While we often think of what our gardens will look like in the summer — lush greenery, colorful blooms, interesting texture, and the like — we shouldn’t overlook how our yards appear the rest of the year. Including certain shrubs in your landscape is a great way to create multi-season interest. Plus, shrubs offer food and protection for wildlife throughout the seasons.
What Shrubs Provide Interest All Year?
As the seasons change, so do many shrubs. Some start with vibrant green foliage, transition to bright fall leaves, then have fascinating forms and colorful berries in winter, while others hold their color all year. To make sure your Bismarck yard looks landscaped all year long, include some of these shrubs.
Amur Maple
Maples in general are known for their brilliant fall colors, and the Amur Maple is no exception. In fall, the shrub’s bright green leaves change to a shade of orange or red, depending on soil conditions. In the spring, small and fragrant yellow-white flowers appear. The two-winged seeds hang on well into autumn or winter. It can handle partial shade, though fall colors will be brighter if in full sun.
Barberry
There are multiple varieties of Barberry, and the ones we carry all turn shades of red and orange in fall. While Barberry shrubs lose their leaves in the winter, red berries stick around into the winter, which birds love. Depending on the variety, leaves throughout spring and summer can be shades of green, yellow, or red. Another bonus is that Barberry is deer resistant.
Dogwood
With white flowers in late spring to early summer, fruit that can last until fall, and bright red twigs in winter, Dogwood is a given all-season shrub. Native to North America, Dogwood can grow up to 10 feet tall, adding height to your landscape, while some varieties are more compact, great for small spaces.
Ninebark
Attracting birds, butterflies, and other pollinators, Ninebark shrubs have showy flower clusters that appear in summer followed by seed capsules that provide winter interest. Some varieties have deep golden-yellow foliage, while others have dark crimson red leaves. After the leaves have fallen in the winter, this shrub’s peeling bark adds texture to your landscape. Plus, when the branches catch snow, beautiful shapes form.
Potentilla
A great option to continue with lush green fall color, Potentilla blooms all summer long with pink, yellow, or white flowers. It’s tolerant of a range of growing conditions, though prefers full sun, and is a low-maintenance plant, making it a versatile shrub for landscaping.
Rhododenron
Rhododendron has spectacular, fragrant flowers in shades of pink and yellow in late spring to summer. In fall, some varieties have foliage that turns deep red. Requiring acidic soil, Rhododendron performs well in shade to part shade. Most varieties are evergreen, holding on to their leaves through the winter, though some are deciduous.
Serviceberry
Best in shrub borders or naturalized areas, while still tough enough to grow in containers, Serviceberry produces fruit great for jams and pies, providing more production when in full sun. White flower clusters appear in spring, fruit that become bluish-black form in summer, leaves change to red, orange, and yellow in fall, and the bark becomes silvery in winter.
Spirea
A popular choice for a flowering shrub in any landscape design, Spirea has long-lasting blooms in pink, red, or white. Plant in full sun for the best foliage color and flower production. To encourage more continuous blooming, remove faded flowers. The yellow-green or deep green foliage changes to dark red or orange in fall. With some varieties, foliage emerges as one color — golden or red — and turns a shade of green.
Sumac
The fern-like compound leaves of sumac add soft texture from spring through to fall. Foliage can be green to yellow, turning red, orange, or purple in fall. After blooming in summer, clusters of bright red and fuzzy fruit form that last into winter.
Viburnum
This plant offers it all: attractive foliage, flowers, and fruit. Blooming in spring, Viburnum has beautiful, and sometimes quite large, clusters of white flowers that attract pollinators. Birds love the blue or red fruit produced by many varieties in late summer and fall, and that hang on until early winter. Some varieties have foliage that turns vibrant red in fall.
Shrubs create a backdrop for your garden any month of the year, and including ones with multi-season interest will make sure the stage is always set for your landscape design to shine! With a bit of planning now, your yard can be picture perfect no matter the season.