You may have recently discovered you have a green thumb and want to take your planting skills to the next level with a garden. But unlike watering your house plants, creating a garden requires some finesse when picking the right plants for the season. You want to ensure your planter boxes and gardens have a mix of perennials, shrubs, and trees for year-round color and interest. And before you start planting seeds, you need to know your USDA Hardiness zone (check yours here) to ensure a plant can survive winter in your climate. Also, you need to pay attention to how much sun or shade area an area of your garden receives. Full sun means 6 or more hours of direct sunlight, while partial sun is about half that timeframe. Full shade means an area gets no direct sun or only a smidge of the morning sun. Follow the plant tag or description because you can’t get around it: Sun lovers need light to flower and flourish, while shade lovers will fry in the hot sun. We have curated a list of the best types of plants every garden needs to thrive.
1
Edible Plants
Why not let your garden do double duty? TikTok gardeners can't stop making videos about edible plants. They're pretty and practical in planters or beds. New types of vegetables have been developed specifically for containers. And new varieties of strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries have been bred to be more compact and ornamental, so they look as good as they taste.
Varieties to try: Berried Treasure Strawberry, Jelly Bean Blueberry
2
Ground Cover Plants
Consider these plants the shag carpets of the great outdoors. Ground-covering plants cover up the soil and help fill the void in bare spots in your garden where growing a plant is challenging. Another benefit is that they reduce the number of weeds that pop up, and they can help retain moisture and nutrients in the soil.
Varieties to try: Flower Carpet Roses, Aubretia, Creeping Herbs
3
Variegated Plants
A favorite among gardeners for the plant's versatility, and its understated look of green and white leaves. These leafy perennials thrive in both sun and shade and come in an endless assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors. The perfect plant for a shady garden, you'll know if they've gotten too much sun because the edges of the leaves will start to burn.
Varieties to try: Hostas, Boxwood, Dogwood
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4
Ornamental Grass
Wild grass draws the eye up in a garden and creates movement as it swishes back and forth in the wind. These tall beauties prefer direct sunlight (and lots of it). They have grown in popularity over the years because they are easy to care for and grow quickly. Each species of grass has different growth requirements so read the tag before you plant.
Varieties to try: Feathered Reed Grass, Purple Fountain Grass
5
Trailing Plants
Every garden needs a little drama, and a trailing plant creates a cascading or waterfall-like effect. These underrated plants are versatile in the garden. They can act as a ground cover, hang from an overhead basket, and can cover up unsightly elements in your garden like a metal fence. Most trailing plants are perennials and can be brought indoors during the winter, and then can return outside in the springtime again.
Varieties to try: Creeping Jenny, Calibrachoa, Vinca Vine
6
Medicinal Plants
For centuries, people have used plants to treat illnesses. And on TikTok, more and more people are including plants that have may have medicinal qualities in their gardens, such as mint for an upset stomach or chamomile to help aid sleep.
Varieties to try: Peppermint, Chamomile, Calendula
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7
Rose
Roses are lovely and romantic in any garden setting, whether you have a tiny urban plot or a large, country backyard. And they’re not as picky as you think! Many new types have been bred to be long-blooming and more resistant to diseases, and they don’t need to be deadheaded or have spent blooms removed so they keep flowering. Stick with a shrub or landscape rose for your first attempt because they require almost zero care.
Varieties to try: Heirloom Roses, Coral Drift
8
Hydrangea
Hydrangeas are just about perfect: With hundreds of different varieties, they thrive in almost any climate. The lacy blooms emerge in early summer and last to fall, and they stay intact on the shrub to provide winter interest. One common misconception: That you can change bloom color on any hydrangea. The truth is only certain types—some big-leaf and mountain hydrangeas—change color based on the presence of aluminum in the soil. Hydrangeas range in height from a few feet tall to 7 or 8 feet tall and wide, so read the label before planting so it has plenty of room to spread.
Varieties to try: Little Quickfire, Cherry Explosion
9
Succulent
With hundreds of varieties in every shape, size, and color, succulents are a great addition to your garden. They’re easy to grow, and the fleshy leaves survive dry spells. Many of them are cold-hardy, but read the plant tag or description to be sure.
Varieties to try: Lemon Coral, Emerald Empress Hens and Chicks
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10
Herb
Herbs are super-easy to grow, and their flowers attract tons of pollinators. It’s also far less expensive to grow them than to buy those plastic containers in the grocery store! Many herbs, such as thyme, sage, and oregano, are perennial, which means they come back every year, while you’ll need to replant basil, cilantro, and summer savory each spring.
Varieties to try: Amazel Basil, Chocolate Mint
11
Fragrant Plants
The fragrance is one of the senses that every garden should engage. The options are endless! Dianthus, peonies, and lavender are reliable perennials with a sweet scent. Or plant a flowering shrub or tree such as lilac, crabapple, and Korean spice viburnum.
Varieties to try: Bloomerang Dwarf Pink Lilac, Festiva Maxima Peony
12
Evergreen
Evergreens provide much-needed color in the cold weather months, no matter where you live. With thousands of varieties, you’ll find one to love! Read the plant tag or description to learn how big they’ll get so you won’t be stuck with one that’s crowding the house or other plantings in a few years. If you’re short on space, look for dwarf varieties that won’t get more than a few feet tall and wide.
Varieties to try: Gin Fizz Juniper, Little Sprinter Boxwood
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13
Ornamental Tree
Small ornamental trees add character and structure to a landscape and provide a striking focal point. Look for Japanese maples, which have delicate foliage, interesting bark, and lovely arching limbs; redbuds have teeny-tiny pink or purple flowers in early spring and pretty heart-shaped leaves; and smoke trees, which have clusters of airy seeds with reddish foliage that turns to orange in fall.
Varieties to try: Japanese Maple Bloodgood, Forest Pansy Redbud
14
Climbing Vine
Vines that clamber over a fence, trellis, or arbor add a layer of charm and interest to any garden. Flowering vines also attract pretty, little pollinators such as hummingbirds and butterflies. Consider cardinal climber, clematis, passion flower, honeysuckle, and false hydrangea.
Varieties to try: Sweet Summer Love Clematis, Rose Sensation False Hydrangea
15
Flowering Shrub
There's a flowering shrub for every season. Look for spirea, ninebark, and azalea for spring, and for summer bloomers, plant weigela, rose of Sharon, and butterfly bush (new varieties are not invasive). Read the plant tag or label so you give it the right amount of sun and ensure it will survive winters in your hardiness zone.
Varieties to try: Sonic Bloom Pink Weigela, Purple Pillar Rose of Sharon
