Here’s a roundup of 35 plants that are perfect for your front, side, or back yards.
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Boxwood
Marina Denisenko
Boxwoods are commonly found in foundation plantings or hedges.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The shrubs need little care once established except regular pruning to maintain their shape.
A herbaceous floweringperennialin the asparagus family, it grows and spreads quite rapidly.
Plants can be divided and planted in spring and summer.
Marina Denisenko
Hosta
The Spruce / Sarah Crowley
With dozens of varieties, hostas (Hostaspp.)
are a popular landscaping plant that thrives in shade and part-shade.
These perennials are easy to care for and propagate.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
They should be planted in early spring or after summer heat in early fall.
The plants emerge in early spring to bring color and texture to the landscape.
The woody shrub is available in a wide range of sizes and flower colors.
The Spruce / Sarah Crowley
The bloom time ranges from late winter through early fall.
Some selections will tolerate partial sun or early morning sunlight.
Dianthus is deer-resistant but will be eaten by rabbits.
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Zinnia
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For a pop of color in the landscape, zinnias are the perfect plant.
Easy to grow from seed, they bloom from late spring until fall in nearly every color.
Zinnia comes in various shapes, including beehive, button, and cactus.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Depending on the variety, zinnias can be used as a front or the back border or in containers.
Zinnia isdeer and rabbit-resistantand attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and songbirds.
Drought-tolerant and shallow-rooted, it works well as a foundation plant.
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Clumps of very fine, blue-green to gray-green foliage rise to 2 to 3 feet tall in the spring.
Cultivars range from deep green to golden yellow to green and white variegated foliage.
Growing several plants in a line is especially effective for forming a border.
Getty Images / Vera Shestak
Small, teardrop-shaped flower seeds with purplish-reddish tips appear in the summer.
The grass turns to shades of yellow in the fall and lightens further in the winter.
Some cultivars are dwarf varieties with striking color variations.
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Small turquoise-blue fruit appear in the winter for year-round interest.
This multi-stemmed plant looks verysimilar to the hydrangea, but it’s larger with deeply-veined leaves.
A good choice for border plantings, hedges, and screens.
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It tolerates hot weather, full sun, and all types of soils.
The blue-green foliage is a welcome contrast to many home colors.
Glossy abelia is easy to grow and has a very long blooming season attracting butterflies, and hummingbirds.
The Spruce / K. Dave
Hydrangea
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Hydrangeas are favored for their variety of flower colors and appearances.
Some bloom in large, round clusters and others have a smaller, flatter appearance.
Hydrangea species tend to do quite well in partial shade under tall deciduous trees.
The Spruce / K. Dave
Bleeding heart flowers are small and heart-shaped in pink or white that sparkle in shaded areas.
The plant resists erosion so can be planted along a slope.
The highly fragrant flowers make an excellent addition to bouquets.
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Hellebore
Hellebores are among the earliest perennial flowers to bloom, welcoming spring with their rose-like blossoms.
Hellebore foliage is evergreen and forms a low-lying clump with leaves that are lobed and palm-like.
Daylily
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Daylilies come in dozens of varieties and colors.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
When planted in a mass bed, these sun-loving perennials can provide blooms that last for weeks.
They are drought and heat-tolerant and have very few pests.
The new growth is reddish, and some cultivars (Firepower) have brilliant fall foliage.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Red-Twig Dogwood
Red twig dogwood brightens the winter landscape with blazing red branches.
The shrubs also have beautiful spring blossoms, summer variegated leaves, and fall berries.
It is densely branched, with slender stems which on young shoots are gray to nearly black.
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