Five for sun, five for shade: the beginner's no-fail perennial starter garden

The no-fail list for rookies

Most people who swear they have a black thumb don't. They put a sun plant in shade, a shade plant in sun, and watched it sulk — then blamed themselves. Get the light right, and the plant does the rest.

So before you buy a thing, pay attention to your garden spot and count the hours of direct sun over the course of the day. Six or more? That's sun. Less than four? That's shade. That's the whole secret.

Five for full sun

• Daylily — Blooms straight through the heat, multiplies on its own, and shrugs off drought. If you can dig a hole, you can grow these.
• Coneflower (Echinacea) — Stands up to sun, dry spells, and neglect, and the bees and butterflies won't leave it alone. Colour for months.
• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) — Golden from midsummer to frost. Tough, cheerful, and it comes back stronger every year.
• Sedum 'Cherry Fizz' — Deep bronze, near-black foliage all season, then enormous cherry-pink flower heads in late summer that pollinators can't leave alone. Sturdy upright stems that never flop, and burgundy seed heads that carry the show into fall. Stores its own water, so a missed watering means nothing to it.
• Hollyhock (Chater's mix) — Old-fashioned cottage drama: tall spires packed with ruffled, fully double blooms in deep reds, pinks, and creams. Stand them against a fence or wall, and they reseed themselves so they keep coming back.

Five for shade

• Hosta — The easiest shade plant there is: lush leaves in every shade of green, blue, and gold. One caveat for us — deer love them, so keep them close to the house if your herd comes through.
• Astilbe — Feathery plumes that light up a dark corner. Give it a spot that stays a little moist, and it's trouble-free.
• Bleeding heart — Arching stems strung with pink hearts, one of the first things to wake up in spring. It rests by midsummer, so plant something beside it to fill the gap.
• Brunnera — Sprays of tiny blue flowers over heart-shaped leaves. Thrives on shade and being left alone.
• Heuchera (Coral bells) — Grown for its foliage as much as its flowers: ruffled mounds in caramel, burgundy, lime, and silver that hold their colour all season. Easy in part shade and happy to be left alone.

Make the trip to Gardener Nation, and we'll put the right plants in your hands — the kind that make you look like you've been doing this for years.

Gardener Nation:

494 Swalwell Drive, Powassan, ON, P0H 1Z0

Every plant grown on-site and winter-tested in Zone 4. Shop local.