When choosing trees and shrubs for your garden, consider all their parts — branches, flowers, bark, fruit, and foliage — and what color and texture they bring to your design. Bark adds color and texture to your yard — an important feature in wintry landscapes. Many trees and shrubs also produce colorful fruit that remains attractive long after the petals have fallen. Foliage, however, offers the greatest opportunity for bringing color into your site. You can find a wide range of shrubs and trees with colorful foliage.

Place shrubs and trees with complementary, colored foliage together to create depth and contrast. The most useful trees and shrubs combine several appealing features for year-round interest. A shrub that blooms for one week a year is less valuable than one that blooms and offers attractive foliage or bark, for example. If you have room on your site for only a few plants, choose those that offer decorative form, texture, and color in at least three seasons of the year.