18 Beautiful Spring-Flowering Shrubs That Bloom Year After Year

There are dozens of viburnum species and varieties to choose from, but most bloom in shades of pink and white, and many offer a pleasant fragrance ('Korean Spice' viburnum has a deliciously spicy and sweet smell) or great fall foliage color. Some varieties of viburnum, like 'Eastern Snowball,' can even look like hydrangeas when they're in bloom.

Name: Viburnum selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 15 feet tall wide, depending on type

Zones: 2-9, depending on species

Test Garden Tip: Attract birds to your yard in summer with varieties like American cranberry viburnum, arrowwood, and doublefile viburnum.

Buy It: Eastern Snowball Bush Viburnum, $21.99, Walmart

Along with hyacinths and lilacs, mock orange has one of spring's best fragrances (even though they're not related to citrus, they smell just like orange blossoms). This easy-growing shrub produces pure white blooms you can smell from several feet away. Not every species of mock orange has the same strong fragrance though, so be sure to do a little research before heading to the garden center.

Name: Philadelphus selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 15 feet tall and wide, depending on species

Zones: 3-9, depending on species

Test Garden Tip: Short on space? Look for dwarf selections such as 'Miniature Snowflake', which stays less than three feet tall and wide.

Buy It: Miniature Snowflake Mock Orange, $51.95, Nature Hills

In late spring and early summer, mountain laurel is covered in showy clusters of pink, red, or white flowers. It's a plant you'll want to take a close look at; the buds have an interesting, intricate shape, almost like tiny stars. You can also find varieties with unique colors, like 'Minuet,' which has light pink flowers with a bold red stripe.

Name: Kalmia latifolia selections

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil with an acidic pH

Size: To 10 feet tall wide

Zones: 6-9

Test Garden Tip: As beautiful as mountain laurel is, all parts of the plant are poisonous, so keep children and pets away from the plant.

Buy It: Minuet Mountain Laurel, $34.99, Spring Hill Nurseries

An underused shrub that deserves more attention, deutzia is a hydrangea relative that produces showy clusters of pink or white flowers in spring or summer, depending on the variety. Some varieties also have a sweet scent, so plant them near a window or along a walkway so you can enjoy the fragrance they'll add to your garden.

Name: Deutzia selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun or light shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 10 feet tall wide, depending on type

Zones: 5-8, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: 'Chardonnay Pearls' is an especially beautiful, easy-to-grow selection with fragrant white flowers and golden-green foliage.

Buy It: Chardonnay Pearls Deutzia, $19.99, Proven Winners

You probably saw this shrub growing in your grandma's garden. Bridalwreath spirea exudes charm and is a perfect pick for cottage gardens. Bridalwreath has clusters of pure white flowers in mid- to late spring and develops bright yellow, red, and orange leaves in fall.

Name: Spiraea prunifolia

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To six feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-8

Test Garden Tip: Bridalwreath spirea is drought tolerant so it makes a good choice for low-water gardens.

Buy It: Bridalwreath Spirea, $19.99, The Home Depot

Use heath, also called heather, to bring bright doses of color to your late winter or early spring landscape. Heath is a tiny, compact shrub that's ideal for rock gardens and other spots with well-drained acidic soil. When it blooms, it produces huge numbers of pink, white, or red flowers.

Name: Erica carnea

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 10 inches tall and two feet wide

Zones: 6-8

Test Garden Tip: Plant heath in a sheltered spot to prevent drying winter winds from turning the foliage brown.

Buy It: H.E. Beale Scotch Heather, $7.99, Walmart

One of the most eye-catching evergreen shrubs, camellia has stunning rose-like flowers in shades of pink, red, and white in fall, late winter, or spring, depending on the variety. Camellias grow well alongside rhododendrons and azaleas because they all have similar soil and sunlight needs.

Name: Camellia selections

Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained acidic soil

Size: To 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide

Zones: 6-9, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: Look for the Ice Angels series of camellias if you live in Zone 6; these are the hardiest varieties.

Buy It: Winter's Snowman Camellia, $69.97, Wilson Bros Gardens

Few plants announce spring as dramatically as forsythia, which seems to burst into bloom overnight. This bold shrub covers itself with bright, golden-yellow flowers you can see from a block away.

Name: Forsythia selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 10 feet tall and wide, depending on type

Zones: 4-9, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: Add interest after forsythia blooms fade with varieties like 'Citrus Swizzle', 'Fiesta', or 'Kumson', which all have variegated foliage.

Buy It: Citrus Swizzle Forsythia, $61.95, Nature Hills

It's fothergilla to the rescue if you want a beautiful blooming shrub that thrives in the shade. This compact plant really delivers: It produces clusters of white, fragrant flowers in spring, then the leaves turn bold shades of red, yellow, and orange in autumn.

Name: Fothergilla selections

Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To six feet tall wide, depending on type

Zones: 5-9, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: 'Blue Shadow' looks extra pretty in the garden because it has silvery-blue foliage that holds its striking color into fall.

Buy It: Blue Shadow Fothergilla, $66.95, Nature Hills

Among the first shrubs to bloom in cold-winter climates, witch hazels start flowering in mid- to late winter. They produce spidery flowers in cheery shades of red, gold, and orange. Some varieties are also fragrant and add a slightly spicy scent to your garden. Depending on the variety, witch hazel leaves can turn deep orange, red, or yellow in the fall.

Name: Hamamelis vernalis selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 15 feet tall wide

Zones: 5-8

Test Garden Tip: Its fragrant flowers make witch hazel a particularly good choice for forcing branches indoors for winter color.

Buy It: American Witch Hazel, $6.00, The Shop

Spring wouldn't be the same without lilacs, at least in northern regions. These plants produce lush sprigs of sweetly scented blooms in shades of pink, purple, lavender, and white. Lilacs also make stunning cut flowers, so you can enjoy the great fragrance indoors and out.

Name: Syringa selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 20 feet tall wide

Zones: 3-8, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: Look for reblooming varieties such as 'Josee' and littleleaf lilac to extend the season in summer and fall.

Buy It: Josee Reblooming Lilac, $12.99, Michigan Bulb Co.

Lilacs might make Southern gardeners envious, but gorgeous loropetalum will certainly cause similar feelings for gardeners in Northern regions. This flowering shrub produces clusters of fragrant pink flowers surrounded by burgundy foliage in early spring, which can turn orange in autumn.

Name: Loropetalum selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To six feet tall wide

Zones: 7-9

Test Garden Tip: Varieties with burgundy foliage look stunning alongside silver-leafed plants like Russian sage.

Buy It: Purple Diamond Loropetalum, $28.97, Wilson Bros. Gardens

Beloved fixtures of Southern gardens, azaleas have become available for gardeners in nearly every region thanks to plant breeders. You can find azaleas in just about every color imaginable (including yellow, red, pink, purple, white, and orange) and their large, star-shape blooms can look almost tropical.

Name: Rhododendron selections

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade, depending on type, and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 15 feet or more tall and wide, depending on type

Zones: 4-10, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: Grow plants from the Lights series if you need a cold-hardy azalea; grow the Encore series if you want an extra-long bloom season.

Buy It: Multicolor Encore Azalea, $29.95, Woodies Garden Goods

A favorite in the Northwest, Oregon grape holly is a tough shrub that features rich evergreen foliage, bright yellow spring flowers, and clusters of deep blue fruits in fall. It's resistant to pests like deer and rabbits, but the berries attract birds, making it a good choice for wildlife gardens that welcome pollinators.

Name: Mahonia aquifolium

Growing Conditions: Part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To six feet tall wide

Zones: 6-9

Test Garden Tip: Creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens) is a groundcover version that's hardy to Zone 5.

Buy It: Oregon Grape Holly, $24.99, Monrovia

Thanks to beautiful varieties with rich purple or bright gold foliage, ninebark is a flowering shrub that is just as popular because of its leaves. It produces fluffy clusters of white blooms in late spring and early summer. The blossoms usually show up best on dark-leafed selections like 'Diablo' and 'Center Glow.'

Name: Physocarpus selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 12 feet tall wide, depending on type

Zones: 3-7

Here's a hint: Ninebark is one of the toughest shrubs around; it tolerates heat and drought like a champ.

Buy It: Diablo Ninebark, $8.99, Direct Gardening

This blooming treasure offers giant clusters of springtime flowers in a wide range of colors, including warm yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and whites. Rhododendrons also have evergreen foliage, so you can count on these plants to add lushness to your garden year-round.

Name: Rhododendron selections

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil, depending on type

Size: To 15 feet tall wide, depending on type

Zones: 4-9, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: Enjoy rhododendron flowers for months by growing early, mid-, and late-season varieties in your garden.

Buy It: Cherry Cheesecake Rhododendron, $7.99, Walmart

Not familiar with beautybush? You're not alone. But this shrub's arching branches decorated with pink, bell-shape flowers are worth adding to your garden (and it'll grow quickly, too). This easy-to-grow shrub usually blooms in late spring and early summer.

Name: Kolkwitzia amabilis

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide

Zones: 5-9

Test Garden Tip: Beautybush holds up well to drought and is deer resistant.

Buy It: Five Beautybush Seeds, $1.10, Hobby Seeds

Though once grown for their springtime displays of pink, red, or white blooms, new weigelas shine with foliage so colorful it can rival the flowers. You can even find variegated varieties (like 'Eyecatcher') with a bright stripe of yellow around the edge of each leaf.

Name: Weigela selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To six feet tall wide, depending on type

Zones: 4-9, depending on type

Test Garden Tip: 'My Monet', 'Wine and Roses', and 'Eyecatcher' are three outstanding newer varieties with gorgeous foliage from spring to fall.

Buy It: 'My Monet' Weigela, $19.99, Proven Winners