Legend: Plant these flowering shrubs for year-round color and beauty.
Flowering bushes add a additional beauty element to your garden. Not only do they increase curb appeal, but they also add color, attract pollinators, and provide structure and privacy to your garden. Whether you have a large or a small yard, you can plant shrubs that bloom from spring through fall for season-long color.
Many flowering shrubs also do well in pots for add color to a porch, patio or deck. Flowering shrubs are also ideal for planting in foundations, along walkways, around swimming pools and as accents in a mixed border with evergreens.
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What is the easiest flowering shrub to grow?
Shrubs are often among the easiest plants to grow. As Alberto López, professional gardener and writer for Home Experts, told us, most flowering shrubs will thrive if you follow a few basic tips:
To get started, read the plant label or description to find out what do you need in terms of light. Most (but not all) flowering shrubs need full sun or at least six hours of direct sunlight to bloom. Otherwise, they wither and offer few flowers.
You should also pay attention to details such as the height and width of the plant at maturity. It may look tiny now in its one liter pot, but when it reaches its full size in a few years, you won’t want to have to cut it down because it covers a window or crowds out other plants.
Finally, keep it watered for the first couple of seasons, especially during dry spells, so it establishes a healthy root system.
Here are the 8 most beautiful flowering shrubs to plant in your garden
Daphne: the best flowering and fragrant shrub
Daphne are pretty attractive shrubs that aren’t as well known, although they have become more popular in recent years. Plant them near walkways where you can enjoy their ethereal scent.
USDA area: 6 to 10
Exposure: Full sun with afternoon shade in hot climates
Its fruity-scented pink, white or lavender flowers bloom in late winter and early spring much earlier than many other shrubs and retain a nice compact shape without pruning.
Mahonia: best early flowering shrub
This little-known evergreen shrub blooms in late winter or early spring with bright yellow flowers that turn into pretty blue berries in the fall. Place it along the borders or as a backdrop to a mixed flower bed.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Exposure: Partial or full sun
Mahonia is an early flowering plant and an excellent protection plant. Plus, low winter temperatures won’t be a problem for the Mahonia, as it’s able to withstand temperatures down to 29°C below zero!
This shrub has a wide variety of species to choose from, depending on which type you choose it will come in one size or another, and can reach between 1 and 2 meters in height.
Lily of the Valley: Best Flowering Shrub for Shade
This beautiful shrub that blooms in early spring, also called Pierishas cascading flowers that resemble the perennial lily of the valley flower.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Exposure: Half shade
Its glossy evergreen leaves provide structure and interest to the garden all year round. In addition, it is one of the few flowering shrubs that prefers partial shade.
Korean viburnum – the best aromatic flowering shrub
Korean Spice Viburnum produces pale pink buds in early spring that bloom in white or pink clusters. Plant it where you can enjoy its intoxicating aroma.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Exposure: Medium to full sun
It has a delicious spice cake scent that tells you that spring has arrived. These shrubs grow best in moist but well-drained soil with a slightly acidic pH. They do not do well in very wet soils.
Ninebark: the best shrub with long-lasting flowers
Ninebark is a native shrub that has it all: dark burgundy, chartreuse or bronze colored foliage all season long; fragrant white flowers that bloom in mid to late spring; and a natural arched shape that requires no pruning. Look for new dwarf varieties for small gardens.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Exposure: full sun
This shrub looks great for most of the season and works equally well in borders or mixed beds or as an accent plant. It is also a magnet for pollinators.
Sweetshrub: the best bush with red flowers
With unusually large red or white flowers that can have a pungent scent, this easy-to-grow shrub is also known as spices Is strawberry bush. It is a very large bush, reaching 3 meters in height, so plant it where it has plenty of room to spread.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Exposure: Partial or full sun
The interesting blooms last for weeks in early summer, blooming most of the season in temperate climates.
Witch hazel – the best bush with funny flowers
Witch hazel is a plant whose name is often associated with witchcraft, but it has nothing to do with it.
It is a herb that has been used throughout history because many properties are attributed to it that are very beneficial for the functioning of our body.
The playful flowers of this shrub are worth planting. It is a wonderful plant to place along the edges of the forest.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
Exposure: Partial or full sun
The wacky, curly flowers appear in late fall and persist long after the colorful leaves have fallen. Some types also bloom in late winter.
Azalea: the best classic flowering shrub
The azalea is a beautiful bushy plant: it produces small, incredibly decorative flowers that range from white to red, passing through pink, cream… to two-tone flowers!
The azalea blooms in the spring, however, during the winter it is dormant, so it should not be pruned or overworked, otherwise it may be damaged. If you want to keep it in the garden, it is very important to take this into account and choose the best time to take it out of the pot and plant it in the ground.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 9
Exposure: half sun to sun
The new varieties are more cold hardy and bloom again, providing a springtime display and secondary blooms throughout the season.