Shrubs that flower every year....?

[cerealqueen]

Ones that flower in spring summer or autumn or a variety which will give all year colour and then green foliage in winter? Do these exist? Any recommendations please? I'm a total novice. They are for part of the garden that gets some sun but not all day.
Dos the type of soil make a difference?
thanks!

[ErrolTheDragon]

Soil does make a difference to some - eg rhodedendrons are good if you've got acid soil (evergreen with great late spring/early summer flowers). What sort of sizes are you thinking of ('shrub' covers knee-high spireas up to nearly-tree height thickets!)

One tip (especially if you don't know your soil type) is to take a look at what seems to be thriving locally.

[cerealqueen]

Thank you - That is a good idea re local, though i don't know what most plants are! I think we'd like a mix - some smaller, some things as high as the fence. I'm really quite clueless. We have a lavender bush in the front which has thrived but it gets more sun. Those big flowers - hydrnages are they? seem to be popular round here.

[florentina1]

Weiglia, philadelphus,camellia and Forsythia will give you a succession of flowers. Google flowering evergreens to compliment the Big Bang flowering shrubs.

Things with berries rather than flowers provide year round interest. Pyracantha and Berberisvhave berries and are easy to care for .Euonymus are lovely evergreens . They come in silver and green and yellow and green.

Cornus especially midwinter fire are spectacular.

Not sure about my spellings, but all of the above are low maintenance, hardy and reasonably priced. Perfect for a novice.

Look up Parkers or Crocus you can see the plants for yourself. However I would buy from a nursery rather than mail order as they are a bit hit and miss with quality.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Hydrangeas are good - are they mostly pink or blue where you live? That can tell you something about the soil (they will be blue in areas which have aluminium in the soil and the soil is also acidic). They do well in damp soils - I've got a few in a rather shady heavy clay soil border, along with several different dogwoods (cornus) - they're the things with colourful red or bright green stems in winter.

Mahonias have interesting leaves (sort of like large holly) year round, with yellow flowers in winter - usually fragrant. They can get quite big.

Euonymus as florentina said are good - these are smaller, and can be clipped so good for in front of other things, though I've got one which has decided to grow up my fence.

I'd recommend going to a local nursery too - they should be able (and more than happy!) to offer advice for what will grow in your local conditions. If you draw a rough diagram of your garden showing where the sun is at midday that can help.

[CrazyOldBagLady]

Any particular colour scheme you are going for OP?

[bobs123]

So you want evergreen shrubs for partial shade. Check you soil - you can buy a kit which will tell you if it is acid or alkali. Pick up a bit - is it dusty (light sandy) or are there lumps of clay (heavy) or just normal? What is growing well in surrounding gardens?

Then you have to decide how big you want them. EG Low spreading = Cotoneaster, large (and prickly) = Mahonia. shade loving = Fatsia Japonica, pretty for spring but can be big = Ceanothus. There are different types within each plant name so make sure you check

Then you could buy a book like one of the RHS ones or search online for advice/pics

Or go to a garden centre at the time you want the shrub to be in flower and check out what's there. there is lots of info on the labels as to soil type etc.

I agree that euonymus are pretty. however Berberis and Pyracantha both have thorns - not a good idea if you have young DC

[ErrolTheDragon]

I had a lot of pyracanthas on a (shaded) fence - I didn't have enough time to keep them in order after I had DD, they grew far too well and were a real pain (literally and figuratively) to hack back again. They're one of those plants that you shouldn't put in unless you are sure you will be able to prune them regularly when they get bigger. Cornus can be a bit that way too, but at least they aren't spiny!

[MyNightWithMaud]

Another one to look at is viburnum, which is happy in shade: viburnum tinus or viburnum bodnantense Dawn.