Plants for Tough Spots

Mint and horsetail can both handle sunny, wet locations. Lobelia and bellflower can help provide color in shady areas. Also think about ferns, vinca and hosta.

Too wet? Too dry? Too hot? If you've got a challenging site in your garden, consider these perennials that can handle the tough stuff:

Horsetails, papyrus grass and mint are ideal for exceptionally wet soil. Because iris is so adaptable, it too grows well in wet areas. Canna and other tropicals also usually tolerate some sogginess.
Succulents work well in areas with dry soil, of course, but there are a wide range of other perennials that can handle such conditions, including artemisia, bear's breech, yarrow, dianthus, coreopsis, fountain grass, sage, asters, lavender, catmint, evening primrose, bellflower, iris and gay-feather; succulents also work well in overly sunny areas (particularly where the soil is sandy).
Ferns, hosta, vinca, astilbe, lobelia and mint make good choices for shady areas. Consider, too, bleeding heart, bear's-breech, hellebore, bellflower, cardinal flower, columbine, wild blue phlox, goatsbeard and Solomon's-seal.

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