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Choosing Plants for Your Garden

Writer's picture: Kat CervoniKat Cervoni

A lush, naturalistic shade border features astilbe and tiarella with ilex "Steeds" as a deep green backdrop.
A lush, naturalistic shade border with astilbe, tiarella, and ilex "Steeds" as a deep green backdrop.

Pick your style

First things first. Choose a style or theme for your garden before embarking on a planting adventure. Perhaps you love wild, naturalistic meadows? Maybe you prefer more modern-leaning monochromatic grass borders? Regardless of the look you love, consider your home's architectural style and interior design when you decide so there's a visual connection between the spaces.

A modern garden featuring tightly-clipped boxwood and yew. Image by fotolinchen courtesy iStock.
A modern garden featuring tightly-clipped boxwood and yew. Image by fotolinchen courtesy iStock.

I find lots inspiration in garden and design books as well as on Instagram and Pinterest.


Find your zone

Plant hardiness zone map courtesy USDA.gov.
Plant hardiness zone map courtesy USDA.gov.

A quick Google search will help you discover what your USDA planting zone number is. In a nutshell, low numbers mean a colder average low winter temperature and higher numbers mean the opposite. With climate change in play, New York City is now generally considered zone 6 or 7 (depends on the year!) while Atlanta is on the cusp of zones 7 and 8.


Azaleas and rhododendrons thrive in part-shade conditions. Image by dszc courtesy iStock.
Azaleas and rhododendrons thrive in part-shade conditions. Image by dszc courtesy iStock.

Check your light

  • Full sun: 6+ hours of sunlight/day

  • Part sun/shade: 4-6 hours of sunlight/day

  • Shade: <4 hours of sunlight/day

  • Deep shade: No direct sunlight


Know your soil

  • Clay: Made of very fine mineral particles and little organic matter. It's very dense, heavy, and sticky and tends to hold on to lots of water. Adding a lot of compost will add structure and lightness to this type of soil, making it perfect for gardening.

  • Loam: A combination of sand and silt with a bit of clay. This is often considered the most ideal type of soil for gardening thanks to balanced nutrients, ability to drain, and ease to work with.

  • Coarse/sandy: Composed of mostly rocks or sand and a little organic matter, this is the leanest type of soil with minimal nutrient content, i.e. an ability to hold onto moisture.

  • Acidic: Soil with a pH level lower than 7 (7 is neutral). Many plants such as rhododendrons prefer acidic soil.

  • Alkaline: Soil with a pH level higher than 7. Lilacs do well in this type of soil.

*Note: To find out what your soil's pH is you can purchase a simple test kit like this one or this 3-in-1 moisture/pH/light meter.

It's easy to learn about your soil's pH level with an at-home test kit.
It's easy to learn about your soil's pH level with an at-home test kit.

Visit your local nursery

Finally, I highly recommend visiting at least one of your local nurseries to see what they have in stock. Since they're catering to your community, they will certainly have a selection of plants that are suitable for your soil and climate conditions and it's so helpful to see their size and appearance in person. This can also give you a sense of what is readily available for purchase, and what may take a bit more hunting to track down. For example, some lesser-known native plants or unique cultivars might need to be purchased through an online retailer. Bluestone Perennials is a great online source with an enormous catalogue of options.



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Staghorn NYC offers garden and landscape design services for residential clients throughout NYC, Brooklyn and beyond. As a top landscape design firm in New York City, we are experts in rooftop gardens, outdoor living spaces, patios, fences, pergolas, outdoor lighting, outdoor kitchens, outdoor furniture, irrigation, and plantings. Contact us to get started on your outdoor oasis.

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