Help me pick flowering bushes

[Anonymous]

Finally getting our yard in order and looking at the house, it looks very green (current bushes, grass) and brown / gray (house, slate steps). I really want to add some color but have no idea where to get started in terms of picking out bushes. Do they have to be planted small and grow bigger? Does the time of year to plant matter (as in, is it already too late to plant for this summer and have them bloom annually?) They'd need to be low maintenance - we do have a gardener come weekly to weed / mulch / mow / trim etc (had to after the yard got too much for us to bear) and I'm sure he could trim and plant etc, but would love some additional advice on what to choose.

Here are a few looks I like:





Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

The knockout roses on your list are a good choice for a long bloom period. Azaleas and rhododendrons only look good for 2-3 weeks a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The knockout roses on your list are a good choice for a long bloom period. Azaleas and rhododendrons only look good for 2-3 weeks a year.

Ditto.
Just get the knockouts and dead head.

[Anonymous]

How much sun does the location get? One thing to keep in mind is that whatever you choose to plant it will probably have about half as many blooms as any stock image you find of the plant while googling. The pictures you posted are beautiful- just wanted you to be realistic that yours likely won’t look so lush.
I would walk around your neighborhood and see what other people have that is doing well and you like. It’s a great way to get inspiration and see the plants in real life. If you take a picture you can post it here to help you identify it or take it to a garden store.

[Anonymous]

Take a look at the neighbors and be very honest about the amount of sun. Also bushes bloom once then they are finished so gardens rotate the focal point. Depending on the season. The roses are beautiful but the deer love them as they live all blooms. For instant color use annuals — they bloom like crazy and last until Thanksgiving here in DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take a look at the neighbors and be very honest about the amount of sun. Also bushes bloom once then they are finished so gardens rotate the focal point. Depending on the season. The roses are beautiful but the deer love them as they live all blooms. For instant color use annuals — they bloom like crazy and last until Thanksgiving here in DCUM.

OP here - we do have deer and not tons of sun. Would the roses likely not work then? Do rosebushes have to be planted small and then grow, or can they be planted at their full size? Sorry I'm so dumb!

Can you link some examples of the annuals you mention?

[Anonymous]

How about hydrangeas?

[Anonymous]

Best shade blooming annuals are New Guinea impatiens. Roses need full sun. Hydrangeas need 1/2 sun and lots of water. You can tell which annuals are for shade because they are in the shade (under a roof) in the plant stores. The ones out in the baking sun need full sun.

[Anonymous]

If you just want color in the shade coleus are very pretty and they grow pretty big with water and some fertilizer. They are annuals tho. You can mix them with some hostas which are perennials.

[Anonymous]

You need to determine how much sun the area gets, whether you want a shrub that keeps its leaves all year round or if deciduous is okay (bare sticks in winter), and how tall you want the plant to be when full grown.

You can plant most shrubs until fall but you'll need to water them much more frequently the first summer. You can plant them at any size but bigger ones will be more expensive/a bigger pain to plant. Not worth it imo for something like a knockout rose that grows quickly. Gallon is fine for those - they'll be huge by midsummer #2.

[Anonymous]

Knockouts are overplanted. Every shopping mall has knockout roses. Try some classic roses. There are lists out there for disease resistant roses and for shade tolerant roses if you have a lot of shade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Knockouts are overplanted. Every shopping mall has knockout roses. Try some classic roses. There are lists out there for disease resistant roses and for shade tolerant roses if you have a lot of shade.

There is no rose (except the Lenten rose) that does well in shade. By “shade “ they mean not 9 hours of sun

[Anonymous]

You might want to wait until September. The hot July &August means a lot of watering and TLC.

[Anonymous]

Bare sticks in the front is a problem. I have hydrangeas in the front. They look great now but the sticks in winter not so good. You can’t prune the sticks because threats where the flowers come from. Moving them in the fall.

[Anonymous]

Shade gardening takes thought but it’s got a peaceful beauty to it. Sheltered from the sun.