There is still time to get new plants in the ground. And the delights of new spring shrubs in your landscape will reward your labors.

Some new introductions can be used as beautiful flowering backgrounds behind annual and perennial beds. They can act as single specimens or as stand-alone shrub borders.

Pink Chinese Loropetalum

One new shrub, the pink flowering Chinese loropetalum, is taking the state by storm. These shrubs will be covered with small, hot-pink flowers and reddish purple new growth in March and April. New flowers will develop sporadically during the rest of the year.

These shrubs are evergreen, cold-hardy, drought-tolerant and pest-resistant. However, they do get to be large, 10 to 12 feet tall and two-thirds as wide.

Fortunately, they're very tolerant of pruning, so we can control their height and spread. And they grow well in full sun or partial shade.

Mohawk Viburnum

If you'd like to add fragrance to your spring, consider Mohawk viburnum. The early spring flowers open before the leaves and have a clove-like aroma.

The flowers start in mid-March as small, deep-red buds. These open as pale pink flowers that turn white with age. The color and fragrance last nearly two weeks.

This deciduous shrub reaches 6 to 8 feet tall and nearly as wide. The glossy green leaves emerge after the flowers and turn orange to wine red in the fall.

Mohawk viburnum is hardy in zones 5 to 8 and grows in full sun to partial shade in moist, well-drained soils. Prune it conservatively to encourage branching.

Alice oakleaf hydrangea

For late-spring color, consider an Alice oakleaf hydrangea for a floral showpiece. The spectacular white spikes grow up to 14 inches tall and 6 inches wide against bold, dark-green foliage.

The blooms last, fading to a rosy pink and then brown. Alice has a rich burgundy fall color before the leaves drop.

This plant requires some shade, well-drained soils and room to grow. It gets 10 to 12 feet tall and nearly as wide. Plant it in the back of the border or on the edge of the woods where it gets afternoon shade. To reduce the plant size, prune it after blooming is complete in early summer.

Mt. Airy fothergilla

Another spring delight is the Mt. Airy fothergilla. The 3- to 5-foot deciduous shrub has each branch tip covered with honey-scented white bottle brushes dancing in the breeze.

The gray-green leaves are tough and leathery, turning red, yellow to orange in the fall. The plants grow in sun or shade. And they're pest-free and drought-tolerant.

Use Mt. Airy fothergilla as a foreground shrub in front of an evergreen or as a mass or drift in the shrub border.

These spring flowering shrubs give us flowers, fragrance, summer foliage and some outstanding fall color. Now is the time to plant them and get some root growth before the spring floral show starts. You can add some spring beauty to your garden yet this winter.