How to Get Year-Round Color in Nebraska
Want Year-Round Color in Your Yard? Here's How to Actually Get It in Nebraska
"I want color that lasts all season."
I hear this from every single client. And honestly? I get it. Who doesn't want to step outside and see something beautiful happening in their yard, no matter what month it is?
But here's where most people get it wrong: they think year-round color means finding some magical plant that blooms from March through October. Then they get frustrated when their three petunias give up in July, and their yard looks like a brown wasteland by August.
The truth is, year-round color in Nebraska isn't about miracle plants. It's about layering different types of beauty—flowers, foliage, bark, berries, and structure—so something is always putting on a show.
After twenty years of designing landscapes in Nebraska, I can tell you exactly how to build a yard that's never boring. Let me walk you through it.
The Real Secret: Think in Seasons, Not Just Summer
Most people plan their landscaping like they're throwing a summer party. Everything needs to look perfect in July, and screw the other eleven months.
That's backwards.
Spring should wake you up with early color that signals winter is finally over.
Summer should keep you happy with reliable performers that don't quit when it hits 95 degrees.
Fall should knock your socks off with drama that makes you forget summer ever happened.
Winter should give you something beautiful to look at while you're stuck inside planning next year.
When you design for all four seasons from the beginning, you get a landscape that's constantly changing, constantly interesting.
Spring: The "Thank God Winter is Over" Show
March through May: This is when you need plants that bloom before anything else wakes up.
I always tell clients to start with crocuses and daffodils—these little warriors push through the last snow and give you carpets of purple, white, and yellow when everything else is still dead. Daffodils are especially perfect because they naturalize over time, meaning more flowers every year without any work from you.
Then comes forsythia—those bright yellow shrubs that look like sunshine exploded all over your yard. Redbud trees follow with purple-pink flowers on bare branches, and if you want drama, plant some tulips. Bold, dramatic colors in every shade you can imagine.
Late spring brings lilacs (fragrant purple, white, or pink clusters), flowering crabapples (clouds of pink or white), and creeping phlox that carpets the ground in color.
Here's my spring strategy: Plant bulbs in fall for spring color. Focus on early bloomers that give you something to look forward to when everything else is still sleeping.
Summer: The Workhorses That Laugh at Heat
June through August: This is where most people screw up. They choose plants that give them two weeks of spectacular, then months of nothing.
I design with coneflowers (Echinacea) as the backbone—purple, pink, white, orange varieties that bloom from June through September. Add black-eyed Susans (bright yellow daisies that actually get happier in heat), daylilies (every color except blue, and different varieties bloom at different times), and salvia (purple spikes that keep going if you deadhead them).
The supporting cast includes bee balm for butterflies, catmint with purple-blue flowers and gray foliage, Russian sage with silvery leaves and purple-blue spikes, and ornamental grasses that add movement and texture.
My summer strategy: Choose plants with long bloom periods, not flash-in-the-pan show-offs. These plants are built for Nebraska heat and will keep working when other plants give up.
Fall: The Grand Finale That Stops Traffic
September through November: This is when Nebraska really shows off.
Sugar maples turn orange, red, and yellow so bright they literally stop traffic. Burning bush glows red like it's on fire. Oak trees give you yellow, orange, and brown that lasts for weeks, and Virginia creeper covers walls in flames.
Late-season bloomers include asters (purple daisy-like flowers), sedum 'Autumn Joy' (pink flowers that deepen to burgundy), and mums in classic fall colors.
Don't forget berries: serviceberry gives you red to purple clusters, elderberry produces dark purple berries, crabapples hold colorful fruits through fall, and roses develop rose hips in orange and red.
My fall strategy: Don't cut everything back in fall cleanup. Leave ornamental grass plumes and interesting seed heads for winter structure.
Winter: The Forgotten Season That Shouldn't Be
December through February: Most people ignore winter completely, then wonder why their yard looks dead for four months.
Evergreens are your backbone—arborvitae columns, pine trees with interesting cones, juniper with silvery berries, and boxwood for structure. These anchor your landscape when everything else is sleeping.
Interesting bark becomes important: paper birch with white bark and black markings, red-osier dogwood with bright red stems, river birch with peeling cinnamon-colored bark.
Winter berries add pops of color: winterberry holly with bright red berries on bare branches, sumac clusters that last through snow, and juniper berries in blue-gray.
My winter strategy: Plant for winter interest you can see from inside your house. If it doesn't look good from your kitchen window, it's not doing its job.
The Layering Strategy That Makes It All Work
Think of your landscape in three layers:
Layer 1: The Backbone (trees and large shrubs) provides structure and major seasonal changes. Maples for fall color, evergreens for winter, flowering trees for spring.
Layer 2: The Workhorses (perennials and medium shrubs) give you reliable, long-season color. Coneflowers, daylilies, spirea, ornamental grasses.
Layer 3: The Accents (bulbs, annuals, small details) provide seasonal highlights and flexibility. Spring bulbs, summer annuals, fall mums, winter containers.
The Mistakes That Kill Year-Round Color
Mistake #1: All spring, no follow-through. Gorgeous display in May, then nothing until fall.
The fix: Plan summer bloomers to take over when spring flowers fade.
Mistake #2: Cutting everything back too early in the name of "cleanup."
The fix: Leave ornamental grasses, seed heads, and berries for winter interest.
Mistake #3: Ignoring foliage color and focusing only on flowers.
The fix: Choose plants with interesting leaves—burgundy, silver, chartreuse, variegated.
Mistake #4: No evergreen structure.
The fix: Include evergreen trees and shrubs so your landscape doesn't look completely dead in winter.
The Nebraska Reality Check
Our growing season is short—make every month count with overlapping bloom times.
Our winters are long—don't ignore winter interest because you'll be looking at it for months.
Our weather is unpredictable—choose reliable performers over finicky show-offs.
Our soil is challenging—focus on plants adapted to clay soil and climate extremes.
The Bottom Line
Year-round color isn't about finding miracle plants that bloom for eight months. It's about understanding that different plants shine at different times, and layering them so something is always putting on a show.
Plan for all four seasons from the beginning, and you'll have a landscape that's never boring.
Because life's too short for yards that only look good in May.
💛 Ready for a landscape that's beautiful every month of the year?
📲 Let's design your 4-season color plan → [link]
📍 Serving homeowners who want year-round beauty in Elkhorn, Bennington, Gretna, West Omaha + surrounding areas
Because great landscapes are designed for 12 months, not just 2.