Best Flowering Shrubs for Your Garden

There are so many wonderful flowering shrubs out there that it can be difficult to know where to start. What’s more, some people – though certainly not us I’d hasten to add – proclaim that shrubs are, whisper it quietly, boring. Heaven forfend, what an abominable take that is.

So, in order to narrow down your options and to prove to those doubters just how impressive these plants can be, we’ve put together a guide, a compendium if you will, of the best flowering shrubs for your garden.

Jump to:

• What are the best flowering shrubs for pots?
• What are the best evergreen flowering shrubs?
• What are the best flowering shrubs for shade?
• What are the best long-flowering shrubs?
• What are the best flowering shrubs for pollinators?
• What are the best boldly-coloured flowering shrubs?
• What are the best early-flowering shrubs?
• What are the best flowering shrubs for height?

What are the best flowering shrubs for pots?

First up, it’s pots. Terracotta, ceramic, plastic, pick your poison. Whichever pot(s) you choose, there’s a good chance you’ll successfully be able to grow a flowering shrub in it. The best flowering shrubs for pots are those that remain compact in terms of height and spread. Our eyes are immediately drawn to dwarf hydrangea varieties like ‘Little Spooky’, for instance.

Alternatively, you can opt for a flowering shrub trained into a standard (or lollipop shape). These plants comprise a clear stem and a ball of foliage and flowers at its top. Ideal for formal planting schemes, patio gardens and instant impact, these distinctive plants (we’ve got a real soft spot for this patio ceanothus, in particular) shouldn’t be slept upon.

What are the best evergreen flowering shrubs?

Looking for something with more year-round interest? Fear not, we’ve got you covered here, too. There are some fabulous evergreen flowering shrubs out there, none more so than this classic: Viburnum tinus (laurustinus).

This perennially-popular plant is a workhorse around the calendar. With its creamy flowers in late winter and spring, the dark, glistening berries that follow and glossy green foliage throughout the year, this plant just will not take a day off (seriously, we’ve tried talking to HR about it and we don’t know what to do…).

Another good option is, of course, photinia ‘Red Robin’ – how could it not be? With its roaring red foliage, there’s a good reason you see these shrubs up and down the length of the country. Vigorous, easily-shaped and straightforward to grow, photinias make for excellent screening plants, but are just as happy to be the star of the show as a feature shrub. Alongside its fab foliage, it also produces attractive flat-headed flowers in the spring, too, helping earn its place on this list.

What are the best flowering shrubs for shade?

If you’re not lucky enough to be blessed with a sun-soaked garden, but still want some good flowers, then this next section is for you.

Shadiness is something of a spectrum; if you have a garden that’s only part-shaded, then you’ll still happily be able to grow a range of flowering shrubs, none more notably so than hydrangea ‘Annabelle’. While hydrangeas can grow in full sun provided their soil is kept moist, they actually prefer a bit of dappled shade to perform at their best.

For areas of deeper shade, the options are a little more limited in terms of flowering, but not nonexistent! Sweet box (Sarcococca confusa) is probably your best bet; tolerant of full shade and still able to produce its lovely, fragrant flowers – which, added bonus, actually flower in winter, providing interest (and a cracking perfume) when little else is growing in the garden.

What are the best long-flowering shrubs?

Flowers are great and all, but if they only last the equivalent of one lettuce-bested prime minister before fading, then it can be all too disappointing. Fear not, however, because there are some flowering shrubs out there that bloom for a more extended period of time.

Take buddleias, for instance. These butterfly bushes just keep on flowering, from the start of summer right into the heart of autumn. Then there are prolific bloomers like lilac ‘Bloomerang’, who have two distinct flowering periods. Lush. Honourable mentions must go, of course, to both hydrangeas and repeat-flowering roses, which also have lengthy flowering periods.

What are the best flowering shrubs for pollinators?

Wanting to attract more pollinators to your garden is commendable. Sadly, biodiversity is in decline, globally, so anything we can do to curb that trend – no matter how small it may be – is worthwhile. Planting pollinator-friendly flowering shrubs is one such salvo of resistance we can let loose.

Lavender is one of the most obvious picks; bees and butterflies adore this shrub, and a lavender in full bloom will almost certainly be accompanied by the droning thrum of buzzing and the fluttering of delicate, paper-thin wings. Other good options include ceanothus, a recurring character in this guide, pieris, chaenomeles and flowering ribes species.

What are the best boldly-coloured flowering shrubs?

Sometimes, you really can’t beat a big, bold hit of colour. Subtlety is a brilliant thing in many scenarios, but there are also those occasions where you want a plant that slaps you around the face with its sheer vivacity and impact. The sort that doesn’t just ‘grab’ your attention, it full-on consumes it.

We’re talking plants like cotinus, sambucus and physocarpus, whose foliage and flowers take so much breath away that, frankly, they should be charging interest. Oh, and who could forget dogwood shrubs…

What are the best early-flowering shrubs?

For some colour early in the year, it’s hard to look past the elegance and class of camellias. These evergreen shrubs vary in their flowering time, but some flower as early as late winter, with others still providing blooms well into spring. They’re fond of acidic soil, making them ideal bedfellows for both rhododendrons (or ‘rhodos’ to their friends) and azaleas, and are an excellent pick for Japanese-style gardens.

What are the best flowering shrubs for height?

Bigger doesn’t always mean better… But sometimes, just sometimes, it really does. There are lots of lovely large flowering shrubs out there, perfect for more open, sprawling gardens, and after much deliberation we’re going to give the crown to a group of plants we mentioned just recently – rhododendrons.

Now, not all rhododendrons grow to be massive, but some can really take off given the right growing conditions; as for our range, we’ve got a selection of plants that can grow to an ultimate height and spread of roughly three metres, providing hefty impact without being too overwhelming.

Final thoughts

Phew, I’m wiped out. That’s one heck of a lot of shrubs, hey? Right, well I’m going to go and have a lie down and by the time I come back, you better have decided which flowering shrub you’re going to opt for. That’s an order, recruit.