Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [plant-recommendations]

For questions asking for particular plants that meet a specific need; be sure to describe the type of plant you're looking for, overall climate in your area, where the plants will be situated, and any other information that a respondent will need to know.

Use this tag for questions asking about species or plant groups that meet a particular need - e.g. fill a particular space, be a wind-break, etc.

Include as much information in your question as possible about:

  • what type of plants you're looking for: perennials vs. annuals, herbaceous or not, deciduous vs. evergreen, etc.
  • the overall climate where you live.
  • the environment where the plants will be situated: indoors vs. outdoors, sun vs. shade, space available for the plants to grow, etc.

See also

Use the tag for questions where the plant is already known, but the query is for particular varieties or cultivars.

432 questions
17
votes
3 answers

Which herbs can be grown as perennials?

What are some herbs that are perennials, i.e. they return and grow the next season? I'd like to keep a garden of herbs around for cooking.
chrisjlee
  • 2,157
  • 2
  • 17
  • 30
16
votes
3 answers

What is a good choice for an edible fruit producing plant given a space of 20 ft x 3 ft (ca. 6×1 m)?

There is a patch of lawn between the driveways of my neighbour and I of dimension ~5 ft x 20 ft (ca. 1.5×6 m). I would like to plant edible fruit producing plants in my half of this strip of dirt and not have it creep over into my neighbour’s lawn.…
Om Patange
  • 2,898
  • 5
  • 25
  • 30
16
votes
2 answers

What plants are best for attracting butterflies to a small garden?

How can I attract butterflies to my small garden? What flower plants are ideal for attracting them? Details: Garden is in a fenced backyard, faces North-East. Not shaded, gets sunlight from about 10 am to 2 pm. Roughly a 200 square foot…
WedaPashi
  • 271
  • 1
  • 6
16
votes
4 answers

What are some good plants to put in a guild built around plums/stone fruit?

I'm starting a small orchard of stone fruit trees -- just a few hundred square feet. I will be putting in plums next spring, and I'm thinking about what to plant between/around them. In the lingo of permaculture, I'm building a guild. I'm in New…
bstpierre
  • 41,452
  • 7
  • 111
  • 235
14
votes
3 answers

What plants take easily to clay soils?

I live in central Scotland, which is a bit damp, and the soil in my garden, despite years of aerating, adding sand etc is still quite a thick clay soil. When it is sunny I get sun all day long, so plants that take root seem to grow well, but I find…
Rory Alsop
  • 2,211
  • 1
  • 17
  • 30
14
votes
4 answers

Hardy edible perennials that are easy to propagate?

I'm looking for hardy (USDA Z4/Z5; -15F winter lows) perennials (or low maintenance reseeding annuals) that are easy/reliable to propagate either via cuttings, division, or seed. The growing season is short, about 100 days. Edibles are preferred.…
bstpierre
  • 41,452
  • 7
  • 111
  • 235
14
votes
3 answers

What kind of landscaping plants do livestock avoid eating and need minimal attention?

I'd like to plant plants/trees/shrubs along the sidewalk on the roads to improve the landscaping and general appearance. However, I live in Gurgaon, India and it is common to see livestock (cows, goats, etc.) on the roads. In order to prevent my…
Aquarius_Girl
  • 819
  • 1
  • 7
  • 16
14
votes
9 answers

Do any plants add nutrients back into the soil as they grow?

It seems reasonable that there ought to be at least a few symbiotic plant varieties that benefit from improving soil condition for other plants. If not that, are there plants that essentially improve soil conditions if not by improving land…
Enigma
  • 1,993
  • 5
  • 21
  • 40
13
votes
2 answers

Is there a fruiting plant that can grow in an office environment?

In the office there is an abundance of fluorescent light and that's about it. The temperature stays around 70 ºF (21 ºC) I think. Could I grow a fruiting plant in these conditions? I may be able to add a lamp with a full spectrum light bulb to help…
Ashley Grenon
  • 764
  • 1
  • 5
  • 16
13
votes
4 answers

Are there "air purifier" plants that can grow/survive in cars?

I'm aware of the NASA clean air study listing plants with air purification qualities. I'm interested if there are any "air purification" kind of plants that can survive a range of temperatures found in enclosed cars (-5 °C to +40 °C)? Are there any…
Alex Stone
  • 233
  • 2
  • 6
12
votes
4 answers

Options for an edible privacy "fence"?

I live on a corner lot, with neighbors' fencing on two sides of my back yard, the house on a third, and an open street on the fourth. Rather than installing a fence myself, to provide privacy in the back yard, I had the idea of planting some shrubs…
Flimzy
  • 1,180
  • 2
  • 12
  • 24
12
votes
3 answers

What are some tall, narrow perennials suited for dry soils, sun & shade?

I have an herb garden that stays quite dry. Although this garden is in the notoriously wet Pacific Northwest (USDA zone 8a), it is against a two story south-facing brick wall, under a large overhang, and in a sandy soil. Combining that with our…
Eric Nitardy
  • 3,640
  • 18
  • 29
12
votes
1 answer

What are good plants to use in a container-based winter garden?

I live in an apartment that has a small outdoor patio and I'm looking to create a little container garden this autumn/winter. I'm located in the US (hardiness zone is 7) and I'm looking for ideas (plants) that might work well in this environment.…
Steed-Asprey
  • 223
  • 1
  • 4
12
votes
3 answers

Are there any drought tolerant plants that will force out weeds in pavement and sidewalk cracks?

In front of my house there is a sidewalk and about 2-3 feet of pavement behind a fence which I'm assuming was formerly dirt that was paved over. I've done my best to work with what I've got and make it look nice, but I'd love to find a solution to…
Sarah
  • 729
  • 1
  • 5
  • 17
12
votes
3 answers

What are some good vegetables for a beginner, and how do I find quality seeds?

I have taken a recent interest in gardening, particularly growing herbs and vegetables. I don't know much, but I'm going to wing it and learn from trial and error. I have a few questions that I really need answered in order to advance with my new…
Lone Wolf
  • 351
  • 2
  • 11
1
2
3
…
28 29