The summer sun is both a blessing and a curse, which will both nourish and scald your plants. Fortunately, there are many sun-tolerant shrubs to choose from. While there is a variety of Euonymous or Viburnum for every zone and location, consider some of these sun lovers for your bright spot. Like all newly planted shrubs, they will require some attention until they get established, but fall planting gives them a great head start.
Sun Loving Shrubs for Spring
Starting in mid-winter, a very fragrant but small flower that blooms on nearly bare branches is the Honeysuckle Bush (Lonicera fragrantissima). It is startling to find sweet perfumed air in January, and for several weeks. All summer the twisted branches are clothed in fine green leaves to provide a backdrop for your flowers. Plant one where the breeze will blow it’s fragrance to you.
In the shrub world, the heralds of spring are the Yellow Bells (Forsythia). Their bare Spring branches erupt with bright yellow trumpet shaped flowers. They are tolerant of most conditions, and will sucker to form clumps or colonies. Exploit this to fill areas with mass planting areas for the back of the border or landscape layering.
As spring progresses, the delicate Mock Orange (Philadelphus) opens her small white flowers, liberally sprinkled over the new growth branches. Be sure to get a cultivar that is fragrant, as some are not, and the delicate perfume is not to be missed. The ‘Virginal’ cultivar is double flowering and has probably the most intense fragrance, with flowers up to two inches across.
The Butterfly Bush (Buddleja) is widely popular for good reason. It’s colors include white, purples, blues, pinks, and yellow, which bloom all summer. Sizes range from 8′ or more down to some dwarf varieties that remain at 4-6 feet. Some folks prune them to the ground each year, but they seem to grow back spindly. Better pruning would be to remove just the oldest stalks from the bottom, a few each year, and prune to the desired size. The foliage varies from silvery gray to green. Being highly deer resistant, a vigorous grower, and tolerant of most conditions, it’s just about the perfect shrub.
Unique Late Spring and Summer Flowering Shrubs
If you have a sunny spot out of the spotlight, a Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles) will brighten that spot. They are very hardy and, unless pruned often, will grow at will; they also flower whenever the mood strikes them, throughout spring and summer. For zones with cold winters, the late Spring flowering of the Lilac (Syringa) is familiar. Newer cultivars are available in whites and pinks, too. A leggy grower by nature, the bright yellow Kerria (Kerria japonica) and fluffy double flowering Kerria (K. pleniflora) provide a fountain of flowers. They may do better with afternoon sun, particularly in hotter zones.
Off to a slow start in Spring, the Rose of Sharon, or Althaea (Hibiscus syriacus) gives you big blooms all summer long, when most plants quietly fade out. Rose of Sharon is an old favorite with many shades of white, pink, blue and lavender to choose from, as well as double flowering types. For those lucky few in Zone 8+, the related tropical Hibiscus shows brightly in yellows, oranges and reds. Rose of Sharon will take most any pruning you give them, or let them grow to a rounded ten foot tall hedge. Plant them fairly close for a hedge, or a single specimen to highlight a summer area. Once established, they’ll tolerate just about anything.
Evergreens Shrubs For Year Round Beauty
The evergreens are the backbone of the garden, keeping the life in an otherwise dead winter landscape. Of the many conifers available, Junipers (Juniperus) have been developed with sizes and foliage varieties for most every situation. The blue varieties offer a perfect complement to Springs yellow daffodils and summer’s Stella D’Oro daylillies, as well as offering a cool color in an otherwise hot, sunny spot.
Another large family of evergreens is the Hollys (Ilex), with various leaf types, colors and growth habits. Wild Privet (Ligustrum) is an invasive nightmare, but the cultivated varieties offer large or small leaves, variegation, and controllable growth habit. The little leaves of Boxwoods (Buxus) offer subtle evergreen shrubs to anchor hedges and rows. For a feathery change, try the Yews (Taxus).
Multi-Seasonal Shrub Appeal
In the Southeast we are fortunate to have the Fothergilla (Fothergilla spp.), with it’s little white bottlebrush bloom in spring and beautiful yellow to red leaves in the Fall. Most of the country, though, can enjoy Blueberries (Vaccinum), which are often overlooked as ornamental shrubs. Though their flowers are quite small, the summer berries are a treat for your and the birds, followed by a great show in Autumn of beautifully changing leaf colors in red and orange. They can be planted in groups in the more distant landscape, drawing your eye as a great accent.
