I know nothing about plants. Help!

[RoJoHen]

I am looking to plant some stuff along the side of my house. I just ripped up a bunch of overgrown nonsense that made my yard look like shit, and I want to replace it with something pretty. What are some good, low-maintanence plants that I could put there?

I'd prefer some kind of flowering plant (or at least something with a little color besides green) that will survive the winter and that I don't have to pay too much attention to.

 

[trekkiedane]

How is your yard situated for sun? is it potato or peach climate? how's the soil? how much does it rain there?

(Not much of a gardener myself but I know how to make things that don't need a lot of work grow in my climate )

 

[Captain Ice]

Go to a couple of local greenhouses or nurseries and ask there. They will know what works well for yards in your area.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If you live someplace where it never freezes, jade plants are virtually unkillable. I swear, they will survive nuclear war. They are the plant equivalent of cockroaches.

 

[jespah]

Dunno if you're in the US, but this is a link to hardiness regions:
http://www.garden.org/zipzone/

Even if you're not in the US you can Google hardiness regions + the name of your country.

The bottom line is that climate differs, depending on where you are. Therefore, good plants (e. g. low maintenance) for your area depend a lot on where you live. For a cooler area (like Boston, where I am), trying to grow warm weather plants is either a lot of work or somewhat hopeless or I'm relegating myself to lousy yield (e. g. not a lot of flowers, fruit, whatever). Bad ideas all around. But if I plant stuff that's better suited to cooler weather, I'll generally be happier, and with a lot less work.

Also - walk around your neighborhood, and see what other people have planted. Ask them, if they're outside - what kind of flower is that? Was it a lot of work to get it to survive the winter? Etc. and any other questions you think are appropriate. If you see the same plant grown by a lot of your neighbors, you'll know that it's easy care. Here, that means tulips, forsythia, hosta, daffodils, lilacs, that kind of thing.

 

[The Lady Eve]

Well, first of all, it depends what plant "zone" you live in. Just Google it. For flowering perennials I'd suggest Mexican heather or Dianthus. They're pretty, tough, hardy, and will stick around in the heat and cold when other flowers have gone belly-up. They were my only flowers that lasted through last summer's inferno, and they're still going strong.

For regular plants, you can't go wrong with caladiums. They're easy to plant, last till the fall, and don't need that much tending. They're also inexpenive and pretty. A lot of caladiums prefer shade, but there are others that like a little sun. Again, Google for more information.

 

[Marie1]

Try to get plants that flower at different times of the year so you have continual flowering.

Perennial Primroses can tolerate shade and sun and have lovely flowers - but they're low.

Need more about the zone and sun for more...

 

[RoJoHen]

I'm in the midwest. Hot summer. Freezing winter. I pretty much get all 4 seasons. The side of the house faces west and gets a lot of sun in the afternoon and evening.

My mom recommends hostas.

EDIT: Apparently I am in Zone 5A.

 

[The Lady Eve]

Go to a couple of local greenhouses or nurseries and ask there. They will know what works well for yards in your area.

Great advice. They'll know about the sun, shade, and soil factors. It's also hard not to get bitten by the gardening bug when you're looking at all the possibilities in the nursery.

​

 

[thestrangequark]

I too recommend checking out your local nursery, but I'd add that in your climate a nice, hardy evergreen shrub, hedge, or bush would be good. They are extremely low-maintenance, and will handle the seasons well. A fast growing variety might need to be to be pruned on occasion, and they need to be watered if you go through a dry spell in the summer, but other than that there's not much you need to do. They'll keep your yard looking nice and green year-round.

 

[Kestra]

I just got a bunch of plants today at Lowe's! I've never done this before but we have an awesome patio and I wanted to try having some plants. Do you just want flowering plants? I thought about doing some veggies but ended up getting herbs instead (in addition to flowering plants).

Definitely ask someone more experienced. For me, I had my mother-in-law and her sister visiting and they took me shopping. It was so much fun and I'm excited about having plants! We got stuff that was on clearance so I won't feel really bad if it dies because it turns out I'm awful at gardening.

 

[RobertVA]

If you live someplace where it never freezes, jade plants are virtually unkillable. I swear, they will survive nuclear war. They are the plant equivalent of cockroaches.

I've heard bamboo can be pretty persistent too, but can be subject to mysterious simultaneous die offs when it wants too.

 

[trekkiedane]

I've heard bamboo can be pretty persistent too, but can be subject to mysterious simultaneous die offs when it wants too.

Brilliant suggestion! Bamboo is so easy to take care off that you even have to take precautions when planting* it so it won't spread to the entire yard

The die-off happens as part of the bamboo life-cycle (linky) and the counter-measure is to have a few (two should do it) different species in your garden.

____
*)A barrier material 40 mil in thickness by 30 inch deep of HDPE (high density polyethylene) around the area you will allow the plant to spread in should do the trick. linky.

 

[RoJoHen]

I've never been a fan of bamboo, and I certainly can't see it looking good in my yard. It's just so boring.

 

[Finn]

Plus if you are to get bamboo, make sure it won't spread into other yards where the owners wouldn't care for them, especially since they are difficult to get rid of.

 

[trekkiedane]

Plus if you are to get bamboo, make sure it won't spread into other yards where the owners wouldn't care for them, especially since they are difficult to get rid of.

A barrier material 40 mil in thickness by 30 inch deep of HDPE (high density polyethylene) around the area you will allow the plant to spread in should do the trick. linky.

Around here they use explosives to remove bamboo

 

[Marie1]

I'm in the midwest. Hot summer. Freezing winter. I pretty much get all 4 seasons. The side of the house faces west and gets a lot of sun in the afternoon and evening.

My mom recommends hostas.

EDIT: Apparently I am in Zone 5A.

Alrighty:
Oriental poppies (P. orientale) are very pretty and hardy to zone 3. Many colours. They grow in a clump and so they shouldn't get away on you.

Primroses (Primula vulgaris) are fantastic low growing plants that will also survive your weather. Many colours - from yellow to red.

Oriental Lilies are pretty and smell good- even before they mature (need a few years to "establish").

Most hostas prefer shade- but not all. And even "shade" still means a few hours of light usually.

Hmmm... lf you want something tall- Hollyhocks are wonderful and attract hummingbirds- they are biennial and will go to seed... the new plants seem to grow pretty well though.

Crocuses for spring colour and tulips with daffodils can be left in the ground so that's easy. Oh! And creeping phlox for ground cover. Tall phlox exists but it needs a lot of breeze or the leaves get mouldy which is gross. Flowers can be wonderful though and it won't spread everywhere.

For some annuals you could try the regulars - impatents or begonias... and some boxwoods if you wanted some shrubs maybe?