Beautiful flowering shrubs
Cover your yard with flowering hedges instead of fences to add color, texture and fragrance to your backyard space. Check out these top picks for flowering shrubs that you can use to create fast-growing privacy hedges.
1. Dwarf Fothergilla
A slow-growing shrub with long-lasting interest, Dwarf Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) has fragrant white bottlebrush flowers in early spring. In autumn, its leaves turn fiery red, orange and yellow. Except that its larger relative, the greater Fothergilla (F. major) grows up to eight feet tall.
2. Forsythia
Forsythia's bright golden blooms are practically synonymous with spring in much of the country. This deciduous shrub is known for its early yellow flowers, which appear before the plant's leaves, and maintain its evergreen color until fall. Northern gardeners should choose one of the cold-hardy selections, such as 'Meadowlark', which provides reliable blooms even after sub-zero winters.
3. Hardy Hibiscus
The size of dinner plates, hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) make a wonderful hedge in your landscape to create showstopping flowers. At peak bloom, this perennial can produce 20 or more flowers per day. Its hollyhock-like flowers appear in shades of red, white, salmon or pink.
4. Lilac
Lilacs (Syringa spp.) are known for their fragrant clusters of pink, pink, white, or purple flowers, blooming in mid to late spring. Some newer varieties, such as the Bloomerong, extend the blooming season from late summer to fall. Dwarf Korean lilacs, 'Miss Kim' lilacs and 'George Eastman' lilacs all grow under 10 feet tall. If powdery mildew is a problem in your area, look for lilac varieties that are resistant to this disease.
5. Limelight Hydrangea
The flowers of 'Limelight' hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) vary from pale green in cooler climates to creamy white in the south. In autumn, the panicles of flowers turn pink before finally fading to brown. Planted as a flowering hedge, this hydrangea will form a dense, deer-resistant screen that requires no special care other than occasional pruning to encourage new growth.
6. Ninepark
A native shrub, ninebark (Pysocarpus spp.) requires little care to thrive and stands up well to heat and drought. Its colorful foliage can be golden, coppery red, or dark purple with a medium green hue, depending on the variety. For example, the burgundy leaves of the summer wine Ninepark contrast beautifully with its soft pink flowers. This shrub provides exfoliating bark that adds winter interest after the leaves fall.
7. Oleander
A drought-tolerant and deer-resistant shrub, oleander (Nerium oleander) is known for its colorful and fragrant flowers that bloom throughout most of the growing season. Flower colors of this tropical beauty range from pink to white, red, orange and yellow. But be warned: all parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested, so keep away from pets and small children. It is also considered invasive in some parts of the country.
8. Potentilla
A hardy, long-blooming shrub, the potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa) produces yellow, creamy-white, or orange flowers throughout the summer. As the plants bloom in mounds on the new tree, you can prune it hard in early spring to maintain its shape without sacrificing its flowers. It is very heat and drought tolerant.
9. Shrub Rose
Combining the hardiness of repeat blooming, shrub roses create colorful natural combinations without the fuss of fancy hybrid teas. New varieties such as the Knockout and Easy Elegance series are disease resistant and easy to care for like other shrubs.
10. St. John's wort
Native to North America, St. John's Wort (Hypericum kalmianum 'Deppe') is an all-star shrub that is easy to grow and can integrate into almost any landscape. Often sold under the name Sunny Boulevard, this long-blooming shrub begins producing its bright yellow flowers in mid-summer and continues into early fall. Its dark green foliage makes an excellent foil for cheerful flowers.
11. Summersweet
With a name like summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), you can guess that this shrub's pink or white flowers are fragrant and very attractive to butterflies and bees. It is one of the few shrubs that blooms well in shade, although it can grow in full sun in northern areas, provided there is sufficient moisture. Its glossy dark green leaves turn yellow to golden brown in autumn.
12. Viburnum
There are many viburnums on the market and many grow well as flowering hedges. Most produce clusters of white or soft pink flowers in early spring – look for varieties such as Corianspice viburnum (V. carlesi), which offer fragrant flowers, or for varieties that produce red or black berries. Snowball viburnum (V. opulus 'Rosium'), pictured here, grows 8-10 feet tall. The 'Nanum' variety is under three feet tall.
13. Weikela
Popular with hummingbirds, weigela (Weigela florida) has red or pink trumpet-shaped flowers that bloom profusely in spring and repeat in mid- to late summer. Some varieties of this flowering shrub bear white flowers, while others produce copper, burgundy, or variegated leaves.
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