Beginner Gardening: Showy, flowery shrub for Dayton OH (zone 5)?, 1 by skiekitty

skiekitty wrote:
ColoEver - You really can't go wrong with the spirea - I went all over town last year looking for the Magic Carpet. I love that one because the way the leaves come out. I'm not too interested in the flowers (little medium pink), but the growth starts out a vibrant red, then fades to a deep green. And it grows from the top, down, so you always have red & green leaves all over the plant.. then in fall, it turns a vibrant red all over! All & all, a very pretty plant! Depending on where in town you are, I can point you to some really great nurseries. Also I had the best luck finding them at Home Depot! Yay! They require very little care & grow moderately quickly, but not to get too big (like 2x2). The Neon Flash is more of a green spirea, but, in mid summer, the flowers come out & they're a hot pink! I have one of those that is very badly abused, but blooms every year! Butterfly bushes need a teeny bit more care, but they smell so WONDERFUL! when in bloom.. and they can bloom FOREVER! There's so many different types now and they're not TOO bad in price. I honestly think that Nicks Garden (in Aurora, off of Evans & Chambers) has the best selection of Butterfly bushes. Lilacs are a one-trick-pony, but they have such a heavenly smell.. and you can't kill 'em. LOL! I love the Charles Joly as it's a deep magenta color, rather than the purple. Some smaller plants are the delpheniums... I have this one delphenium (probably misspelling it) that seeded itself, is a vibrant blue, and lasts FOREVER! Russian Sage you can't go wrong with if you have a hot, sunny area that you feel like not watering at all. Same with Hyssops.. they have different colors of hyssops, but my favorite is the Coronado, which smells like rootbeer & is a salmon color! These are all readily available at nurseries, and you can get the Russian Sage @ Home Depot. I have no luck with Lowes.

I hope this gives you some ideas! :)