The Best Shrubs for Year-Round Landscape Color

Spring, summer, fall, and winter—these shrubs are stone-cold stunners throughout the whole year!

 

Colorful shrubs add so much aesthetic appeal to the landscape in spring and summer, but some varieties leave much to be desired in the fall and winter months. A winter landscape devoid of color is a real buzzkill! Ensure your landscape is never lacking that “wow factor” by planting these sensational shrubs for year-round color and visual impact.   

 

Endless Splendor: The Best Shrubs for All-Season Interest

Spring, summer, fall, and winter—these shrubs are stone-cold stunners throughout the whole year! Plant them this fall so you can enjoy their showy displays during the gray winter months.

 

Witch Hazel

Don’t you wish you could enjoy beautiful blooms in winter to liven up the snowy white landscape? Well, you’re in luck. Witch hazel is one of the few landscape plants that bloom in late winter! Witch hazel extract is often used in luxury skincare products and tinctures due to its powerful medicinal properties. Its frilly yellow blooms are a joy to behold, and its autumn foliage bears red and gold tones with flashy contrasting borders.  

 

Red and Yellow-Twig Dogwoods 

Dogwoods are generally known for their beautiful blooms, but the red and yellow-twig varieties are especially beautiful! In fall, not only do they flaunt beautiful foliage, but their bark transitions into an ultra-saturated shade of red or yellow. This color remains through winter—you’ll love how it pops against the snowy white scenery!

 

Ilex Verticillata

This native variety of holly shrub earned the nickname “winterberry” for its shiny berries that remain through winter. We love how festive it is—it’s effortless winter holiday decor for the landscape! Most bear red berries, but some varieties like “Winter Gold” have bright peachy berries. Its fall foliage turns an electrifying shade of lemon yellow, lighting up the landscape like a torch. 

 

Native Viburnum

Powerfully fragrant blooms give way to colorful berries—often deep blue or bright red—that remain through winter, offering food for the hungry wild birds. Its emerald green foliage shifts to shades of red and gold, creating a beautiful multi-tonal effect during its transitional stages. As with most native Pennsylvania species, viburnum is low-maintenance and highly attractive to pollinators. 

 

Itea

This summer-blooming shrub, commonly known as sweetspire, has similar rope-like blossoms to clethra. However, its autumn foliage turns yellow, then fiery red! During the transitional stages, when only half of its foliage has turned, a prismatic rainbow display adds so much personality and excitement to the landscape. “Henry’s Garnet” itea is a fantastic shrub for winter interest, as its bark takes on a vibrant cherry color. 

 

Fothergilla

Fothergilla has feathery, tufted, white spring blooms and is a cousin of witch hazel. Its foliage sports those classic red, orange, and gold tones that we just can’t resist. It’s often regarded for its winter interest—not because of its color but because it has an open, airy, voluminous growth habit, adding architectural value to the landscape design. No pruning is needed for this beautiful, low-maintenance shrub!

 

Conifers

Nothing brings consistent landscape color and texture like an evergreen, and there are so many fabulous varieties to choose from for Pennsylvania landscapes! If you prefer cool-toned palettes, you’ll love the Colorado blue spruce. If you like warm palettes, there are many varieties of juniper and cypress that sport golden undertones. Many dwarf conifers are suitable for container gardens, so they’re fantastic for smaller landscapes and even patios and porches.

 

Clethra

Also known as summersweet, this flowering shrub has vanilla-scented summer blooms resembling fluffy white cat tails. Those blooms produce seed pods that remain through winter, adding distinct texture to the landscape. Autumn foliage is a cheerful, sunny gold that brings a burst of optimum to the scenery.  

 

Explore even more of the best shrubs in Pennsylvania for multi-season interest by visiting Primex Garden Center in Glenside! Our knowledgeable staff will gladly provide planting instructions to help your new gorgeous shrub get nice and comfortable in its new home.