After a spring and summer filled with an outdoor plant selection so beautiful and varied that it’s hard to choose, we have now entered a new season. This is a period when certain perennials and shrubs, such as Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’, Viburnum tinus, Gaultheria procumbens, and Helleborus, are abundantly available and often define the look of store displays over the coming months.
As a specialty flower & plant shop, it’s both exciting and challenging to offer your customers an even broader selection of plants that add color and ornamental value to gardens and terraces throughout the winter months. Besides those mentioned above, there are various other shrubs worth recommending specifically for their ornamental qualities in the coming months.
Many shrubs or ornamental bushes give character to a garden. The typically woody structure of a shrub creates solid volumes and transforms empty spaces into intimate garden settings. By making thoughtful choices for plants throughout the year, your customers can enjoy blooms (or fruits) nearly year-round. First and foremost, the choice lies between evergreen and deciduous shrubs. Evergreen shrubs usually bring privacy and year-round structure to the garden.
Deciduous shrubs often grow and bloom lavishly in spring or summer, with fall bringing stunning leaf colors ranging from yellow and red to purple. Some shrubs also stand out with brightly colored berries that appear in autumn and remain visible during the darker months.
For customers who are looking for plants at this time of year with these qualities, you can confidently recommend the following varieties:
– Callicarpa boninieri ‘Profusion’
– Cornus kousa ‘China Girl’
– Gaultheria mucronata*, also known as Pernettya
– Hippophae rhamnoides
– Ilex verticillata ‘Jingle Bells’
– Leycesteria formosa ‘Purple Rain’
– Pyracantha coccinea ‘Red Column’
– Skimmia japonica ‘Temptation’
– Viburnum davidii
– Viburnum opulus ‘Compactum’
Take a look at the selection available in your store and consider complementing the collection with some of these shrubs suited to garden types in your region. For an appealing contrast, combine these eye-catching plants with Picea, Photinia, Cedrus, Elaeagnus, Camellia, Pinus and Euonymus, and your outdoor plant selection will look equally varied and beautiful for your customers.