These 9 must have home garden plants will completely change your garden even if you are working with a blank slate.
Gardening is the best! I spend most of my time either at the office or at home. My goal is to make my home my sanctuary. I love to pull up to my house and have a beautiful, lush view of plants greeting me. It makes coming home that much sweeter and my neighbors enjoy the view too!
You will find my list of plants to be biased. What can I say I am a firm believer in “lazy” gardening. I am not a massive fan of deadheading and I like to plant something that will come back year after year. I need performance and vigor or it’s out. So, all plants listed are first-time gardener-friendly, perennial plants.
Let’s start with the pretty things first, flowers.
Echinacea or coneflower
Zone: 3-8 USDA
Bloom Time: Summer
Light Conditions: Prefers Full Sun, Tolerate Partial Shade
Echinacea is a flower your garden just needs. It is gorgeous and tough. They can handle the heat, subpar soil, and bloom all year long.
It is what cottage garden dreams are made of. There are so many varieties and colors to choose from. They look great in drifts or by themself. They are easily found in your local big box nursery or small garden center.
They have medicinal properties, pollinator attracters and pretty!
Win, win!
Hydrangea
Zone: Generally 5-9.
Bloom Time: Late Spring, Early Summer
Light Conditions: Depends on variety. Most typically likes 6 hours of full sun.
Talk about classic beauty. Hydrangeas are a decor trend but the aesthetic they create in the garden is swoon-worthy.
Hydrangeas have many varieties, shapes, and sizes. They are easy to find. You can find them in pink, purple, white, and chartreuse colors. Please note that some varieties will change to either pink or purple depending on the PH in the soil.
Climbing Roses
Zone: Find a variety that thrives in your area. 3-9 USDA
Bloom Time: Spring through Summer
Light Conditions: Most Full Sun. Some can tolerate part sun
I could not complete any “must have” plant list without listing roses. So why did I choose to hone in on climbing roses?
The ambiance. The ambiance they give to your space is unmatched. There is something whimsical and magical about a climbing rose creeping up a wall, fence or arbor.
You need to make sure you give it something to climb on such as a trellis, arbor, or wall or they will just become a hot mess. Seriously, trust me on this one. They do require pruning and deadheading but SO WORTH IT.
I have an Iceberg Climbing Rose and two David Austin climbing roses in my garden and they are the show stoppers every year.
Salvia or Russian Sage
Zone:
4-8 USDA (Salvia)
5-9 USDA (Russian Sage)
Bloom Time: Summer-Fall
Light Conditions: Full Sun
Russian Sage and Salvia. I know, I know this is technically two different plant recommendations.
I chose both because sometimes you can only find one or another and quite frankly both are beautiful with a similar structure.
They are hardy, pollinator attractors and require little to no maintenance. You can shear them back after the first blooms look tired to get a fresh bloom but it is completely optional.
They offer a different texture in the garden and a great contrast to broad leaf shrubs. They are tough and can handle neglect. Perfect candidate for a new gardener or any garden.
I am a sucker for a good flower shrub too!
Of course, garden centers know how to get me. They put the best, most GORGOUS flowers front and center as you walk in. I have to give myself the same pep talk I had for 10 minutes on my way there.
Evergreens, evergreens, leaf interest, leaf interest.
Consider flowers in your garden like the jewelry of your outfit or the garnish on your dish. They make it go the extra mile, but they not the workhorse. You need a backdrop. You want to enjoy your garden all year round not just the flashy moments when flowers bloom.
Below are some of my favorites for all season foliage interest.
Viburnum
Zone: 2-9 USDA
Bloom Time: Spring
Light Conditions: Full Sun to Part Sun
Viburnum is such a versatile plant. They are shrubs but I have seen people limb them up to a tree form. They have evergreen leaves and even produce berries, which the birds love.
In the spring they have beautiful white flowers against its broad leaf structures. Talk about perfection. I have two and counting.
Hosta
Zone: 3-9 USDA
Bloom Time: Summer
Light Conditions: Shade to Part Shade
Now let’s talk about a unique plant that has stolen a good corner of my garden; hostas. Hosta’s are a shade loving plant that give the dark part of your garden a pop. I personally love them for their tropical vibe.
You will need to cut them back in the fall every year to keep them healthy but they can get massive and take to division well. I love it when I can buy a plant and it will give me more and more!
There are so many colors, shapes, and sizes. Some varieties like Empress Wu can reach 4-5 ft tall and 6-8 ft wide while others such as the Baby Bunting get 10 tall and 15 inches wide. There are options all in-between.
To top it off they have flowers in the summer. Could this plant get any better?
Coral Bells or Heuchera
Zone: 4a-9a USDA
Bloom Time: Spring, Summer
Light Conditions: Full Sun and Part Sun
Coral Bells/ Heuchera do not get enough attention. You can find them in SO MANY different colors from red, purple, black, and all different shades of green.
They provide the color you lean on during the times your blooms are spent from other plants. They are a great conversation piece starter.
Plus, like the hosta, they have dainty flowers in the spring and summer that come up on a bloom stock. They are perfect in a flower arrangement or just add extra interest to your flower bed.
Last, let’s talk bones of the garden. In the spring, summer and fall you strive for foliage diversity, laddered and succession bloomers but what happens when the cold snaps all that away? You don’t want your yard to look bare and flat.
This is where shrubs, evergreens and trees come in. I could write WAY too much for one post on each of those topics but for now I have chosen two staple shrubs that will make a statement in your garden.
Burning Bush
Zone: 4-8 USDA
Bloom Time: Spring
Light Conditions: Full Sun, Part Sun
I will be the first to admit the pictures here are a bit misleading so let me explain. The burning bush is another versatile shrub that blooms in spring and provides a green backdrop in the summer but the fall…that is when this plant is a stunner.
While everything else in your garden is weather-worn and tired this shrub lights up and turns the perfect reddish orange just in time to give trees a run for their money.
All-season interest is key and this one just does it all. Can’t complain with that.
BoxWood or Yew
Zone:
5-9 USDA (Boxwood)
2-10 USDA (Yew)
Bloom Time:
Spring (Boxwood)
Nonflowering (Yew)
Light Conditions:
Full Sun, Part Sun (Boxwood)
Full Sun, Part Sun, Shade (Yew)
Finally the structure masters. Hedging and all-year greenery is a game changer in the garden.
So what’s up with the two different recommendations? Some parts of the country cannot have boxwood due to a disease called boxwood blight. Before you look into getting boxwood I would recommend researching if this is an issue in your area. Seriously, boxwood blight cannot be treated. I do not want you to waste your money.
If that is the case you can substitute with Yew. Although they are not identical they serve the same purpose. In addition, Yew has a wider range of growing zones.
Both offer a green structure all year around which looks amazing covered in snow. Some gardens primarily have either or and create incredible spaces as shown above. English garden are known for their spectacular hedging. You could have that too!
I personally love hedges but you could use these plants as stand-alone plantings and shape them into topiaries, or shapes or let them grow to their natural shape. The possibilities are endless.
This is not a comprehensive list but these plants are a must have in your home garden. Their versatility, consistency and beauty will compliment any garden. I have all these plants in my personal garden they are the real OGs. They have withstood extreme temperatures of 10F degrees to 110F degrees. We see snowfalls up 3-4 ft at times and they are still going strong. I have had some learning curves (malfunctioning drip line, poor plant placement, pure laziness) and they keep plugging away with me.
Remember gardening is art. The landscape is your canvas. I hope this helps you identify those plants that speak to you and help you create your dream space.
Thank you for reading!