Are you looking for ways to improve your landscape this spring? One of the new trends in landscape design is replacing a mixed perennial border with an easy-care shrub garden. In recent years there have been many improved varieties of shrubs to help us plant-obsessed gardeners. Shrubs now offer a longer flowering season, colorful foliage, longer lasting flowers, colorful fruit and vivid autumn colors to provide season long color that's never been seen in shrubs before. Here are a few of my favorite new shrubs:

• Knockout Roses-(Rosa Knockout® Hybrids) Grows to 4 feet, nice shrub form and non-stop blooms until Halloween in my garden. Great resistance to black spot and powdery mildew. Colors are red pink, blush and the new rainbow. Plant them in full sun. You won’t want to stop with just one.

• Weigelia-(Weigelia florida) Midnight Wine and My Monet-Forget about those old leggy weigelias in your Grandmother’s garden. These new introductions have lovely arching branches and grow to a petite 12-18”. Just right for the front of the border. Midnight Wine has dark purple foliage and pink flowers, while My Monet has green variegated foliage and pink flowers. My Monet likes a little shade.

• Hydrangea-(Hydrangea macrophylla) Endless Summer, Blushing Bride. These cultivars bloom for 10-12 weeks longer than similar big leaf or ‘mophead’ hydrangeas, because they bloom on both old and new wood. Little or no pruning is needed. As with other mops heads, the flower color of Endless Summer can be altered by changing the pH of the soil. Partial sun is best.

• Encore Azaleas-(Azalea hybrids) To date there are 23 new evergreen azaleas that bloom in summer and fall as well as in the spring. They range in size from 2 ½ feet to 4 feet and many will take more sun than older azalea varieties. Colors range from pink, white, rose and coral to lavender and purple. The evergreen leaves turn bronze or purple with cold weather.

• Viburnum-(Viburnum dentatum) Blue Muffin This compact (5-7’) shrub has loads of white spring flowers and an impressive display of rich blue berries in late summer. It makes a great low hedge or foundation plant and attracts songbirds and other wildlife.

• Caryopteris-( Caryopteris X clandonensis) Petite Bleu, Sunshine Blue Petite Blue has tight, compact growth with excellent branching and dark green glossy foliage. The deep blue flowers are richer than other Caryopteris varieties, and will attract butterflies to the late summer garden. Enjoy the rare blue color from late summer to fall. Perfect for use in the mixed border

• or perennial beds, it may also be planted as part of a wildlife garden. Sunshine Blue is an awesome, strong growing Caryopteris with bright gold foliage. It is a great contrast plant that will add season long color to the garden. Use it next to dark green plants such as boxwood or Alberta spruce or mix it the perennial bed. This beauty will add color and vibrancy to any garden, especially in the late summer when it blooms.
• Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) Blue Satin, Lavender Chiffon and White Chiffon. If you are a plant snob like me you have turned up your nose at Rose of Sharon because of their coarse foliage and weedy form. Well, I changed my mind when I saw these new cultivars. Blue Satin has a typical Rose of Sharon flower form but the color is a gorgeous blue and the leaves are a dark green on strong branching stems. Lavender Chiffon and White Chiffon have flowers with an unusual ‘lacy’ center that make them look like anemones. Their late summer bloom time makes them a welcome addition to the summer garden. These are tall shrubs but they can be heavily pruned and make a great focal point for a sunny shrub border.

All of these shrubs are easy care, low maintenance beauties that deserve a place of honor in the landscape. If your garden lacks color and multi-season interest consider adding some of these new shrubs to your garden.