Modern garden, partial sun, zone 6

🌿 Plant list

• Blue Fescue Festuca glauca ↻ Can't find it? Ask for Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica) or Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima). ×5
• Chinese Pistache Pistacia chinensis ↻ Can't find it? Ask for American Smoketree (Cotinus obovatus) or Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia). ×1
• Glossy Abelia Abelia x grandiflora ↻ Can't find it? Ask for Drooping Leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana) or Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra). ×1
• Nandina Nandina domestica ↻ Can't find it? Ask for Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa) or Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium). ×1
• Russian Sage Perovskia atriplicifolia ↻ Can't find it? Ask for Ironweed 'Iron Butterfly' (Vernonia lettermannii 'Iron Butterfly') or Blazing Star (Liatris spicata). ×5
• Spartan Juniper Juniperus chinensis 'Spartan' ↻ Can't find it? Ask for Northern Bayberry (Morella pensylvanica) or Japanese Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia). ×1
• Spirea Spiraea japonica ↻ Can't find it? Ask for Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) or Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica). ×1
• Woolly Thyme Thymus pseudolanuginosus ↻ Can't find it? Ask for Six-Sided Stonecrop (Sedum sexangulare) or Sedum 'Cape Blanco' (Sedum spathulifolium 'Cape Blanco'). ×5

💧 Care list

Watering and feeding for each plant. With your own design you also get weekly care emails and a Companion to ask questions.

• Chinese Pistache

  For the first two growing seasons, check the root ball twice weekly and water deeply when its upper 2–3 inches are dry, typically every 4–7 days initially and less often as roots spread. Once established, water deeply only during prolonged dry weather, roughly every 2–4 weeks in hot, rainless conditions. Fertilizer is rarely needed; if a soil test identifies a deficiency, apply the recommended fertilizer in early spring at the labeled tree rate.

• Glossy Abelia

  During the first growing season, water deeply when the top 1–2 inches of the root ball dry, usually once or twice weekly without sufficient rain. Once established, water during extended dry spells, generally every 1–2 weeks in hot weather rather than keeping the soil constantly moist. Apply a light dose of balanced, slow-release shrub fertilizer in early spring at the labeled rate; omit it if growth is already vigorous.

• Russian Sage

  For the first 6–8 weeks, check soil twice weekly and water thoroughly when the top 1–2 inches dry, allowing the soil to dry between waterings. Once established, Russian sage generally needs water only during extended drought, approximately every 2–3 weeks in hot, rainless weather. It rarely needs fertilizer; skip routine feeding, since rich fertility encourages weak, floppy growth.

…and 6 more.