High-impact, Low-care
These easy-to-grow plants provide low-maintenance beauty and help conserve resources. The list is inspired by the Tracy DiSabato-Aust book, "High-impact, Low-care Garden Plants: Tough but Beautiful Plants that Anyone Can Grow"
Annuals (8)
Butterfly Attracting (81)
Creative Containers (52)
Drought-Defiant (87)
Midwest Native (84)
Salt-Tolerant Plants (26)
Shade-tolerant (54)
Trees & Shrubs (74)
Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica 'Compacta'
Common Name: Dwarf Rocky Mountain Fir
Dwarf Rocky Mountain Fir is a slow-growing variety of the Blue Alpine Fir. Needles are a striking silver-blue, bark is white and corky at maturity. Use as small landscape feature, in a container or raised bed, or in a larger rock garden....
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Acanthus spinosus
Common Name: Spiny Bear's Breeches
Spiny Bear's Breeches has leaves that are deeply cut with spiny margins. White flower spikes with purple bracts in late spring to midsummer....
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Acer griseum
Common Name: Paperbark Maple
Paperbark Maple is perhaps the most beautiful maple for use as a landscape specimen. Trifoliate leaves offer excellent fall color, ranging from red-orange to bronze. The orange-y peeling, papery bark provides year-round interest....
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Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium'
Common Name: Fernleaf Fullmoon Maple
Full-Moon Maple has deeply lobed leaves, crimson autumn color, and plenty of small, reddish flowers in spring. Grow as small tree or multi-stemmed shrub. Growth habit is mounded, bushy, and spreading....
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Allium schubertii
Common Name: Tumbleweed Onion
Fantastic, beautiful pink fireworks, very striking and rather alien-looking: a real show stopper! The whole flower ball rolls in the wind, eventually scattering the seed over a wide area....
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Angelica gigas
Common Name: Korean Angelica
Korean Angelica is a stunning biennial which grows head high in its second year and has large purple seed heads in summer that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Fragrant. ...
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Aralia elata 'Aureovariegata'
Common Name: Gold-variegated Aralia
Gold-variegated Aralia is a small tree with spectacular, variegated foliage. Leaflets are edged in yellow....
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Aster oblongifolius var. angustatus 'Raydon's Favorite'
Common Name: Raydon's Favorite Aromatic Aster
Purple, fine textured single ray flowers in September and October, with aromatic foliage. A butterfly magnet and terrific color and texture addition to the fall border. ...
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