Evergreens are of the essence to achieving varied grain and form , as well as the key to any successful four - season garden . Unfortunately , many gardeners would put a circumstances of evergreen plant in the “ necessary but boring ” category . They are a backdrop , the much - needed verdure during colder month , but never the garden star that steal the show .

The plants below might just change your idea about the low evergreen . These leafage all - sensation can be call anything but irksome . From beautiful blooms to colorful foliage and pops of promising berries , all of these evergreens have that little something extra .

1. ‘Katsura’ Japanese Andromeda

Pieris japonica‘Katsura’

Zones:6–8

Size:7 to 9 feet grandiloquent and 5 to 6 metrical unit panoptic

stipulation : Partial shade ; moist , well - drained , acid soil

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Ask nursery raiser which is their favorite Japanese andromeda , and they will describe ‘ Katsura’—no faltering . The early natural spring flower of most andromeda flora are white , but ‘ Katsura ’ produces rose - pinkish blossoms . Even better than the marvellous , cascade blossom clusters is the color explosion that comes from the new shoot growth . shoot emerge in intense shades of burgundy red ( pictured ) , producing a cloak of colour across the airfoil of the flora and later mature to a glossy , dismal green . constitute this deer - resistive cultivar in nuance , because hot , sunny locations will go to lacebug infestations .

2. Blue Princess®Meserve Holly

Ilex×meserveae‘Conapry’

Zones:5–9

Size:8 to 10 feet magniloquent and wide

term : Full Lord’s Day ; moist , well - drain , acidic soil

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Blue Princess ® meserve holly is arguably one of the top woody works – breeding achievement of the last 50 long time . No alien to U.S. landscape gardening , it is still one of the best broadleaf evergreens for widespread use in the Northeast . You simply ca n’t beat the combination of glossy , dismal fleeceable leave , fecund red - berry production , dense substance abuse , overall sound performance under a mountain chain of landscape conditions , and dependable wintertime hardiness . You ’ll require a male pollinator such as Blue Prince ® (I.×meserveae‘Conablu ’ ) nearby to ensure near fruit set on Blue Princess ® plants .

3. ‘Landmark’ Rhododendron

Rhododendron‘Landmark’

Size:10 foot grandiloquent and 6 foundation wide

Conditions : Full Lord’s Day to partial nicety ; moist , well - drained , acidic soil

Accurately describing the flower color on this small - leaved rhododendron can be a minute tricky , but you will screw it disregardless . From a distance , the May flowers appear to be almost ruby , but up nigh they morph into more of an acute , deep fuchsia pink . ‘ Landmark ’ is vigorous , bloom heavily at a immature years , performs well in full Sunday , tolerates Laputan sites , and display excellent cold hardiness . In winter , you get contribute interest from the foliage , which changes to a dark bronze - mahogany . Judicious pruning to head back excessively rumbustious shoot can be used to contain the plant if desired .

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4. ‘Cree’ Leatherleaf Viburnum

Viburnum rhytidophyllum‘Cree’

Size:8 feet magniloquent and broad

status : Partial shade ; well - drained soil

If you are looking to add a broadleaf evergreen that deliver a unlike face from most other options , then give ‘ Cree ’ leatherleaf viburnum a try . The 6 - column inch by 2 - inch heavily wrinkled leaves do n’t seem to belong on a plant life that can tolerate our Northeast wintertime ; alternatively , they have a more tropical facial expression about them . The leafage are dark dark-green on the upper open and are dissemble in a feltlike stratum of yellow or gray tomentum cerebri ( bull ) underneath . ‘ Cree ’ provide multiseason landscape interest through its yellowish bloodless blossom bunch in May , fall fruits that change from red to fateful , and typical and stately twelvemonth - round foliage .

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Mark Brand is a professor of gardening at the University of Connecticut .

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Cree Leatherleaf Viburnum

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Blue Princess Meserve Holly

Photo: Kerry Ann Moore

Landmark Rhododendron

Photo: Bill Johnson

Cree Leatherleaf Viburnum

Photo: Danielle Sherry

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