Would you like to create a little excitement in your shrub border or wake up to a showy summer-flowering tree? As I look around, there is little remaining from the spring bloomers to inspire me or catch my attention.

A little exploring of other landscapes and browsing through the books has led to a list of candidates to provide summer color. Flowers of most colors grab my attention as well as the colored foliage of several shrubs and trees.

The purple of the new pink loropetalums' leaves duplicates that of the purple smoke tree leaves. What a great complementary team to put together!

Pink loropetalums are spectacular in spring. With tiny, strap-shaped, pink petals, their masses of blooms cover the entire 6- to 10-foot shrub.

The purple foliage is usually strongest on the new growth. However, Ruby (a small-leafed, shorter selection) and Zhuzhou Fuchsia (an upright potential tree form) maintain strong purple color all season long.

The purple smoke tree grows to 15 feet and blooms in early summer. Its airy masses of tiny flowers resemble billows of pink smoke just above the leaves.

Barberry is an arching, 3- to 6-foot shrub for full sun with small leaves in green, yellow, red or purple. Rose Glow produces new leaves which are streaked pink, cream and purple that mature to reddish color. When combined with the golden barberry, a bright yellow-leafed form, the contrast creates a strong color accent.

The dwarf Crimson Pygmy barberry reaches 2 feet tall and can be used in front of the golden-leafed form.

For a trouble-free flowering shrub, abelia is unbeatable. Glossy abelia reaches 6 to 8 feet with small, white flowers all summer.

The selection Edward Goucher is smaller at 4-plus feet and has small, pink flowers. Both are semievergreen with small, glossy leaves. Bees visit the blooms, so place them away from traffic off the edges of walks and patios.

An old-time favorite for summer blooms is shrub althea or rose of Sharon. The newer releases by the National Arboretum are hybrids 8 to 10 feet tall, with thicker petals and leaves. They're also sterile and produce no seed, so you have no seedlings to weed.

The 4-inch flowers begin in midsummer and continue into fall. Diana is pure white with waxy, dark green leaves. Aphrodite is dark pink with a dark red center, while Helene is white with a purple eye in the center of the blossom. These shrubs flower best in full sun but will keep blooming in partial shade.

Finally, consider the chaste tree, also known as vitex. Chaste tree is a large shrub to a multistemmed, small tree. It begins flowering in early summer with light to dark blue spikes of blooms.

The plant thrives in hot weather and full sun. The soft, green- gray foliage makes a nice contrast for the abundant blooms. Plants are drought-tolerant once established and are pest-free.

These few selections will help add summer color to your landscape.

Select plants with yellow or purple foliage to create a season- long effect. Flowers are often much shorter in their duration, but shrubs that reflower, such as abulia and rose of Sharon, create long seasonal interest.

Let's liven up our summer landscape with new and interesting shrubs and trees.