Brighten your garden with flowering shrubs

Indispensible for adding structure and colour to the garden, flowering shrubs also artfully provide that critical mid-storey link between herbaceous flowerbeds and large trees. We love these 10 new introductions to the market. Some display breakthroughs in leaf colour (‘Blue Shadow’ fothergilla, Dream Catcher beautybush and My Monet weigela, for example), while some others feature increased flower size (Incrediball smooth hydrangea) or repeated blooming cycles (‘Gemo’ St. John’s wort and Bloomerang purple lilac). In addition, we’ve included a few that are still relatively unknown and underutilized (like fragrant abelia and Bangle dyer’s greenwood).


Site beside pathways or near doors 
and windows where its perfumed flowers 
can best be appreciated.

Fragrant abelia (Abelia mosanensis)
h 1.6 m, w 1.8 m, Zone 4
This terrific shrub from Korea is far too rare in Canadian gardens and deserves to be more widely planted. Fragrant white (occasionally pink) flowers in early summer are followed by orange 
to red fall foliage. Full 
sun to part shade in 
rich, well-drained soil.

Photo provided by Proven Winners