Fall & Winter Color Shrubs

Adding plants that offer color and interest against the bleak winter landscape may be one of the most welcome additions to your yard. Sure, the spring and summer-blooming beauties get all the attention, but imagine how nice it would be if you had lovely garden highlights for the other 6 months of the year! It’s possible with just a little planning.

More About Fall & Winter Color Shrubs

As summer nights begin to chill, you’ll start to notice changes in the plants in your yard. Autumn is when hidden traits emerge from some plants and we see a variety of beautiful fall colors emerge in warm, comforting hues. You might even say that fall is the only season to have its own color scheme. Certain colors come to mind, most certainly a warm palette of red, rust, orange, gold and maroon.

When we imagine fall color in the garden, we tend to think about brilliant foliage color. Trees, such as maple, oak and dogwood, catch our attention first with their dazzling canopies. There are also so many shrubs that offer fabulous fall color. Consider nandina, blueberry and oakleaf hydrangea, among other favorites.

The foliage colors are wonderful and there are some patient shrubs that dedicate themselves to fall as their time to flower. Some plants will either start blooming in the fall, such as fall-blooming camellias, or continue blooming from summer into the late-fall, such as Knockout roses and spirea. And some summer-blooming shrubs will hold their flowers well into the fall, such as Limelight hydrangea.

Plants that produce berries are welcome for both fall and winter interest. Red berries on hollies and viburnum are traditional. Beautyberry offers purple berries and mahonia produce large blue berries.

Tree bark and the stems of shrubs can be spectacular in the winter landscape. The stems of red twig dogwood turn bright red. Birch and crape myrtles have exfoliating bark.

Don’t forget evergreens! You’ll appreciate the dark greens, golden yellows and blues of laurel, boxwood, cypress and juniper in an otherwise grey winter landscape. Is there anything prettier than snow covered evergreen boughs?

Be sure to plant these trees and shrubs that look their best in the colder months where you can see them from indoors or near an outdoor firepit or spa. They will create a spectacular view.