The Middle Layer

Abelia flowers nonstop from late spring to frost, feeds pollinators daily, and shrugs off Alabama heat, drought, and poor soil without complaint.Abelia is a tough, semi-evergreen shrub covered in small tubular white or pink flowers for months at a stretch, with foliage that often...

American Beautyberry stuns in fall with clusters of electric-purple berries lining its arching branches - a native favorite for birds.American Beautyberry is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and...

Encore azaleas bloom in spring, then again in summer and fall, giving you three flowering seasons from one evergreen shrub.Encore azaleas are reblooming evergreen azaleas bred for the South, flowering heavily in spring and repeating on new growth through summer and into fall. They...

Bridal Wreath Spirea cascades with arching branches draped in pure-white spring blossoms - a nostalgic, carefree flowering shrub.Bridal Wreath Spirea Bare-Root Shrub is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Available in Bare-Root...

Butterfly bush throws long nectar-loaded flower spikes from early summer to frost and pulls in swallowtails, hummingbirds, and bees all day.Butterfly bush is a fast, sun-loving shrub whose arching stems carry fragrant flower panicles in purple, pink, white, or blue for months. Deadheading keeps...

A fall-blooming evergreen shrub that's a cornerstone of the Southern garden.Sasanqua Camellia flowers in fall and early winter with rose-like blooms on a glossy evergreen shrub - perfect for Alabama hedges, borders, and foundations. Offered in 1-Gallon Pot and 3-Gallon Pot, shipped well-rooted from...

Carolina jessamine covers a fence or mailbox in fragrant yellow trumpets in late winter, then stays glossy and evergreen all year.Alabama's own native twining vine, Carolina jessamine blankets itself in bright yellow, sweetly scented flowers from February into April while holding narrow evergreen leaves...

Clematis climbs a trellis or lamppost and opens saucer-sized flowers in purple, pink, red, or white through the warm months.Clematis is the classic flowering vine, with large single or double blooms held on wiry stems that scramble up any support you give them. The...

Confederate jasmine turns a fence into a wall of glossy evergreen leaves, then perfumes the whole yard with white pinwheel flowers in May.Also sold as star jasmine, this evergreen twining vine carries thick, dark leaves year-round and erupts in intensely fragrant white flowers in...

Get a jump on the queen of Southern summer - this Crape Myrtle starter will bloom for months in vivid clusters with handsome peeling bark.Crape Myrtle Bare-Root Starter is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and...

Flowering quince lights up the bare end of winter with scarlet, coral, or white blossoms on leafless branches weeks before anything else opens.Flowering quince is an old Southern dooryard shrub that blooms in late winter, long before its leaves appear, and its cut branches...

Forsythia is one of the first shrubs to announce spring, exploding into brilliant golden-yellow blooms before its leaves appear.Forsythia Bare-Root Starter Shrub is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Available in Bare-Root...

Gardenias produce creamy white blooms whose fragrance carries across an entire porch, set against thick, glossy evergreen leaves year-round.Gardenia is the signature fragrant shrub of the Deep South, flowering heavily in late spring with scattered rebloom through summer on many varieties. It wants acidic...

Hydrangeas deliver massive, romantic flower heads all summer - in blues, pinks, and whites - and anchor shady borders with lush foliage.Hydrangeas are beloved flowering shrubs prized for their big, long-lasting blooms in blue, pink, and white. Easy and rewarding, they light up part-shade...

The Knock Out Rose is the ultimate low-maintenance rose - disease-resistant and self-cleaning, it blooms nonstop from spring to frost.Knock Out Rose Bare-Root Plant is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Available...

Loropetalum holds burgundy-purple foliage every day of the year and covers itself in hot pink fringe flowers each spring.Chinese fringe flower is an evergreen shrub grown as much for its deep plum or burgundy leaves as for the shaggy pink blooms that cover it...

Mountain laurel opens clusters of cupped pink and white flowers in late spring above leathery evergreen leaves that hold their looks all winter.Mountain laurel is a native evergreen of Appalachian slopes, prized for intricately marked flowers and handsome year-round foliage. Be honest with yourself...

Ninebark gives you burgundy, gold, or lime foliage from spring to fall, white flower clusters in May, and peeling winter bark.Ninebark is a native, four-season shrub grown mainly for its colored foliage, with clusters of white or pink flowers in late spring and shredding,...

Rose of Sharon delivers big tropical-looking hibiscus flowers from midsummer to frost, exactly when most flowering shrubs have quit for the year.Rose of Sharon is an upright deciduous shrub that blooms through the hottest part of the season in white, pink, lavender, or blue,...

Tea olive scents an entire yard with apricot-sweet fragrance in fall and spring while working year-round as a dense evergreen screen.Tea olive, or sweet olive, is a broadleaf evergreen with small, inconspicuous cream flowers that carry an extraordinary fragrance across long distances. It grows...