in my area (east central Alabama), we can almost achieve that effect with only one genus - rhododendron ( the azaleas). by using the evergreen types as well as the deciduous natives and their hybrids, you can have color (and some fragrance) from late february (one of mine actually came out in january this year due to warm weather) through september when r. prunifolium blooms. of course, late july and august are the time that are normally devoid of those flowers but other shrubs (blooms or colorful foliage) can be seen during those periods.

camellias are used similarly during our mild winters. they have been more full of blooms this past dec. and jan. than i have seen in a long time. .... then it got really cold and i see a lot of brown now!

be nice to know where you are ...

and the sequence in which plants bloom ...

and of course.. pix ...

i would include some of the flowering trees... in the equation ... like redbud ...

ken

Sorry about that, I am in Atlanta. The sequence has been abelia, knockout roses which of course bloom the longest. Followed by camellias in the fall/winter and then finally Winter Daphne. It is nice to have year round color!

up north here in MI .... from what i can recall in the dead of winter...

forsythia... redbud.. quince ... star magnolia... saucer magnolia... lilac ..... crab apples .......

summer would be the spireas ... daphne.. mock orange ... caryopteris ...

will add more if and when i think of them ...

ken

ps: forgot flowering cherry.. the DC cherry kwanzan, etc... and flowering almond ...

sheesh .... i left out rhodies and azalea ... go figure

ken