Four short lists
The ones worth the space
Every nursery has a long list. This is the short one — trees and shrubs, perennials, grasses and groundcovers that earn their spot in a northern Indiana yard. Ask at the counter for what's in stock this week.
Structure first
Top trees & shrubs
These are the bones. Get the trees and shrubs right and the perennials are easy; get them wrong and you're pruning a mistake for twenty years.
- Hydrangeas — Endless Summer, Bloomstruck, Alice Oakleaf
- Weigela, given full sun and room to spread
- Shade trees sized for the setback, not the pot
- Evergreens for winter screening and windbreak
- Potted Christmas trees that go in the ground after
Color that comes back
Mark's top perennials
Chosen for staying power, not just for the week they look best in a pot. Plan for something in bloom in each part of the season.
- Daylilies (Hemerocallis) — midsummer, nearly indestructible
- Coneflowers (Echinacea) — midsummer into fall, feeds birds
- Coral Bells & Foamy Bells — foliage color for shade
- Hosta — the north side of the house, solved
- Upright sedums — late bloom and winter stems
Movement
Top ornamental grasses
The most underused plant in the average yard. Grasses give you motion in summer, seed heads in fall and structure through snow — and they ask for almost nothing.
- Tall grasses for screening and back-of-bed height
- Mid-height varieties that hold a border edge
- Compact grasses for foundation beds under windows
- Cut back in early spring, not fall — leave the winter interest
The hard places
Mark's top groundcovers
For slopes, strips along the drive, and the thin dry soil under a maple where grass has never once worked.
- Ground cover sedum — hot, dry, full sun, no argument
- Shade groundcovers for under established trees
- Erosion netting plus plugs for anything on a grade
- Plant closer than feels right — it closes in faster
Want the whole plan?