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of woodland, think "meadow." As long as water is available, you can grow many colorful perennials that are may also attract butterflies and other wildlife. Coreopsis is a cheerful perennial with sunny yellow flowers and finely divided foliage. I like to plant these near Liatris, with its tall mauve spikes, or Echinacea, with its graceful purple blossoms. The feathery foliage of corepsis is a good contrast to the coarser foliage of the Echinacea. All three are butterfly attractors, and birds love coreopsis seeds. Rudbeckia, also called Black-eyed Susan, will bloom well into autumn. Add some chrysanthemums for late fall color, and you should have blossoms from early summer until nearly winter.

Sunny annual borders
Garden centers are full of great plants to grow in your annual border, if you don't mind the cost of buying them as plants. Many are easily grown from seed as well. Sweet alyssum makes a great edging, with its tiny white or purple flowers. Lobelia, in shades of sky blue, cobalt, or amethyst, also makes a great edging and will trail over the edges of raised beds. Petunias may be a bit of a cliche, but they are easy to grow and, if given plenty of water, make great border fillers. Many varieties are fragrant as well. Marigolds come in dwarf and tall varieties, and in shades ranging from cream through yellow, orange, and rusty red. Zinnias give brilliant splashes of color. If your borders are a little dry, try Portulaca, which has bright flowers and fleshy leaves. For the back of the border, who can resist Cosmos? Two species are popular: the yellow Cosmos sulphureus and the pink or white Cosmos bipinnatus. Both are gorgeous and long-blooming, and both are easy to grow from seed.

The vegetable garden
If you've never grown a vegetable garden before, start small. A 10 foot by 10 foot patch with a path running up the middle will give you enough space to grow a few easy veggies. Tomatoes are fairly easy, especially if you begin with tomato plants from a garden center. Lettuce comes in many colorful varieties. Alternate rows of red-leaved and green-leaved lettuce look as lovely as anything in the flower borders. Add some radishes grown from seed and a bush-type cucumber, and you have the ingredients for fresh salads. Thrown in some onions grown from onion sets, some cilantro, and a pepper plant from the garden center, and you can make your own fresh salsa.

Once you've tried the basics, you can branch out into more challenging garden projects. Maybe you'd like to explore xeriscaping, which is low- or no-water gardening, featuring plants adapted to dry regions. Or perhaps you want to try gardening with native plants to attract wildlife. Or you'd like to try more challenging perennials. Or you'd like to try growing your own herbs. Most of all, remember that the "best" plants to grow in the garden are the ones appropriate to your garden, and that you like the most.

Learn more about this author, Karen Bledsoe.
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