by Karen Bledsoe

Created on: February 19, 2011   Last Updated: April 18, 2012

If you have a yard that gets full sun all day, consider yourself lucky. Most fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants need plenty of sun, so you’ll have lots of plants to choose from. Which plants you choose from the hundreds of sun-lovers depends on your soil type and your local climate.

• Plants That Need Water And Rich Soil 

Fruits and vegetables need loose, rich soil and plenty of water to keep them alive and well. So do many of the traditional cottage garden flowers: roses, lilacs, and most flowering annuals. Plant your vegetable garden, your strawberry patch, blueberry bushes, fruit trees, or cottage garden near a water tap or other water source to keep them in the best of health. As long as they have both water and sun, they will thrive.

• Water-Lovers For Boggy Areas 

Marsh plants are usually sun-lovers, and can be the perfect plant for low, wet areas. They can also be used for ecologically-sound rain gardens, where the boggy conditions are fed by rainwater from downspouts or runoff from hard surfaces. Rain gardens absorb runoff, reducing strain on storm sewer systems. Nurseries can often recommend native plants suitable for rain gardens, such as wild ginger, serviceberry, elderberry, milkweed, cattail, or Joe Pye weed. Many Extension agencies have complete instructions for building, planting, and maintaining rain gardens.

• Winter-Hardy Sun-Lovers 

If you have harsh winters, you know that any perennials you choose must endure winter’s ravages but still come back year after year. Winter-hardy perennials that die back completely and re-grow from roots are often a good choice. Native plants of the northern prairies and plants adapted to mountain meadows are often just the thing. These plants include Daffodils, Echinacea, Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), Columbine, Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia), Coreopsis, Yarrow (Achillea), Goldenrod (Salidago), and perennial Salvia. To help assure survival in the harshest winters, trim these plants back in the fall and cover them with a loose much of straw or leaves.

• Sunny And Dry 

Xeriscaping is a great plan for gardeners who must cope with dry summers. Xeric plants are those that are adapted to dry climates and can thrive without much water in the summer, though they may not do well in areas with hot, humid summers. Many native desert plants have beautiful blossoms and do well in low-water gardens. Lovely xeric plants include Yarrow (Achillea), Anise Hyssop (Agastache),

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