Are you looking for the perfect flowering shrub for your garden? We know exactly what you might need!
Having a pretty flowering shrub can add a pop of color, interest, and a great scent to your garden. Since every shrub thrives in a different season, we rounded up the best plants for each one: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
These flowering shrubs are exactly what you need to make your garden look like it’s coming out of a fairytale. You can plant a shrub for each season and have a colorful and fragrant border all year long. If you’re ready to make your neighbors green with envy, roll up your sleeves, and let’s start planting!
SPRING
1. Rhododendron
Rhododendrons are some of the prettiest flowering shrubs ever, and many gardeners consider them the colorful kings of spring. You’ve probably seen them on your mountain getaways, and now you can have them in your garden.
They have masses of flowers in bright shades of purple, pink, yellow, red, or white. This plant doesn’t mind some shade, and it likes acid soil, so you can’t go wrong with it in woodland schemes. If you have a tiny garden, choose dwarf varieties, such as R. Princess Anne or R. impeditum, and they’ll look gorgeous.
If you love this plant as much as I do, check it out here!
2. California lilac
California lilac is another one of my favorite flowering shrubs, and for good reason: it looks out of this world. Experts say they’re deciduous and evergreen types of ceanothus, and their pretty colors will make your garden look dreamy and sophisticated.
Many people choose to grow them for their stunning blue shade, but they have other colors too, such as pink and white. The California lilac blooms are known for their numerous, long-lasting, springtime flowers, and you won’t go wrong with this one.
If you get the C. Puget Blue variety, you’ll enjoy watching the masses of flowers for weeks, so I recommend you drink your coffee in the garden to soak up all that beauty. And if you’re not blessed with a huge garden, the Skylark variety is more compact and might be a good option.
3. Pieris
Pieris is another cute flowering shrub that will make you smile each time you go into your garden. This tiny plant is easy to grow, and it’s an evergreen shrub that has clusters of tiny pink or white-like blooms in mid-spring.
Before this, in late winter and early spring, you’ll notice new leaves and branches with gorgeous pink or crimson tips. Pieris thrives in sun or partial shade, but it also requires acidic soil.
SUMMER
4. Dogwood
In the spring and summer, flowering dogwoods have striking, ornamental blossoms that are actually modified leaves. Cornus Eddie’s White Wonder’ has a stunning display of white flowers, and Miss Satomi boasts lovely pink bracts that will make you say wow each time you see them.
After its cream-colored flowers, the lovely Porlock variety yields fruits that resemble strawberries, and they look very Instagram-worthy.
5. Elder
If you’re looking for a simple and delicate flowering shrub, Elder might be exactly what your garden needs. Even though this is typically grown in hedgerows, there are tame garden variants with eye-catching leaves and fragrant white or pink blossoms that are used to make cordial.
One of my favorite varieties is Samcumbus Eva, which has lacy purple-black foliage and pink blooms that really stand out in the summer. I also love Black Beauty and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it too because its reddish-black leaves and dark pink flowers are stunning.
6. Hydrangea
The next flowering shrub we’ll talk about is the gorgeous Hydrangea, which has different bloom forms. Mopheads, for instance, are enormous, domed flowers, while lacecaps, on the other hand, have flat flowerheads with a frill of bigger petals around the outside.
If you plan on getting hydrangea and plant it in acidic soil or ericaceous compost, it can take on a wide range of colors, from white and pink to deep blue. A favorite among designers, the Annabelle kind, is large, white, and exquisitely blowsy.
FALL
7. Bluebeard
Caryopteris, also known as bluebeard, blooms from late summer through autumn and occasionally into winter. They’re known for their lovely fluffy blue blooms and gorgeous fragrant grey-green foliage.
They thrive in warm, sunny areas but are fuss-free and tolerant of drought. If you’re looking for exquisite flowering shrubs to make your garden prettier, both Heavenly Blue and Kew Blue are excellent options. Those stunning colors in the fall will make everyone stop and stare for a while!
8. Spindle
The fall blooms of these flowering shrubs are actually swashbuckling fruits that have split to reveal their seeds in contrasting shades: typically gorgeous pink fruit casing with orange or metallic-blue seeds.
The spindle is eye-catching, so don’t be surprised if you catch someone paying attention to your garden; they’re simply impressed. Some of the best varieties are E. Hamiltonianus and Euonymus Europaeus, also known as Red Cascade.
WINTER
9. Mahonia
Now it’s time to talk about the flowering shrubs that will add a pop of color to your garden in the cold months of winter, and we start with mahonia. This gorgeous plant is hardy and tough, and it has sublime evergreen holly-like leaves and dark purple berries.
One thing that makes it special is its long spikes of pretty yellow flowers that bloom late in the autumn, winter, and spring. These blooms have a wonderful scent, and they’re a great food source for early bees and pollinators.
If you get the Charity variety, it will bloom from late autumn to late winter. On the other hand, the Apollo variety will bloom in late winter and early spring, so your garden will also look top-notch.
10. Mexican orange blossom
Choisya, also known as Mexican orange blossom, is one of the prettiest flowering shrubs you could plant in your garden. These evergreen blooms mount up, and their fragrant, glossy foliage will constantly catch your eye. The star-shaped white blooms in late spring and summer, and they’ll add a subtle white touch to your space.
Mexican orange blossom is perfect for tiny gardens since it’s compact and simple to grow and maintain. Some of the best types are White Dazzler, which is hardy and trouble-free, and Aztec Pearl, which occasionally repeats blossoms, so it’s as lovely as you imagine it to be.
11. Witch hazel
Hamamelis, commonly known as witch hazel, are hardy and long-lived shrubs that bloom lovely, scented flowers along their bare limbs in the winter, resembling miniature fires. Many varieties are loved by gardeners for their attractive fall foliage colors.
H. x intermedia Pallida has stunning orange flowers, and the Rubin variety has pretty dark crimson blossoms. They’re both excellent options for people who want to make their garden look stunning all winter.
Would you consider planting any of these flowering shrubs? Which one is your favorite? If you know of other gorgeous plants that will bring a pop of color to your garden, let us know in the comments below.
Did you find this article helpful? If you have any requests for what you’d like to read next, feel free to share your thoughts with us. Until next time, here’s another fantastic article for you: 9 Beautiful Indoor Plants That Can’t Be Drowned
