Much has been written about creating lower maintenance gardens by cutting back on annuals and perennials in favor of flowering shrubs.  If you choose your shrubs wisely, with thought given to heights, foliage textures and bloom times, you can create a lovely layout and even have plenty of flowering branches for indoor arrangements.  The following three genera (groups of related shrub species) are among those that should be key players in any flowering shrub landscape:

Viburnum: This large group of plants is indispensable for summer flowers, fall and winter fruits and sometimes, autumn color.  I love the intensely fragrant Viburnum carlesii (Korean spice viburnum), with intensely fragrant white spring flowers and shiny black fruits.  A smaller carlesii, V. carlesii 'Compacta', has all the wonderful characteristics of the larger variety, but only grows to be three feet tall.  Viburnum trilobum, sometimes known as the American cranberry bush, is another great plant.  It also has white flowers and bright red fruits that attract birds.  The foliage colors up in the fall, turning red as well.   

 Hydrangea: There are all kinds of hydrangea out there, and more seem to arrive in the marketplace every day.  I especially love the quercifolias or oakleaf hydrangeas (above).  Their somewhat conical flower panicles start out white, age to pink and look good fresh or dried.  The leaves, which really do resemble oak leaves, turn a gorgeous crimson in the fall.  Most everyone also loves the mophead varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla), especially the newer hybrids, like 'Endless Summer', that bloom on bothnew and old wood.  Some of the more compact mopheads are perfect for containers or the front of the border.  If you have vertical space that needs attention, try Hydrangea petiolaris or climbing hydrangea.  

Rose of Sharon:  I started out my gardening career with a definite dislike of Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus).  Now I value the contribution the hollyhock-like flowers make to my garden in August and early September, a time of the year when little else is blooming.  There are lots of Roses of Sharon on the market and most can be grown as shrubs or clipped into standard or tree form.  You do have to prune them back at the end of the blooming season so they don't get leggy, but it's a small price to pay for a large amount of loveliness.  I especially like 'Diana' (below), a  newer variety with pristine white flowers.  Grow 'L'il Kim',  a dwarf variety, in smaller spaces.  'Kim' has winning white flowers with purple centers.