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Plan for All-Season Color with Perennials and Shrubs

Plan for All-Season Color with Perennials and Shrubs

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Growing a garden with hardy perennials and shrubs where something is always in bloom is a challenge, but it can easily be done with a little know-how and planning. The goal of the charts shown below is to help you choose a variety of perennials and shrubs that you can expect to bloom throughout the different seasons. By choosing some from each color category, you can plan ahead so something will be blooming in your garden in spring, summer and fall.

Keep in mind that your climate will have a big impact on when a perennial or shrub blooms. In warmer climates, expect everything to bloom earlier than in colder zones. For instance, Summerific Hibiscus can start to bloom in May in the South before the plant has even popped out of the ground in chilly zone 4. This is why we use seasons, rather than months of the year, in the planning charts below.

Growing a garden with all-season color is something that evolves over time as you try new things. If you find there’s a lull in your landscape during a certain time of year, come back to these reference charts to find a plant that blooms during that gap. Local garden centers stock perennials and shrubs all season long. If you only shop in spring, you might miss some of the best summer and fall bloomers.