If you’re looking to liven up your garden, a bright, colorful shrub might be the perfect solution. Luckily, there is a massive variety of beautiful, vibrant plants to choose from.
Whether you’re looking for a groundcover, border, or a focal point of your garden, there’s a shrub that fits your needs.
Here’s a guide to 12 pretty and colorful shrubs that are sure to draw eyes and brighten up your whole yard.
Hydrangea
These bright flowering shrubs are a perfect way to bring some color to your garden from the summer to early fall. It can grow up to 15 feet tall, and its large, elegant flowers bloom in shades of:
- Blue
- Purple
- Pink
- Green
- White
Hydrangeas grow best in partial shade, but they can bloom in full sun as well. They also thrive in various soils, making them a great, low-maintenance choice to add some beauty and brightness to your yard.
Azalea
Azalea can bring an array of pink, purple, white, orange, and red to your garden during its spring bloom. These plants tend to grow between 2-8 feet tall, although some varieties can reach up to 20 feet.
Azaleas need moist, acidic soil and partial shade to thrive. If you keep the ground damp and protect the plant from too much sun, you’ll be able to enjoy the stunning and colorful bloom that Azaleas are known for.
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly Bush is a deciduous shrub that blooms from summer to early fall. You can recognize them from their tiny, honey-scented purple blossoms, although they come in a variety of pink, purple, white, and yellow colors as well.
The bright colors and fragrance of the Butterfly bush make this shrub a popular choice for anyone trying to attract bees and butterflies to their garden.
Butterfly bush should be planted in full sun with well-drained soil and is relatively easy to care for once established, as it’s tolerant to drought and doesn’t require much fertilizer to keep it thriving. With adequate care and maintenance, Butterfly Bush can grow up to 15 feet high.
Lilac
A classic choice among many gardeners, Lilac produces a bloom of stunning purple, pink, and white flowers that will bring color and fragrance to your garden during its springtime bloom. Lilac’s height depends greatly on variety, but they grow between 5-15 feet tall and very wide.
Lilac shrubs grow best in full sun but can survive in partial shade as well. While they can tolerate any soil, they thrive in well-drained soil with thorough watering. These shrubs are easy to grow and require minimal maintenance, making them a perfect colorful focal point for any home.
Abelia
Abelia shrubs are one of the easiest and low-effort ways to liven up your yard with color. They’re a wide shrub that grows between 3-6 feet tall, and their aromatic flowers come in a variety of white, yellow, pink, burgundy, and gold.
Abelias bloom from late summer to fall in either full sun or partial shade with well-drained soil. With a high resistance to weather and animals, Abelias are a fantastic way to add color to your yard with little maintenance.
Forsythia
These bright, vibrant yellow flowering shrubs bloom from early to mid-spring, making them a perfect way to ring in the warmer months. They have long, fast-growing branches and can reach anywhere from 1-20 feet tall and up to ten feet wide.
While Forsythia shrubs can tolerate partial shade, the radiant yellow color blooms best in full sun. They prefer moist, well-draining soil but are incredibly resistant and tolerant to any drought or variety of soil.
Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharon provides a pop of color to any garden with its bright, tropical-looking flowers. These plants bloom from mid-summer to early fall and can be found in numerous colors, including:
- White
- Pink
- Blue
- Red
- Lavender
The colorful blossoms make Rose of Sharon a favorite among hummingbirds and butterflies.
Rose of Sharon plants can grow to 8-10 feet tall and thrive in full sun or partial shade with moist, well-drained soil. They’re resistant and straightforward to grow and maintain, making them a common choice for beginner gardeners.
Pieris
Pieris is an evergreen shrub that will bring an abundance of drooping bright red, pink, and white flowers to your garden year-round. They bloom in late winter and can reach a height of up to 7 feet tall.
Pieris is a slow-growing shrub that will grow best in partial shade and moist, well-drained soil and is extremely drought and weather tolerant once established.
Weigela
This common deciduous garden shrub blooms in mid to late spring, and depending on variety, can grow anywhere from 1-10 feet tall.
The tubular-shaped flowers come in a vast range of shades and colors, including red, pink, white, and yellow, and are ideal for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.
The plants bloom brighter and more colorful in full sun but can tolerate partial shade as well. They grow best in moist, acidic soil and require very little additional water once established.
Shrub Rose
With repeat blooming, plenty of variety and color, and a beautiful fragrance, it’s hard to go wrong adding classic shrub roses to your garden. Blooming from early summer to fall, these roses add bright displays of purple, white, pink, red, orange, or yellow to a yard.
While other roses can be challenging to grow, shrub roses offer a low-maintenance alternative. They can grow up to 4 feet tall in full sun without much additional care.
Flowering Quince
Flowering Quince is another excellent low-maintenance option for a colorful shrub. They bloom from late winter to early spring, producing dazzling flowers in shades of coral, pink, red, and orange.
Flowering Quince plants can grow up to 10 feet tall, and while they prefer full sun, they can also survive in partial shade. They’re highly resistant to various soil types and conditions, allowing them to thrive in most environments.
Winter Heath
This evergreen shrub is ideal for adding eye-catching color to your yard during its intense bloom from early to late winter. When this groundcover plant blooms, it produces an assortment of purple, pink, white, or red bell-shaped flowers.
Winter Heath grows up to 12 inches tall and blooms best in full sun with rocky medium-moisture soil. Once established, these shrubs are easy to maintain and are a perfect way to draw bees to your garden.
