Flowering Bushes in the Yard

The past few Saturdays have been really nice, and we have been feverishly working in our yard. We're a little bit at a loss for what to do with so much yard space, but I'm sure we'll figure things out eventually. There are a lot of flowers, trees, and bushes that we like, and it's nice to know that we have enough room to add lots of different things.

Lately we have filled up a few garden beds with some flowering bushes. I want to keep track of the plants that we plant (and their bloom seasons), so I'm afraid that my gardening post might not be very interesting to everyone. But I'm excited about creating my own garden (hopefully one that will continually have different blooms in the summer!), and I want to keep track of what I am doing. I just took all of these pictures this evening, so hopefully I'll be able to gauge what plants will be in bloom at the end of next April.

These are on the north side of our porch: Rosebud (Evergreen Azalea) in upper left, Girard's Purple (Evergreen Azalea)  in lower left, and Spring Bouquet Viburnum on right. I just took these pictures this evening. The purple blooms have been open for about a week or two, and the pink ones have just started to open a few days ago.

•  Rosebud (Evergreen Azalea): A slow, compact, spreading growth habit. 4' high x 4' wide. Needs part-sun exposure. Hardiness = 5
• Girard's Purple (Evergreen Azalea): Prolific bloomer that grows dense and compact. 2-3' high x 2-3' wide. Needs part-sun exposure. Hardiness = 5
• Spring Bouquet Viburnum: Needs full-sun exposure (6+ hours of direct sun). Blooms in the winter and spring. Grows at a medium rate, and will reach 5-6' high x 5-6' wide. Keep soil semi-moist. Fertilize in the early spring and prune to remove damaged limbs. (I'll be quite pleased if this grows into a large plant, especially since we got this starter for only a dollar!)

We planted this rhododendron on the south side of our front porch. It is supposed to have wine or burgundy colored flowers, and I'm hoping that these buds open around the time that the purple azaleas are finishing up.

• Olin O. Dobbs Rhododendron: Will grow to about 4' high in about ten years.

This hydrangea is around the corner from front porch, along the north side of the porch (pay no attention to those other weeds and plants!). It's had a hard life so far, but I hope it will pull through. Hydrangeas usually don't bloom until August, and I think that this plant is in a little bit of shock since it left the nursery a few weeks ago.

• White hydrangea (right now I think it might be a Blushing Bride variety, but please correct me if I'm wrong!): Requires minimal pruning; pruning should be to remove dead flower heads. Prune to just above the nearest facing outward bud. Pruning should take place in March (not in autumn). Blooms in summer and early fall. Will grow 3-6' high.

We placed this itty-bitty forsythia plant in the back corner of our yard. Unfortunately we missed the yellow spring blossoms on this plant, but we look forward to seeing them next year.

• Lynwood Gold Forsythia: Blooms in spring. Keep water semi-moist. Average size is 10-12' high x 10-12' wide. Fast growth rate. Needs full sun (6+ hours of direct sun). Prune after flowering if desired.