landscape
Versatile Coreopsis From spring to fall, coreopsis, also called tickweed, is an easy-care plant whose yellow, orange, red or purple flowers will attract butterflies to almost any garden. And once it has finished blooming, the seed heads will attract birds as well. The annual coreopsis can be grown in all USDA zones, while perennial choices are at home in all but the coldest or hottest climates (think Alaska, southern Texas and southern Florida). For something really unusual, check out C. tinctoria ‘Tiger Stripes’. Common names: Coreopsis, tickweed, calliopsis Botanical name: Coreopsis USDA zones: All, depending on species Water requirement: Little to moderate Light requirement: Full sun Mature size: 1 foot to 2½ feet
If you need height and structure, let me introduce you to the drought-tolerant shrub arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum, zones 3 to 8). It's covered in white blooms in May; late summer brings a flush of blue berries birds adore; and the fall color is bright red, yellow or orange, depending on the cultivar. It also is a host plant for several caterpillar species. It thrives in dry to medium clay in full to partial sun, getting to about 6 feet tall and wide after eight years, and it will reach a bit taller after that.
Pasque flower (Pulsatilla patens, USDA zones 4 to 9; find your zone) blooms in April in dry clay soil, and even rocky or sandy soil. It's a slowly spreading clump that blooms for several weeks and gets about a foot tall. The subsequent seed heads are quite ornamental, and it's a fun, fuzzy plant to touch; the hairs protect it from cold spring nights.
asy-Care Sedum When a plant has a variety named ‘Autumn Joy’, there’s no doubt that it belongs in the fall garden. While ‘Autumn Joy’ is one of the best known of the sedums, a lot of options are available. For the fall garden, hybrid varieties and Sedum spectabile are favorites for humans as well as birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. Common name: Stonecrop Botanical name: Sedum USDA zones: 3 to 10 Water requirement: Regular to moderate, especially once established Light requirement: Full sun; can take partial shade Mature size: 9 inches to 3 feet Growing tips: Sedums are easy to grow and do better in poor dry soil with good drainage than in areas that are very wet. They are reasonably drought tolerant once established.
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