Flowering Shrubs for Landscaping
Flowering shrubs are, as opposed to shrubs that are only planted for their foliage, a much more visually enticing option. They can completely restructure the design of your garden, since they come in many sizes and colors. Moreover, you can also shape them according to your liking. The first thing you notice about a flowering shrub are its multiple stems. They provide many layers and an incredible structure. The fact that they’re so dense doesn’t only appeal visually. It can also be a great way to give your garden or backyard some privacy. Instead of building a fence that could possibly disrupt the equilibrium of your garden, you can simply plant groups of flowering shrubs and they’ll take care of this task. Plus, if you live in a place that’s really windy and you’d like to be able to sit in your garden and read a book without the wind disturbing you, flowering shrubs are once again a great option, since they make for perfect wind breaks. If you don’t want to plant large groups of shrubs, you can simply plant a few. Even a single one is going to be a truly eye-catching addition to your garden, possibly dominating the landscape. One of the best things about them is the fact that they require little care. So you get to enjoy the perks of having flowering shrubs in your garden, without going to the trouble of constantly looking after them. Flowering shrubs look nice no matter the season. That’s because apart from their obviously gorgeous flowers, their foliage is also extremely beautiful and interesting to look at. This guarantees that you’ll never get bored of having such a shrub in your garden. And neither will the birds, bees, butterflies, and wildlife in your garden, which typically love a nice flowering shrub. If this has convinced you that you should plant some flowering shrubs, but you’re unsure of the options you have, it’s time to present you with 6 shrub choices that are bound to spruce up the look of your garden.Top 6 Flowering Shrubs
1. Winterberry Holly
If you’re looking for a type of shrub that can liven up your garden in winter, then the winterberry holly is definitely the right choice for you. This flowering shrub’s main attraction are its berries. They’re bright red and start growing in fall, all the way through winter. Although only the female winterberry holly produces these berries, we advise you to also plant a male. This will help with pollination.
The fact that many people plant winterberry holly for the way the berries look doesn’t mean that this type of flowering shrub doesn’t have any other appeal when the berries haven’t developed yet. Its dark-green foliage is quite beautiful in itself. When the berries ripen, the foliage turns yellow, which ensures a lovely contrast. Once the leaves fall, all there’s left are the berries. They look really nice all winter long on the dark background provided by the branches.
2. Elderberry Black Lace
As the name suggests, this flowering shrub has leaves that resemble lace. This is definitely one of the things that make it so popular. Add to that the fact that the leaves are almost black, and you’ve got yourself a unique flowering shrub. The leaves resemble those of a cut-leaf Japanese maple, having almost the same shape. This shrub is on the large side, growing up to 8 feet wide. We advise you to take the time to prune it, if you want to keep it looking elegant and not spreading uncontrollably through your garden. The best time to prune it is in late winter. Cut back approximately knee high, and then make sure that when the plant starts developing in summer, you snip some of its growths every now and then.
The elderberry black lace flowers are light pink (sometimes verging on white), and they look extremely well on an almost black background. The flowers are shaped like umbrellas and they bloom in late summer. Although this shrub also grows fruits, people don’t plant it because of them. They do it more because of how it decorates their landscape.
3. Viburnum Brandywine
Talk about flowering shrubs that have it all! The viburnum brandywine has so many points of interest that we don’t even know with which one to start. Let’s start with the flowers, since today’s topic is flowering shrubs. The flowers are white and they bloom in spring, making for a really bright landscape. While in spring, you’ll be able to enjoy the delicate beauty of these flowers, in fall, you’re going to became enchanted by the shrub’s glossy maroon foliage.
When winter arrives, that’s when the viburnum brandywine fruits ripen. Initially, they’re pink, but they soon turn dark blue. The interesting thing about them is that they don’t all turn blue at once. Because of this, oftentimes, these shrubs have both pink and dark blue fruits, which we must admit, look amazing together.
4. Panicle Hydrangeas
Everybody loves some nice hydrangeas. But these hydrangeas are a bit special. First of all, instead of the typical blue and rounded flowers that we find in most types of hydrangeas, these have cone-shaped ones. Moreover, their color can be white, pink, or even a combination of the two, which is definitely the most interesting option. The flowers start blooming in July and they stay like that throughout fall as well.
Second of all, another thing that makes panicle hydrangeas special is the fact that they’re much more resistant to sun exposure. Thus, they don’t run the risk of blooming less spectacularly if affected by the sun. So if you’re looking for flowering shrubs for full sun, this is the option for you. The bicolor ones are typically taller, growing up to 6 feet. If you don’t have that much space in your garden and want to plant some small flowering shrubs, we recommend the Little Lime or Little Quick Fire.
5. Spirea Mellow Yellow
If you’re looking for low-maintenance white flowering shrubs, you might want to consider the spirea mellow yellow. It isn’t only really easy to take care of, but also extremely versatile. Moreover, it constitutes an attraction no matter the season. Its tiny white flowers grow abundantly, almost covering the entire shrub, which as you can imagine, is a gorgeous view. The shrub blooms quite early, more precisely at the end of March. This means that when no other shrubs will provide your garden with some color, this one will.
When the flowers start to fade, it’s time for the foliage to shine. From light green, it turns almost golden, and it’s extremely textured. Then, in late November to early December, the foliage starts sporting a coppery color, sometimes orange-gold with a small hint of fire red. As you can see, this type of flowering shrub has something that you can marvel at in any season. This makes it the perfect addition to your garden. Not to mention the fact that you’ll never have to worry about animals, bugs, or diseases damaging your flowering shrubs.
Can Flowering Shrubs Be Used for Inclined Landscaping on a Slope?
Planting on a slope can be challenging, but flowering shrubs are a great option for adding beauty and stability. When selecting plants for inclined landscaping, consider their ability to prevent erosion. Tips for planting on a slope include spacing plants closer together to minimize soil erosion, using mulch to retain moisture, and selecting shrubs with strong root systems. With proper care, flowering shrubs can transform a slope into a stunning, colorful landscape.
6. Oleander
Another flowering shrub that doesn’t require a lot of care, the oleander is a subtropical shrub that will delight you with its pink, purple, red, lilac, white, and yellow flowers. Among all of these options, we would recommend a pink shade, since it looks absolutely amazing. That is not to say that the rest don’t, because no matter the shade, the colors are always very intense.
Just to give you an idea of how easy it is to actually take care of an oleander shrub, we should mention that in some places, these shrubs grow by themselves on the sides of highways. As long as you stay away from accidentally ingesting anything that came from an oleander tree (they’re poisonous), there’s no reason why you shouldn’t plant these flowering shrubs in your garden.
