Would you like to create a little excitement in your shrub
border or wake up to a showy
summer-flowering tree? As I look around, there is little
remaining from the spring
bloomers to inspire me or catch my attention.

A little exploring of other landscapes and browsing through the
books has led to a list
of candidates to provide summer color. Flowers of most colors
grab my attention as
well as the colored foliage of several shrubs and trees.

The purple of the new pink loropetalums’ leaves duplicates that
of the purple smoke
tree leaves. What a great complementary team to put together!

Pink loropetalums are spectacular in spring. With tiny,
strap-shaped, pink petals, their
masses of blooms cover the entire 6- to 10-foot shrub.

The purple foliage is usually strongest on the new growth.
However, Ruby (a
small-leafed, shorter selection) and Zhuzhou Fuchsia (an upright
potential tree form)
maintain strong purple color all season long.

The purple smoke tree grows to 15 feet and blooms in
early summer. Its airy masses
of tiny flowers resemble billows of pink smoke just above the
leaves.

Barberry is an arching, 3- to 6-foot shrub for full sun
with small leaves in green,
yellow, red or purple. Rose Glow produces new leaves which are
streaked pink, cream
and purple that mature to reddish color. When combined with the
golden barberry, a
bright yellow-leafed form, the contrast creates a strong color
accent.

The dwarf Crimson Pygmy barberry reaches 2 feet tall and can be
used in front of the
golden-leafed form.

For a trouble-free flowering shrub, abelia is unbeatable.
Glossy abelia reaches 6 to 8
feet with small, white flowers all summer.

The selection Edward Goucher is smaller at 4-plus feet and has
small, pink flowers.
Both are semievergreen with small, glossy leaves. Bees visit the
blooms, so place them
away from traffic off the edges of walks and patios.

An old-time favorite for summer blooms is shrub althea or
rose of Sharon. The newer
releases by the National Arboretum are hybrids 8 to 10 feet
tall, with thicker petals and
leaves. They’re also sterile and produce no seed, so you have no
seedlings to weed.

The 4-inch flowers begin in midsummer and continue into fall.
Diana is pure white
with waxy, dark green leaves. Aphrodite is dark pink with a dark
red center, while
Helene is white with a purple eye in the center of the blossom.
These shrubs flower
best in full sun but will keep blooming in partial shade.

Finally, consider the chaste tree, also known as vitex.
Chaste tree is a large shrub to a
multistemmed, small tree. It begins flowering in early summer
with light to dark blue
spikes of blooms.

The plant thrives in hot weather and full sun. The soft, green-
gray foliage makes a nice
contrast for the abundant blooms. Plants are drought-tolerant
once established and are
pest-free.

These few selections will help add summer color to your
landscape.

Select plants with yellow or purple foliage to create a season-
long effect. Flowers are
often much shorter in their duration, but shrubs that reflower,
such as abulia and rose
of Sharon, create long seasonal interest.

Let’s liven up our summer landscape with new and interesting
shrubs and trees.