Solution Gardening 3: Even More Plants to Solve Yard Problems

June 15th, 2021

   My past two posts looked at Dr. Allan Armitage’s “solution gardening” theory on how people buy plants – by the situation they address, not their type.

People tend to shop for plants by the situation they solve as opposed to looking for specific plants.

   The posts included 14 situations with my Pennsylvania-geared recommendations on plants that make good sense in those situations.

   Today finishes the three-part series with good plants for seven more yard situations.

   If you’ve never noticed it, my website also has a “George’s Handy Lists” section in which I post a few dozen other gardening lists – all free for the viewing. I’ve added all three Solution Gardening lists to that section as well.

   And I’ve put together an 18-page “Survivor Plants of Pennsylvania” booklet that zeroes in on hundreds of the best plant varieties with sizes, bloom times, and other important attributes that help gardeners get the right plant in the right place. It’s available as a $5.95 download on my Buy Helpful Info page.

   Here are the final seven situations with plants to consider in each:

Shrub roses such as these Knock Outs are a good choice for sunny house foundations.

Plants for Along Sunny House Walls

These are good choices for along sunny house foundations, generally west- and south-facing ones:

Evergreens: birds nest spruce, blue holly, boxwood, cherry laurel, dwarf Hinoki cypress, dwarf globe blue spruce, dwarf cryptomeria, globe arborvitae, juniper, yew.

Flowering shrubs: abelia, beautyberry, bush honeysuckle (Diervilla), caryopteris, dwarf butterfly bush (sterile varieties only), dwarf black chokeberry, dwarf crape myrtle, dwarf lilac, dwarf winterberry holly, deutzia, ninebark, oakleaf hydrangea, panicle hydrangea, red-twig/gold-twig dogwood, rose of sharon (sterile varieties only), shrub roses, spirea, St. Johnswort, sumac ‘Gro-Low,’ viburnum, Virginia sweetspire, weigela.

Perennials: allium, agastache, amsonia, aster, baptisia, betony, black-eyed susan, butterfly weed, candytuft, catmint, coreopsis, daylily, dianthus, dwarf goldenrod, dwarf Joe Pye weed, euphorbia, gaillardia, gaura, hardy geranium, hardy hibiscus, heliopsis, iris, lamb’s ears, lavender, liatris, lilies, liriope, mums, most ornamental grasses, penstemon, peony, perennial sunflower, phlox, purple coneflowers, Russian sage, salvia, sedum, Shasta daisy, sneezeweed, stokesia, veronica, yarrow, yucca.

Annual flowers: ageratum, alyssum, angelonia, blue salvia, celosia, coleus (sun-tolerant types), dusty miller, dwarf sunflowers, dwarf zinnia, euphorbia, geranium, globe amaranth, gloriosa daisy, lantana, marigold, pentas, petunia, scaevola, verbena, vinca.

Plants for Along Shady House Walls

Summersweet is a good shady-foundation shrub choice.

These are good choices for along shadier house foundations, generally north- and east-facing ones:

Evergreens: azalea (if good drainage and willing to tolerate lace bugs), box honeysuckle, boxwood, cherry laurel, dwarf rhododendron, inkberry holly, Japanese plum yew, leucothoe, Russian cypress, sweetbox, yew.

Flowering shrubs: bayberry, bush honeysuckle (Diervilla), deutzia, fothergilla, mophead/lacecap hydrangeas, oakleaf hydrangea, red-twig/gold-twig dogwood, smooth hydrangea, summersweet, variegated dogwood, viburnum, Virginia sweetspire.

Perennials: astilbe, barrenwort, bleeding heart, coralbells, daylily, ferns, foamflowers, foamybells, goats beard, hardy begonia, hosta, Indian pinks, Japanese anemone, Japanese forest grass, lamium, leadwort, ligularia, liriope, lungwort, rodgersia, sedge, Solomon’s seal, turtlehead.

Annual flowers: begonia, browallia, coleus, impatiens (mildew-resistant types), ivy geraniums, New Guinea impatiens, Persian shield, torenia.

Plants for Driveways and Sidewalks

Dianthus is a good low perennial for lining a sidewalk or driveway.

These plants can deal with extra heat coming off of asphalt and concrete surfaces as well as potential salt runoff from winter de-icing:

Evergreens: birds nest spruce, boxwood, dwarf cryptomeria ‘Globosa Nana,’ dwarf goldthread falsecypress, dwarf mugho pine (if tolerant of potential mites and scale), globe arborvitae, juniper.

Flowering shrubs: abelia, dwarf butterfly bush (sterile varieties only), dwarf lilac, dwarf ninebark, dwarf panicle hydrangea, dwarf weigela, shrub/groundcover roses, spirea.

Perennials: betony, blue fescue, catmint, coreopsis, creeping sedum, daylily, dianthus, dwarf fountaingrass, dwarf goldenrod, dwarf Russian sage, feather reed grass, gaillardia, hardy geranium, hens and chicks, Japanese forest grass (some shade is best), lamb’s ears, lavender, little bluestem, liriope, mums, oregano, penstemon, peony, prairie dropseed, salvia, sedum, switchgrass, thyme, yarrow, yucca.

Annual flowers: ageratums, blue salvia, celosia, dwarf zinnia, geranium, lantana, marigold, pentas, petunia, verbena, vinca.

Compact Landscape Plants for Small Spaces

Deutzia is a compact shrub that blooms in mid-spring.

Evergreens: boxwood, birds nest spruce, cotoneaster ‘Tom Thumb,’ dwarf cryptomeria ‘Globosa Nana,’ dwarf Hinoki cypress, dwarf rhododendron, dwarf spruce ‘Little Gem,’ globe arborvitae, juniper ‘Blue Star,’ nandina, sweetbox.

Flowering shrubs: caryopteris, deutzia, dwarf butterfly bush (sterile varieties only), dwarf blueberry, dwarf chokeberry, dwarf fothergilla, dwarf lilac, dwarf ninebark, dwarf panicle hydrangeas, dwarf summersweet, dwarf viburnum, dwarf Virginia sweetspire, dwarf weigela, mophead/lacecap hydrangeas, shrub/groundcover/miniature roses, spirea, St. Johnswort.

Perennials: allium, astilbe, betony, blue fescue, butterfly weed, candytuft, coralbells, coreopsis, dianthus, dwarf aster, dwarf black-eyed susan, dwarf catmint, dwarf goldenrod, dwarf purple coneflowers, dwarf Russian sage, dwarf Shasta daisy, foamflowers, foamybells, hens and chicks, lavender, liatris, liriope, mums, penstemon, salvia, sedum, stokesia, turtlehead, veronica, yarrow.

Small Trees for Small Yards

This Cornelian cherry tree is blooming yellow in early spring.

Evergreens: Atlantic whitecedar ‘Red Star,’ boxwood ‘Dee Runk,’ blue holly (Red Beauty, Dragon Lady, Castle Spire), dwarf arborvitae, dwarf blue spruce, dwarf cryptomeria ‘Black Dragon,’ eastern red cedar, falsecypress Soft Serve, Hinoki cypress, goldthread/greenthread falsecypress, Japanese  umbrella pine, weeping Norway spruce, weeping Serbian spruce.

Flowering trees: American dogwood, American fringe tree, amur maackia, Cornelian cherry dogwood, crabapple, crape myrtle, dwarf river birch ‘Little King,’ hawthorn ‘Winter King,’ Japanese maple, Japanese tree lilac, Kousa dogwood, Little Girl series of magnolias, magnolia ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty,’ pagoda dogwood, paperbark maple, parrotia, Peking lilac, purple smoketree, red buckeye, redbud, serviceberry, seven son flower (Heptacodium), snowbell, star magnolia, stewartia, sweetbay magnolia, weeping purple beech, witch hazel.

Plants that Look Especially Good in Fall

Viburnums are some of the showiest shrubs in fall.

Trees: American fringe tree, American holly, American hornbeam, bald cypress, black gum, crabapple, crape myrtle, dawn redwood, all dogwoods, elm, flowering cherry, ginkgo, hawthorn, Hinoki cypress, honeylocust, katsura, larch, oak, all maples, parrotia, redbud, river birch, serviceberry, seven son flower (Heptacodium), smoketree, sourwood, stewartia, sweetgum, sycamore, willow, witch hazel.

Flowering shrubs: bayberry, beautyberry, blueberry, caryopteris, chokeberry, cotoneaster, deutzia, fothergilla, leucothoe, ninebark, oakleaf hydrangea, Oregon grape holly, panicle hydrangea, pyracantha, red-twig/gold-twig dogwood, roses, spicebush, spirea Mellow Yellow, sumac, St. Johnswort, summersweet, viburnum, Virginia sweetspire, winterberry holly.

Perennials: aster, big bluestem, coralbells, creeping sedum, feather reed grass, foamybells, fountaingrass, goldenrod, Indian grass, Japanese anemone, Joe Pye weed, leadwort, little bluestem, muhly grass, mums, perennial sunflowers, prairie dropseed, sedge, sedum, switchgrass, threadleaf amsonia, toad lilies, turtlehead.

Plants for Winter Interest

Redtwig dogwoods best show off their red stems when bare in winter.

Evergreens: Atlantic whitecedar ‘Red Star,’ azalea (if good drainage and willing to tolerate lace bugs), blue juniper, blue spruce, box honeysuckle, cryptomeria, goldthread falsecypress, golden arborvitae, golden boxwood, golden juniper, golden pine, golden spruce, hardy camellia, Hinoki cypress, holly, Japanese plum yew, Japanese umbrella pine, Korean fir, leucothoe, nandina, rhododendron, variegated boxwood, weeping evergreens, yew.

Trees: coralbark maple, curly willow, Japanese maple, Kousa dogwood, paperbark maple, parrotia, river birch, stewartia, sycamore, all weeping trees, winter hazel, witch hazel.

Flowering shrubs: bayberry, Harry Lauder’s walking stick, oakleaf hydrangea, red-twig/gold-twig dogwoods, winterberry holly, winter hazel, witch hazel.

Perennials: coralbells, creeping sedum ‘Angelina,’ dianthus, foamflowers, foamybells, golden sedge, hens and chicks, lamium, Lenten rose, ornamental grasses, silver-leafed brunnera, snowdrops, sweetflag, variegated liriope, winter aconite, yucca.