I hope I have posted this in the right place. I usually hang out in the Houseplants forum.

We are closing on a house soon (so no pictures yet since it's not technically our house yet and I don't feel comfortable posting pictures of their house) and I'm interested in adding some more plants to the current landscaping. I'm just trying to get an idea ahead of time because by the time we move in, it should be safe to plant for Spring.

I'm looking for a border plant to add to the front of some heavily manicured bushes (you can see the woody bases of the bushes... think a bonsai bush ). From what I can tell, the soil is clay/clay-like.

I was thinking what I know as "monkey grass," but from what I've read, even the variegated kind won't handle extreme sun or heat, which we definitely have in our summers (where it gets 100+ without the heat index some summers).

I'm looking for more of a border plant, not flowering plants like say daylilies or such (I understand monkey grass blooms, but their blooms are not so obvious from a distance). I'd much prefer the look of monkey grass to a perennial like a Daylily, Rudbeckia, or other floweing perennial (if that makes sense).

I really prefer something that just takes care of itself. So nothing I need to baby, water, fertilize, etc too much (I'm not one to water the lawn, so watering border plants is not in my idea of a plant)

Epimedium, sedum, nepeta are some good ones. I grow nepeta and it's carefree and so is sedum.

pepper23 said:Epimedium, sedum, nepeta are some good ones. I grow nepeta and it's carefree and so is sedum.

I will have to look into those!

The nepeta does bloom but it's extremely low care so if you don't mind lavender blooms then it will work for you. It will need cut back every winter to get rid of the dead stuff but that's it. Sedum also blooms but again, virtually no care needed and comes in all different heights.

I was looking into Nepeta, is that also known as catmint? Hubby spotted a kitty on the front doorstep while we were looking at the house, so we may have a friend with that one.

Would Sedum do okay with freezing winters? I know it's a succulent, but I understand that the garden succulents may be different cold hardy wise than those you'd find in the houseplant section.

I'm zone 5-6 and they do fine here.

Here's a partial list of sedums to give you an idea of some varieties available. There are lots and lots more out there though. http://www.costafarms.com/plan...

Nepeta is also known as catmint. Cats don't roll in mine very often but it doesn't scare them away either.

Thank you for the list! They do sell Costa Farm plants here, so I'm sure I'll have it easy finding some of those on the list!

Haha! Well, at least that means I won't be attracting the neighborhood.

Only if you plant cat nip instead.

When the local garden centers start opening up for the season start going to them and looking around and asking questions. They will sell plants that will thrive in your area and most of them will have the knowledge needed to help you. Big box stores will have plants but not always suitable to your area.

Ooo, yes, that would be quite a disaster. :lol:

We only have one local garden center left (sadly, the other two have closed over the years), but she carries a good variety of outdoor plants and the owner seemed knowledgeable when I went there in the past. Also, I think my Mother may still have a book on GA native plants (or was it ones that did well in GA, hmm...), so that will help too!

Our apartment patio hasn't proven very useful growing plants in containers, so it will be exciting to finally have some ground to plant in!

so much for the input. I am not very knowledgeable about oudoor plants, so I appreciate you letting me "pick your brain."

You're welcome!! Google is your friend also. Just keep it simple like full sun zone 8 or partial shade zone 8. That helps also. And don't hesitate to join your regional gardening forum on here also. They will be a huge help in figuring out what will thrive. We have lots of Georgia folks on here.

https://garden.org/forums/view...

https://garden.org/forums/view...

Oh my, I didn't even see those forums! It's about time I ventured out of the Houseplants and Cacti & Succulents forums!