3 easy steps for creating colour in your yard

Do you love the dash of colour garden flowers provide but don’t have the time to keep on top of them? These tips will help you create a colourful, care-free yard.

Flowering shrubs look gorgeous while they last but they don't bloom for long. When selecting them for your yard, keep the following in mind.

Choose shrubs with attractive foliage as well as pretty flowers as this will make your yard attractive all year. Pick a variety of shrubs to spread out blooming times so you will have colour in your yard for up to two months.

Their beauty, colour and durability make the following shrubs so popular, it’s worth learning their Latin names:

Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), camellia, flowering quince (Chaenomeles), forsythia, hydrangea, lilac (Syringa), magnolia, mock orange (Philadelphus), mountain laurel (Kalmia), potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa), pussy willow (Salix), rhododendron and azalea, hibiscus, spiraea and sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia).

You can’t cut back your shrubs when the mood strikes. You but ave to do it at the right time as this task affects how they bloom. The right time for pruning most flowerings shrubs is right after the bloom season. If you do it any earlier, you may accidentally remove that season’s buds. If you do it too late, it could damage blooming for the following year.

There is a huge range of flowering plants that can suit the style of your yard. Take a look at the following on ideas that fit the bill:

• Coreopsisis a semi-evergreen perennial that can grow low at six inches or high and bushy at three feet. If you live in the city, you’re in luck. It is good for urban yards as it can tough out pollution. If you deadhead routinely, yellow flowers bloom all summer.
• Plant Daffodils in well-drained, sunny patches of soil. They can have long trumpets or flat flowers and look good 'au naturel' so try planting in irregular groups for that woodland look.
• Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are an evergreen or deciduous perennial. The dormant foliage types do best in Canada. You have a good selection to choose from as Daylily flowers come in gold, yellow, pink or red and may be striped.
• For flower bed edges, try Hosta. It is a herbaceous perennial and does well in partial shade and cool, moist conditions. This pretty plant forms veined or striped mounds or clumps. In the spring, it will delight you with small bell or funnel-shaped flowers.

There is a whole world of flowering shrubs and decorative plants out there for you to explore to make your yard both beautiful and easy to care for. These easy steps will help you make the best choices for your yard.