9 Designer-Approved Trees and Shrubs That Don't Have an Off-Season – Bringing Color and Beauty to Your Yard, Even in Winter
Bark, berries, foliage and texture hold the eye long after blooms fade
Creating a garden that shines in every season isn’t just about choosing plants that bloom at different times. It’s about building a landscape with layers. Bark, berries, changing foliage and evergreen textures that come before, during and after the growing season’s burst of colorful flowers.
The bonus of a four-season yard is that the trees and shrubs, in particular, provide food and shelter for the birds, beneficial insects and other creatures that share this world with us. Evergreens provide much-needed shelter, while dried cones and seed heads offer winter sustenance.
To help you plan a garden full of year-round interest, we asked three garden experts to share suggestions for trees and shrubs that shine in the garden no matter the season. Combine these top picks with other backyard ideas for designing your outdoor space and you’ll want to spend all your time alfresco, no matter the season.
How to achieve four-season interest with trees and shrubs
We spoke to three design experts to recommend trees and shrubs that’ll bring elegance and interest to your landscape year round. As you choose the ones that are the right fit for your yard, keep these design tips in mind.
Lead with structure: Start by establishing the backbone of the garden using conifers, evergreen shrubs, and trees with strong form. These anchor the design and keep the landscape visually engaging even in winter.
Layer for depth: Think in four dimensions to combine plants of different heights, textures, shapes and time to prevent a flat, one-dimensional look.
Use mass plantings for impact: Shrubs like twig dogwoods or groundcovers gain visual strength in groups, creating color blocks and dramatic sweeps in the landscape.
Prioritize texture before color: Foliage texture adds richness and interest year-round. Once you understand texture, add color accents for enhanced visual drama.
1. Coral Bark Japanese Maple
- Botanical Name: Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku'
- USDA Zones: 5-9
- Height: 15-25 ft.
- Spread: 10-20 ft.
- Seasonal Attributes: Spring color, summer elegance, fiery fall color, striking winter bark
If there’s a plant that signals year-round interest, it’s the Coral Bark Japanese maple. Known for its brilliant coral-red branches, the effect is especially dramatic in winter when the landscape is bare.
But it doesn’t stop there. Megan McConnell, Plant Information Director of Monrovia Nursery, loves its multi-season beauty: ‘Apart from its coral bark, it also gets great fall color. Something I love in spring is that new foliage still has that coral color.’
Plant it where the low winter sun can shine off its bark. This tree deserves a high-visibility spot near a window or seating area where you can gaze upon it.
You can find a beautiful array of live Coral Bark Japanese Maples on Amazon.
2. Sourwood
- Botanical Name: Oxydendrum arboreum
- USDA Zones: 5-9
- Height: 20-30 ft.
- Spread: 10-15 ft.
- Seasonal Attributes: Summer blooms, wonderful fall color, supports pollinators, graceful shape
A native standout for every season, the sourwood or sorrel tree brings elegant structure to the garden. In summer, fragrant white flowers that attract pollinators seemingly drip down its canopy.
In fall, the foliage turns a blazing red and crimson, and is one of the finest autumn shows in the plant world, according to landscape designer Jan Johnsen, Principal of Johnsen Landscapes & Pools in Westchester County, New York.
‘It’s a native tree that I love; sourwood has the most fabulous fall color. It’s not too tall, and it tolerates half shade conditions, perfect for woodland gardens.’
Even in winter, its branching pattern provides quiet architectural beauty, making it a quintessential four-season tree.
Find live Sourwood specimens on Amazon.
3. Paper Bush
- Botanical Name: Edgeworthia chrysantha
- USDA Zones: 7-10
- Height: 4-6 ft.
- Spread: 4-6 ft.
- Seasonal Attributes: Spring blooms, winter fragrance, summer foliage, unique sculptural form
Few shrubs offer such a surprise in the coldest months. Edgeworthia blooms on bare stems in February and March with creamy white clusters accented in yellow, and the fragrance is unforgettable.
Jay Sifford of Jay Sifford Garden Design raves about it: ‘It blooms on bare stems and it smells like gardenias in February and March. To have something that blooms on bare branches in February and smells like gardenias is pretty unexpected, too.’
In spring white flowers with yellow centers form clusters that hang downward, appearing to Jay as some many little wasps’ nests.
Once in leaf, the plant forms a full, handsome shrub for summer, then drops foliage in fall to reveal its beautifully branching framework. Plant Edgeworthia near a path where you’ll appreciate its winter scent.
Find live Edgeworthia chrysantha plants on Amazon.
4. Winter King Hawthorn
- Botanical Name: Crataegus viridis 'Winter King'
- USDA Zones: 4-7
- Height: 20-35 ft.
- Spread: 20-35 ft.
- Seasonal Attributes: Spring flowers, textured bark, red fruit through winter, four-season structure
Winter King Hawthorn earns its crown when it’s cold. Spring’s clouds of white flowers, and is followed by a summer abundance of glossy dark-green leaves. In fall, the tree fills with orange-red fruits.
And unlike many other trees, ‘It holds on to its berries way into the winter,’ Jan notes. ‘That’s why they call it Winter King.’ And because of this, Winter King is a must for feeding wildlife through winter.
It’s also a must for that cheerful pop of color it adds to the garden. Even its bark offers beauty: silvery-gray and gently exfoliating for refined year-round texture.
5. Ember Waves Western Arborvitae
- Botanical Name: Thuja x 'Mon Pin’ Ember Waves
- USDA Zones: 4-8
- Height: 20-35 ft.
- Spread: 20-35 ft.
- Seasonal Attributes: Golden spring foliage, orange fall tones, ideal hedge form in all seasons
Conifers are invaluable for a four-season garden because they deliver shape and color even in the grayest months.
‘Ember Waves’ is an extraordinary example of that; soft golden foliage in spring and summer, deepening to richer golds and oranges in fall.
‘We think of conifers as always looking the same,’ Megan says, ‘but there are ones that change color. Ember Waves has that beautiful golden foliage, and then it can get this bright orange, really lovely color in fall.’
Use it as either a hedge or specimen plant. Its warm tones contrast beautifully with blues and greens of other conifers.
6. Twig Dogwoods
- Botanical Name: Cornus sericea and cultivars
- USDA Zones: 2-8
- Height: 6-10 ft.
- Spread: 8-12 ft.
- Seasonal Attributes: Bold winter color, refined summer foliage, subtle flowers, mass plantings
Nothing dismisses a too-gray winter better than the brightly colored stems of twig dogwoods. Available in red, yellow, or orange stems, they glow when backlit by low winter sunlight and are especially striking against snow.
Jay recommends planting them en masse, saying ‘It almost looks like a bonfire when you’re looking at them from a distance; they really come into their own mid fall to early spring.'
Because the bright bark appears on first-year growth, Jay advises to prune a third of the stems or more each year in late winter to early spring to keep the color strong.
Find live twig dogwood plants in various stem colors on Amazon.
7. Oakleaf Hydrangea
- Botanical Name: Hydrangea quercifolia
- USDA Zones: 5-9
- Height: 6-8 ft.
- Spread: 6-8ft.
- Seasonal attributes: Four-season foliage, summer blooms, fall color, winter bark
According to Jan Johnsen, oakleaf hydrangea is the rare shrub that offers major interest in every season.
In summer, large conical white flowers fill the shrub like so many inverted ice cream cones. In fall, its leaves turn deep burgundy, red, and purple.
Winter’s leafless appearance highlights the shrub’s peeling textured bark. And in spring, new foliage emerges with a soft, new-leaf green.
‘They are my favorite,’ Jan says. ‘They hold on to their flowers, then the flowers change and there’s beautiful fall color.’ Plant it where the evolving blooms can be appreciated up close.
You can find live Oakleaf Hydrangea plants on Amazon.
8. Crepe Myrtle
- Botanical Name: Lagerstroemia indica
- USDA Zones: 7-9
- Height: 15-25 ft.
- Spread: 6-15 ft.
- Seasonal attributes: Colorful fall foliage, summer blooms, winter bark, fresh spring foliage
Crepe myrtle earns its spot on this list thanks to bark, bloom and exceptional seasonal color. Its smooth, exfoliating bark reveals artistic mottling. It is striking in winter when the plant is bare. Spring brings fresh foliage, followed by deepening greens through early summer. In many regions, crape myrtles bloom later than most flowering trees.
'Crape myrtles are always wonderful,' says Megan. 'They’re really late bloomers, so that’s great for extending the bloom season.'
Fall color then takes over, with leaves shifting into warm reds and oranges before dropping and revealing the sculptural multi-trunk form.
You can find live Crepe Myrtle plants on Amazon.
9. Contorted Filbert
- Botanical Name: Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’
- USDA Zones: 4-8
- Height: 8-10 ft.
- Spread: 8-10 ft.
- Seasonal attributes: Spring catkins, pleated summer leaves, yellow fall foliage, sculptural winter branches
A plant that brings character into any garden, contorted filbert, or Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ (also known as Harry Lauder’s walking stick) shines when its twisting branches are bare.
Contorted filbert is a living sculpture that adds whimsy and drama to any space. Jay puts it perfectly: ‘I love trees that raise arthritis to an art form.’
In spring, dangling catkins add movement and soft yellow color. Summer brings large, pleated leaves, and fall ends the season with warm yellow foliage.
Find live Contorted Filbert plants at Nature Hills.
Four-season gardens are the perfect opportunity to honor native trees and shrubs. They support wildlife, adapt well to local conditions, and contribute to ecological balance while offering reliable seasonal performance.
With the right mix of plants and thoughtful placement your garden will look vibrant and dynamic every season of the year. These designer-approved plants offer the perfect foundation for a landscape that continually evolves and delights season after season.
Meet our experts
Megan McConnell is Plant Information Director at Monrovia Nursery Company. After getting her Bachelors of Science in horticulture at Oregon State University, she began her horticultural career as a landscape designer before joining Monrovia in 2016.
Jan Johnsen is a principal of Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, a design/build firm in Westchester County, New York. She is an admired landscape designer and author. She was the 2019 recipient of the prestigious ‘Award of Distinction’ from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. Jan shares her thoughts and informative tips on plants and garden design on her Substack page, Gardentopia.
Jay Sifford is a garden designer, writer, speaker and frequent podcast guest who believes great gardens are built of four cornerstones: art, magic, story and horticulture. He has a love affair with plants, but also approaches garden design from a psychological, philosophical and spiritual standpoint. Named 'North Carolina's Most Outstanding Landscape Designer 2021' by LuxLife magazine, he has won numerous awards by Houzz and a Perennial Plant Association award of merit in 2024 for his personal garden.
