Blooming shrubs and perennials are beautiful additions to any landscape bed – and they come back every year to grace us with their structure, texture, and color. But many of our hardy landscape plants have limited bloom times – sometimes just weeks long. Getting that season-long color with shrubs and perennials just takes a bit of planning – choosing plants that collectively offer color throughout the season. Here we share some favorites to help you plan for color and interest starting now and continuing into the winter.
Late Spring and Summer Blooms
Summer’s heat will soon be here, and along with it comes one of the most colorful and bloom-filled times in the landscape. Here are a few perennials and shrubs that bloom their best in June and July – just in time to enjoy during all those summertime outdoor activities.
Perennials
- Asiatic and oriental lily
- Astilbe
- Balloon flower
- Bee balm
- Catmint
- Coneflower
- Daylily
- Delphinium
- Foxglove
- Hardy hibiscus
- Heuchera
- Hosta
- Iris
- Lavender
- Liatris
- Penstemon
- Salvia ‘May Night’
Shrubs
- Butterfly bush
- Hydrangea
- Ninebark
- Spirea
- Rose
- Viburnum
- Weigela
Late-Summer and Fall Blooms
As the summer heat and humidity begin to fade and the kids head back to school, a new set of landscape blooms take center stage. Often full of oranges, yellows, and reds, these varieties provide the rich colors we associate with fall – coordinating perfectly with the changing trees.
Perennials
- Aster
- Black-eyed Susan
- Coreopsis
- Gaura
- Hardy mum
- Joe pye weed
- Lobelia
- Ornamental grasses
- Russian sage
- Sedum
- Solidago
- Yarrow
Shrubs
- Panicle hydrangeas
- Rose of Sharon
Winter Interest
Just because frost arrives in late fall doesn’t mean enjoying our landscape is over for the year. By choosing plants with something to show off in the winter – colorful berries, interesting stem structure or bark, or persistent seeds and plumes – you’ll find plenty to enjoy in your garden even as the snow begins to fall.
Colorful Berries
- Beautyberry
- Chokeberry
- Holly
- Viburnum
- Winterberry
Interesting Stem Structure or Bark
- Harry Lauder’s walking stick
- Ninebark
- Oakleaf hydrangea
- Red twig dogwood
- Seven-son flower
Persistent Seeds and Plumes
- Black-eyed Susan
- Coneflower
- Hardy mum
- Ornamental grasses
Build a Continuous Display
If you already have flowering plants in your yard, use a journal to jot down the dates each one begins and ends its bloom period. You’ll quickly discover gaps of time in the “show”. With that information in hand, come see the team in our Nursery Yard – we’ll help you find the perfect perennials or shrubs to fill those gaps – so you can enjoy your landscape all through the summer, fall, and into the winter too.
