50 Plants That Thrive in Any Yard
Hello, my friend, hello again; today we come together to talk about 50 Plants That Thrive in Any Yard and hope the blog can help you.
With a pinch of effort and almost no upkeep, you can have the lush, beautiful garden of your dreams. The secret is to choose plant varieties that enjoy a little hardship. We’ve compiled the essential list of hardy flora, with tips for care and maintenance.
Forsythia
When you see this plant’s golden blooms arrive in the early days of spring, you know warm temperatures are approaching. Forsythia awakens from dormancy when the weather wends its unpredictable way from cold to warm temperatures, making it a joyful addition to a yard that’s still rebounding from winter. This shrub is easy to grow and adapts well to different conditions. To get the best blooms in the spring, plant it in a sunny spot with well-drained, moist soil. Available at The Home Depot; $19.98 for three plants.
Creeping Jenny
Creeping Jenny will grow whether you have a sun-filled yard or one that’s draped in shade. Use this fast-growing ground cover to fill bare spots, or let the glossy yellow-green leaves cascade over a window box or container garden. While creeping Jenny doesn’t require much maintenance, you might want to prune occasionally to keep it from spreading into nearby plantings. Available at Burpee.com; $6.99 for one plant.
Fountain Grass
Add texture, height and color to your landscape with fountain grass. The ornamental grass blooms with tan, pink, or purple feathery flowers from late summer into fall and continues to display vibrant foliage throughout the winter. There are many varieties of fountain grass to choose from, and all thrive in many zones and with minimal maintenance. Just be sure to plant it in an area where it can soak up the sun. Available at The Home Depot; $15.74 for one plant.
Black-Eyed Susan
Native to North America, the black-eyed Susan is a hardy wildflower that will thrive all summer long. Heat-tolerant, drought-resistant, and self-seeding, the only task you have to handle on your own is deadheading spent flowers to encourage more blooms. The sunny yellow buds attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, but they also bring deer and rabbits, so plant them near a pest-resistant plant to keep wildlife at bay. Available at Burpee.com; $13.99 for one plant.
Indian Hawthorn
The Indian hawthorn is an evergreen shrub that has leathery green foliage and pink or white clusters of flowers that appear in spring. Though it grows best in full sun, it will do just fine in the afternoon shade and can even tolerate moderate drought once it’s matured a few years. Available at The Home Depot; $32.98.
Vinca Minor
Commonly known as periwinkle, this ground cover features delicate purple blooms in spring and summer. Vinca minor will spread quickly in a partial-shade garden and, in so doing, can smother weeds. Due to its fast-growing nature, you will want to prune this plant to prevent it from encroaching on other plantings. Available on Amazon; $8.99 for eight plants in 2-inch pots.
Knock-Out Roses
If you’ve questioned whether or not you could handle the maintenance most roses required, knock-out blooms are for you! This forgiving flowering shrub blooms and reblooms every 5 to 6 weeks, whether or not you decide to deadhead. Just trim your rose bush back early spring, and revel in the juicy colors (from peaches to pinks and corals to crimsons) all summer long. Available on Amazon; starting at $37.99 for a live plant in a #3 size container.
Related: 10 Foolproof Flowers Anyone Can Grow
Houseleek
Succulents are often considered the epitome of easy-care plants, particularly when planted outside. The “houseleek” succulent ranges in color, texture, shape, and size (the name encompasses 40 distinct species and numerous more hybrids), but you can expect any plant with the name to be a hardy one. These succulents can deal with drought, wind, and frost so long as their roots aren’t placed in waterlogged soil (sandy or gravelly soil offers the best drainage). Available on Amazon; three plants for $15.95.
Ajuga
It doesn’t take much effort on your part to enjoy lush leaves in vibrant shades of greens, maroons, and muted purples found in varieties of ajuga. This shade-loving, glossy groundcover offers color year-round with an extra burst of blue blooms in late spring. Plus, you can plant it in shaded spots of your yard without worry about rabbits or deer making a lunch out of your fast-growing foliage. Available on Burpee.com; one plant for $9.49.
Related: The Best Low-Maintenance Ground Covers for Your Garden
Monkey Grass
A go-to for home gardeners in need of a border plant or ground cover, clumping monkey grass (Liriope muscari) grows in all but the most extreme U.S. climates, as it tolerates a broad range of soil types, sun exposures, and precipitation patterns. Though it’s even tough enough to be walked upon, monkey grass is attractive too, boasting lush green leaves and in late summer, blooms of white or purple or pink. Indeed, there’s a reason why so many nurseries across the country keep monkey grass fully stocked! Available at The Home Depot; 18 plants for $46.99.
Blue Fescue
Don’t confuse ornamental blue fescue with fescue lawn grass. Blue fescue—or, Festuca glauca—may offer a hardiness level similar to that of its cousin, but it also packs much more of a visual punch, growing in compact clumps of strikingly fine, silvery-blue leaves. Under ideal conditions—abundant sunshine with moderate heat, average moisture, and well-draining soil—tall, yellow flowers bloom and persist through the summer, adding to the show. Meanwhile, maintenance requirements are very low; bear in mind only that division and replanting are necessary every three to five years. That’s it—otherwise, you can sit back and enjoy. Available at Burpee.com; $4.19 for 150 seeds.
Viburnum
A member of the honeysuckle family, this plant with white or pinkish flowers will flourish in full sun, but can also adjust to partial shade in your yard. This highly adaptable flower just needs a quick pruning after they’ve bloomed in the spring, but otherwise require little to no upkeep. Available at The Home Depot; $32.42 for one plant.
Pachysandra
Suitable for USDA plant hardiness zones 5 through 9—more or less three-quarters of the country—pachysandra enjoys immense popularity as a shade-loving and drought-tolerant ground cover. It’s the kind of plant that you can all but ignore, in part because it stands up well to deer and other types of garden nuisances, including insects. Homeowners especially love that pachysandra grows quickly, spreading out to form a calming carpet of deep green, with lovely, little white flowers making an appearance in the springtime. Available on Amazon; 24 plants for $19.99.
Yew
Sturdy, sensible, and a great choice for suburban hedges, yews delivers evergreen color and red winter berries in return for—well, almost nothing. Once established, drought-resistant yews can thrive on rainfall alone. Prune the green growth occasionally to keep it neat and tidy. Available at The Home Depot; $35.92.
Canna Lily
They are bright, drought-resistant, and a no-fuss plant to grow. After the ground has thawed fully, all you have to do is stick a canna lily rhizome (underground stem) in the ground, water, mulch, and wait until early summer for it to bloom. Available at The Home Depot; $19.98 for five bulbs.
Related: 20 Ways to Enjoy the Colors of the Year in Your Garden
Lantana
Butterflies can’t get enough of lantana’s colorful blooms, which span the spectrum from purple, red, orange, white, pink, and yellow. These flowers love warm temperatures and grow best in Zones 10-11, but they can be treated as annuals in colder zones and will even tolerate poor soils and drought, just as long as they get tons of sunshine. Available at Burpee.com; $19.99 for three plants.
Echinacea
Echinacea or coneflower is a perennial superstar. This native plant comes in a range of colors, is heat- and drought-resistant, thrives in partial to full sun, and blooms for months, attracting birds and butterflies. Available at Burpee.com; $16.99 for one plant.
Creeping Thyme
Forget traditional grass: creeping thyme offers beautiful ground cover, creating a dense mat of low-habit foliage and tiny pale purple flowers. It thrives in warm climates and doesn’t need much water to grow and spread. Available on Amazon; $6.50 for a packet of 20,000 seeds.
Creeping Sedum
This succulent, also known as stonecrop, has leaves that look like tiny rosettes. Available in a range of colors, sedum spreads quickly and prevents weeds from overtaking your garden bed, perfect for arid regions and low-maintenance gardens. Available at The Home Depot; $8.98 for one plant.
Meadow Sage
Attractive to all manner of winged wildlife (and resistant to hungry deer), meadow sage is notable for its bright purple stalks. Fertilizing is unnecessary, since meadow sage can tolerate almost any soil composition, and does equally well in full or partial sun. Available on Amazon; $17.99 for one plant.