Growing native plants with year round interest is one of the easiest ways to create a garden that looks gorgeous through every season. Plus, natives are often better adapted to your area's environmental conditions so are easier to maintain. These 18 native trees, shrubs, and perennials offer plenty of color and texture from spring to winter.
American Elderberry
American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is a deciduous native shrub that bears butterfly-attracting clusters of fragrant white flowers for a month in early summer. Large clusters of edible dark purple to black berries add appeal in fall and winter. Want to harvest the berries for pie- or jam-making? Plant 'Adams' and a pollinator variety, such as 'John's', for a bountiful fruit crop.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; medium to wet well-drained soil
Zones: 3-9
Size: 5-12 feet high and wide
Native Range: Eastern North America
Beautyberry
The long arched branches of beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) bear dense clusters of lavender flowers from June through August. Ornamental clusters of purple berries that circle the branches follow in fall and persist into winter.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; moist clay or sandy soil amended with organic matter
Size: 3-6 feet high and wide
Zones: 6-10
Native Range: Southeastern United States
Chokeberry
The deciduous chokeberry shrub (Aronia arbutifolia) bears pinkish-white flowers in early spring and glossy green leaves, which turn bright red in autumn. Dense clusters of glossy, vivid red fruits ripen in late summer and persist well into winter. 'Brilliantissima' is a more-compact variety that produces lots of big, shiny fruit and high-gloss foliage that flames to flamboyant red in autumn.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; average well-drained soil
Size: 6-10 feet high; 3-6 feet wide
Zones: 4-9
Native Range: Eastern North America
Christmas Fern
Silvery fiddleheads of Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) rising from woodland floors in spring unfurl into leathery evergreen fronds forming fountain-like clumps. The plant, which remains green through winter in most areas, got its name because early settlers brought the fronds inside as holiday decorations.
Growing Conditions: Part to full shade; organically rich dry to medium-moist well-drained soils
Size: 1-2 feet tall and wide
Zones: 3-9
Native Range: Eastern North America
Dwarf Fothergilla
Dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) is prized for its white, bottlebrushlike spikes of fragrant spring flowers and spectacular fall foliage. This compact shrub can be tucked into a perennial border or a narrow foundation planting.
Growing Conditions: Full to part sun; rich, moist, acidic soil
Size: 1 to 3 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide
Zones: 5-8
Native Range: Southeastern U.S.
Eastern Redbud
Redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) produce bright pinkish-purple flowers in early spring, weeks before leaves appear on the branches. Reddish-purple seedpods follow, as do pretty heart-shaped leaves that shift to yellow in autumn; horizontal branches create a striking silhouette that pops against snowy vistas.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; medium-moist, well-drained soil
Size: 20-30 feet tall; 25-35 feet wide
Zones: 4-8
Native Range: North and Central America
Fragrant Sumac
This drought-tolerant shrub bears small yellow flowers in spring, followed by shiny leaves that turn fiery in late fall. Vibrant orange and red fruits persist into winter, bringing color to wintry scenes. The 'Gro-low' variety of fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) makes a good groundcover; it maxes out at 3 feet in height but stretches to 8 feet wide.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; dry to medium- moist well-drained soil
Size: 2-6 feet tall; 6-10 feet wide
Zones: 3-9
Native Range: Southeastern Canada to Southern and Eastern United States
Indian Grass
This upright, clumping blue-green grass is remarkable for its 6-foot stems crowned with feathery brown seed heads that persist through winter. The foliage of Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) changes to orange-yellow in fall, adding to the show.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; average, dry to medium-moist well-drained soil
Size: 3-5 feet tall; 1-2 feet wide
Zones: 4-9
Native Range: Eastern and Central United States
Joe Pye Weed
Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) is a vigorous native perennial that starts off with dark new foliage in spring, then begins to produce its vanilla-scented pink flowers in summer. In fall, it's in full bloom, attracting butterflies and other pollinators. The dried flower heads add interest to the winter landscape.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; average to moist, well-drained soil
Size: 5-7 feet tall
Zones: 3-10
Native Range: Eastern and Central North America
Little Bluestem
This finely textured drought-tolerant grass has big ornamental appeal. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) forms dense clumps of blue-green leaves that flame to reddish-orange in autumn and colorfully energize winter's dreariest days. Feathery silver seed heads appearing in late summer and early fall double the plant's wintertime appeal.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; average, dry to medium-moist well-drained soil
Size: 2-4 feet tall; 1-2 feet high
Zones: 3-9
Native Range: Eastern North America
Ninebark
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is a distinctive upright shrub that has it all: lushly colored leaves that darken from bright chartreuse to burgundy; pinkish-white, nectar-rich flowers in late spring that feed pollinators; late-season seed heads that draw in birds; and noteworthy exfoliating bark that stands out on winter-bare branches and trunks.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to light shade; moist to well-drained soil; tolerates sandy or clay soils
Size: 5-8 feet tall; 4-8 wide
Zones: 2-7
Native Range: Central and Eastern North America
Oakleaf Hydrangea
As its name implies, oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) sport large leaves resembling those of an oak tree. Bushy plants produce very showy white panicle flowers that turn pink as summer ends. Leaves shift to bronze, crimson, and purple in autumn. Browning flower heads and cinnamon-hued exfoliating bark draw attention in winter.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; average to medium-moist well-drained, organically rich soil
Size: 4-6 feet tall and wide
Zones: 5-9
Native Range: Southeastern United States
Purple Coneflower
This drought-tolerant perennial bears purplish-pink flowers with spiky orange centers in July and August. Leave the drying seed heads of purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) standing to feed overwintering birds and add structure and texture to winter gardens.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; average, dry to medium well-drained soil
Size: 2-5 feet tall; 18-24 inches wide
Zones: 3-8
Native Range: Eastern North America
Pussy Willow
This multistem shrub makes its big (and trademark) statement in late winter when it produces silky catkins. Male pussy willow (Salix discolor) shrubs generate showier silvery gray catkins; female shrubs bear smaller underwhelming greenish catkins. Blue-green leaves follow in spring and turn greenish-yellow in the fall. Plant pussy willows in moist sites where other plants might not grow.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; average to wet soil
Size: 6-15 feet tall; 4-12 feet wide
Zones: 4-8
Native Range: North America
Rattlesnake Master
This architectural plant has a rosette of spiky leaves that resembles a yucca plant and produces bristly silvery blue thistle-type flowers on tall stems. The flower heads of rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) turn bronze in fall and can be left standing for winter interest and as a food source for birds. Use this unique plant to add vertical structure and coarse textures to both riotous cottage gardens and formal border gardens.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; average, dry to medium well-drained soil
Size: 4-5 feet tall; 2-3 inches wide
Zones: 3-8
Native Range: United States
River Birch
The river birch (Betula nigra) is a tree for all seasons and a variety of moist planting sites. The medium-sized tree sports a rounded canopy of long diamond-shaped leaves (which turn yellow in fall) and catkinlike flowers. The trunks, which boast exfoliating reddish-brown bark atop lighter inner bark, offer fascinating texture every month of the year.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist acidic soil, but tolerates other soils
Size: 40-70 feet tall; 40-60 feet wide
Zones: 4-9
Native Range: Eastern United States
Serviceberry
Need a small tree with curb appeal in almost every season? Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) is a beautiful native that has white flowers in spring, followed by small, edible, red or purple fruits in summer. Its spectacular bright red and orange fall foliage lingers late into the season.
Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; average soil
Size: 15-30 feet tall
Zones: 4-8
Native Range: Eastern North America
Washington Hawthorn
A rapidly growing shade tree, Washington hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) produces white flowers in spring and forms a compact rounded crown of dark green leaves that turn scarlet in autumn. Red berries persist through winter to feed overwintering birds and provide punches of color up high in the landscape.
Growing Conditions: Full sun; well-drained soil
Size: 25-30 feet high and wide
Zones: 3-8
Native Range: Southeastern United States
