Cold hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8
Double Play Big Bang® spirea (Spiraea hybrid)
Type Shrub Blooms Large pink summer blooms, orange spring foliage turns deep yellow in summer and golden-orange in fall Light Full sun to part shade Size 2 to 3 ft. tall and wide Hardiness Cold hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9
Bloomerang® Purple lilac (Syringa x ‘Penda’)
Type Shrub Blooms Purple flowers in early spring, and again in midsummer to fall Light Full sun Size 4 to 5 ft. tall and wide Hardiness Cold hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7
My Monet® Sunset weigela (Weigela florida)
Type Shrub Blooms Pink flowers appear in spring although plant is mainly grown for its striking foliage, yellow-, green- and pink- variegated leaves turn red in fall, dwarf Light Full sun to part shade Size 12 to 18 in. tall and wide Hardiness Cold hardy in USDA zones 5 to 8
Tiny Tuff Stuff™ mountain hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata)
Type Shrub Blooms White, pink or blue reblooming lace-cap flowers open in early summer and again in late summer, compact grower Light Full sun to part shade Size 18 to 24 in. tall and wide Hardiness Cold hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9
