I love flowers as much as the next gardener—I find the riot of spring blooms pure delight. But I’m a greedy gardener and I want more! At home, and in most of my client gardens, space is at a premium so I try to select plants that will provide enjoyment for multiple seasons—and the larger the plant, the more I expect.
When choosing shrubs, this typically means they’re bringing it with one of more of these attributes:
- Fantastic foliage: an eye-catching solid color; lively variegation; attractive new growth; or perhaps an evolution of varied effects that mark progress of the seasons
- Attractive bark or showy winter stems
- Colorful blooms; with extra credit for blooming in a quiet season
- Pleasant fragrance
- Worthy fall color
If you’re a regular reader, you may recall that I frequently extol the virtues of including plenty of evergreen plants in your garden for their contribution to all-season structure. They have their place and are important, but after a bruising winter such as this last one, it can be nice to get a fresh start with new foliage, unmarred by the ravages of the seasons. As an example, two paths to fresh foliage:
- deciduous shrubs which shed their leaves each year
- evergreen shrubs that respond to being cut back, or even sheared, with a flush of new growth
For example, Abelia, Bupleurum, and Choisya are evergreens that don’t mind being cut back (within reason), providing an opportunity to remove damaged foliage, make room for fresh growth, and as a bonus, allow you to keep their size in-check.
In the slide carousel immediately below, you'll find garden vignettes built around hardworking, multi-season shrubs like these. Further down, I've assembled a collection of individual plants that do the same— if you click through, you'll find plant combo ideas that include them.
Multi-Season Shrubs Anchor These Garden Vignettes
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Blooms, and then Some—These Shrubs Give More
Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope'
Kaleidoscope Abelia
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Filtered Sun, Full Sun, Morning Sun, Part Shade, Part Sun
Zone:
6, 7, 8, 9
Ceanothus impressus 'Victoria'
Victoria California Lilac
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Full Sun, Full Sun, Part Sun, Afternoon Sun, Reflected Heat
Zone:
7, 8, 9
Ceanothus x pallidus 'Marie Simon'
Marie Simon California Lilac
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Full Sun, Full Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade, Afternoon Sun, Reflected Heat
Zone:
7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Choisya ternata 'Sundance'
Sundance Mexican Orange
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Full Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade, Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade, Open Shade
Zone:
7, 8, 9, 10
Choisya x 'Gold Fingers'
Gold Fingers Mexican Orange
Choisya x dewitteana 'Limo'
CHOISYA ARIZONICA X TERNATA 'LIMO'
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Afternoon Sun, Filtered Sun, Full Sun, Morning Sun, Open Shade, Part Shade, Part Sun
Zone:
10, 8, 9
Cornus sericea 'Hedgerows Gold'
Variegated Red-twig Dogwood
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Filtered Sun, Full Sun, Morning Sun, Open Shade, Part Shade, Part Sun
Zone:
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Daphne x transatlantica 'Summer Ice'
variegated hybrid daphne
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Full Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade, Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade, Open Shade
Zone:
6, 7, 8
Deutzia gracilis 'Duncan'
Chardonnay Pearls® Slender Deutzia
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Full Sun, Full Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade, Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade, Open Shade
Zone:
5, 6, 7, 8
Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'
Jelena Witch Hazel
Type:
Shrub, Tree
Exposure:
Full Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade, Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade, Open Shade
Zone:
6, 7, 8, 9
Hydrangea paniculata 'Bulk' Quick Fire®
Quick Fire hardy hydrangea
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Filtered Sun, Morning Sun, Part Shade, Part Sun
Zone:
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen'
Snow Queen Oakleaf Hydrangea
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade
Zone:
5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Fire Dance'
FIredance Fringe Flower
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Full Sun, Full Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade, Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade
Zone:
8, 9, 10
Pittosporum tobira 'Shima'
Creme de Mint Dwarf Mock Orange
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Afternoon Sun, Filtered Sun, Full Sun, Morning Sun, Open Shade, Part Sun
Zone:
10, 11, 8, 9
Pittosporum tobira 'Tall and Tough'
Japanese mock-orange
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Full Sun, Full Sun, Part Sun, Afternoon Sun, Morning Sun, Filtered Sun
Zone:
7, 8, 9, 10
Rhododendron 'Medusa'
Medusa rhododendron
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade
Zone:
7, 8, 9
Sambucus nigra 'Eva'
Black Lace™ Purple Cutleaf Elderberry
Type:
Shrub, Tree
Exposure:
Full Sun, Full Sun, Part Sun, Afternoon Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade
Zone:
5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Stachyurus praecox
Stachyurus
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Part Sun, Morning Sun, Filtered Sun, Open Shade, Open Shade
Zone:
6, 7, 8, 9
Weigela florida 'Olympiade'
Briant Rubidor Weigela
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Filtered Sun, Morning Sun, Open Shade, Part Sun
Zone:
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Weigela florida 'Verweig'
My Monet® Weigela
Type:
Shrub
Exposure:
Filtered Sun, Morning Sun, Open Shade, Part Shade, Part Sun
Zone:
5, 6, 7, 8, 9
