Have a Garden Problem? We've Got a Plant for You

No garden is perfect. Ravenous rabbits and deer can demolish your beds and borders overnight. Hot, humid weather invites pests and plant diseases. Flowers and foliage that need rich, organic matter can struggle or die in poor soil. Some of us just want flowers for cutting, but the plants we're growing have weak, floppy stems.

You can solve some garden problems, like fencing out the wildlife and amending your soil. Others, like water restrictions, high humidity or salt spray coming from the ocean, are tougher to handle. But don't give up. The solution is to choose the best plants for your conditions. Spot your garden problem in our list and find the fix you need.

Your choices for flowering plants are limited if your problem is heavy shade, especially if shallow-rooted trees are competing for water and nutrients. A site that gets morning sun and afternoon shade can give you more options, or, for best results in a shady site, go for a naturalistic look with native plants, groundcovers or flowers that bloom in early spring before the trees leaf out. Other possibilities: grow plants that thrive in part or dappled shade to full shade, like Corydalis ‘Blue Heron' or Corydalis 'Canary Feathers'. Both are woodland natives hardy in USDA Gardening Zones 6 to 8. In moist, well-draining soil, 'Blue Heron', pictured here, grows 10 inches high and 12 inches wide and blooms in spring and summer. Many coleus, like 'Monkey Puzzle', are also ideal for shade.

Hours of intense sun can cause pale or bleached-looking spots on your plants, eventually making leaves turn brown and die. Fortunately, some flowers and foliage plants soak up the sun happily, like Centaurea ragusina ‘Snowy Owl', grown primarily for its big, velvety white leaves. Hardy in Zones 9 to 11, it reaches 18 inches tall with a 16-inch spread, and it tolerates drought. As a bonus, deer usually leave this plant alone, and it occasionally opens bright yellow blooms in spring. You may see it called silver knapweed. For other sunny spots, try coneflowers, daylilies, fan flowers (Scaevolas), geraniums or sunflowers.

Many diseases can attack garden plants, but we're singling out downy mildew because it nearly wiped out the impatiens market in 2011. Now, breeders have introduced Beacon Formula Mix Impatiens (shown here). They're named for lighthouses — beacons — in areas where downy mildew has been a problem. These easy-to-grow annuals resist this previously untreatable disease. They flower from spring until frost when grown in a shady spot and watered regularly. At maturity, they're 14 to 18 inches tall and 12 to 14 inches across. If your garden problem is powdery mildew — a different disease that affects a plant's appearance but doesn't usually lead to death — try Veronica 'Venture Blue'. It resists powdery mildew and opens its purple-blue flowers from about May until August. Hardy in Zones 4 to 8, it matures around 22 inches tall and 13 inches wide and needs full sun.

Flowers with weak stems aren't great for cutting or arranging, and some just don't last long in vases. If you're craving a bed of blooms for cutting, grow lavender and enjoy its rich color and fragrance. This is 'Sweet Romance', a perennial for Zones 5 to 9 that needs full sun and poor soil (yes, poor soil). It produces gray-green foliage and wands of violet-purple flowers in late spring and summer, growing 12 to 18 inches high and wide. Deer and rabbits tend to leave the scented blooms alone, but they're wonderful to display as fresh-cut flowers or in dried arrangements. 'Sweet Romance' is also known as English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘kerlavangem’).

We love our pets — until they dig in our gardens or trample our plants. Some gardeners try fencing them out, scattering pepper flakes over the ground, detering them with strong-smelling plants like rosemary or scaring them away with motion-activated devices. These are better tactics than using harsh garden chemicals or growing plants that could be toxic.

Before you plant where Fido and Fluffy roam, see the ASPCA list of plants known to be toxic to animals so you can avoid them. A good strategy is to choose plants that pets can safely nibble or eat, such as cat grass for cats, or common snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), which the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to dogs — but always check with your veterinarian if you're unsure about a plant. This gorgeous variety is 'Snappy Rose Flame', a sun-loving perennial in Zones 3 to 9 that grows 8 to 10 inches tall and blooms from early spring until frost.

Heat and humidity can encourage plant diseases to grow and spread. For a healthy garden, grow disease-resistant varieties and space your plants far enough apart to allow good air circulation. Amend your soil, if needed, so it drains easily, and water your plants around the roots, not overhead, so the foliage doesn't get wet.

Hellebores, also known as Lenten roses or Christmas roses because they flower from winter into spring, can tolerate various levels of heat and humidity. ‘Honeyhill Joy’ needs light shade and good drainage and bears white flowers with cream-colored centers. It matures at 18 to 24 inches tall and 28 inches across, and its flowers face outward so they’re easy to see, unlike hellebores with hanging blooms. You can also beat heat and high humidity by growing tropicals and plants like morning glories, Liatris spicata (gayfeather), annual vincas (Madagascar periwinkles) and Penstemons.

Artemisias are known for thriving in dry heat, and Makana 'Silver' is a perennial show-off in Zones 9 to 11. Let its soft, silvery leaves grow into mounds 24 inches tall and 36 inches across in the landscape, beds or containers, or use it as an accent plant. It can also be trained as a small specimen tree; it won a 2019 Best Novelty award from Colorado State University in that form. Artemisias can flop over in too much shade and suffer from diseases in high humidity, but they'll do fine in full sun with dry heat and fast-draining soil. Plants that like the same basic growing conditions include Rudbeckia 'Lion Cub,' coreopsis and catmint.

The size of your outdoor space can present problems if you crave color but lack enough room for most flowering plants. Think small instead, and opt for flowers like Viola cornata Deltini 'Blue Purple Wing'. These charming annuals behave like perennials in Zones 7 to 10 and grow 4 to 6 inches tall with a 10-inch spread. Look for violas in many different colors; they'll bloom for weeks from winter into early spring. They prefer sun to partial shade and moist soil that drains easily. If you have a little more room, try a dwarf hydrangea like 'Bobo' or 'Little Lime' for part sun to sun or Petite Knock Out roses for full sun.

If you can't plant in the ground — maybe you live in a condo or apartment — go for the next best thing: a container garden. Use window boxes, hanging baskets or pots, but first consider the weight of your containers after they're planted and watered so you don't damage your balcony, window frames or other supports. Supertunias like 'Vista Snowdrift', shown here, grow vigorously in containers, don't need deadheading and flower repeatedly from spring until frost with at least six hours of full sun daily and regular water. Supertunias are annuals that should be fertilized weekly to encourage more blooms. The plants grow 12 to 24 inches tall and 24 to 36 inches across. Sun-loving geraniums also thrive in containers, along with herbs, edibles like dwarf blueberries and patio roses. For containers in shade, try heucheras, compact Nandinas like 'Murasaki' and dwarf hydrangeas like 'Little Quick Fire'.

Wet feet — that is, roots have to grow in soggy soil or standing water — is a death sentence for most plants. Solve this garden problem by choosing plants that tolerate moist sites. Astilbes need moist soil, as do cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), Japanese iris (Iris ensata), Thaila daffodils and turtleheads (Chelone spp.). Give Astilbe x arendsii 'Amethyst', shown here, part to full shade. It can grow 2 to 3 feet tall with fluffy, purple-lilac blooms on 30- to 36-inch stems. Hardy in Zones 3 to 9, it isn't finicky about whether its soil is clay or sandy as long as it doesn't dry out.

Eye-catching Agastache 'Kudos Mandarin' is a problem solver for gardens that suffer from periodic or long-term drought. While it doesn't need much water, it loves sun, resists downy mildew, draws pollinators to its rose-orange flowers, behaves as a perennial in Zones 5 to 10 and blooms in gardens and containers from early summer into fall. This licorice-scented dwarf variety, 'Kudos Mandarin', has strong stems and doesn't need staking. It matures at 18 to 20 inches high and 16 inches across. Agastaches are also called hyssops or hummingbird mints. Need more drought-tolerant plants? Try yarrow, Russian sage and portulaca, also called moss rose.

Even if you're not in a drought, you may find yourself under temporary water restrictions when there's not enough rain and local water reservoirs are low. Penstemons are native to the prairies and can tolerate full sun and some drought, although they'll bloom better if given an inch of water each week in the summer. Once established, they're a good choice for xeriscaping. 'Dakota Burgundy' draws hummingbirds when its lavender-purple flowers open in summer. Birds will visit if the flowerheads are left to dry and set seeds. These undemanding perennials, also called beardtongues, are hardy in Zones 3 to 8. 'Dakota Burgundy' grows 12 to 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide. Give the plants full sun and average, well-drained soil.

Clay soil contains small particles that compact easily, making it tough for plant roots to grow properly. It also drains slowly, which can lead to rotting. If your garden has a lot of clay, improve it by working in 6 to 8 inches of organic matter like compost or well-rotted, seed-free manure. Also, choose plants that tolerate clay-like soils, such as asters, bearded iris and daylilies. Rudbeckia 'Little Henry', pictured here, is a sun-loving coneflower that grows 3 to 4 feet tall, blooms from summer into fall and tolerates soil with clay. It's a perennial in Zones 4 to 8. Asters, hostas and anemones can also handle clay. Sandy soil, unlike clay, dries out fast, but organic matter improves it, too. Try Joe Pye weed, lavenders, salvias and sedums for a sandy site.

Many gardeners struggle with poor soil that's low in nutrients. Improve your garden spot by sending a soil sample to your local extension service and following their suggestions for amendments, or use a home test kit to determine what it needs. Poor soil doesn't always improve right away, but you can still enjoy a beautiful garden by choosing plants that can tolerate your conditions. Dicentra 'Ruby Gold', also known as bleeding heart for its brilliant red, heart-shaped blooms, has striking gold foliage with hints of orange. Dicentra is happy in full to part shade, blooms from spring into summer and comes back as a perennial in Zones 4 to 8. The plants reach 32 inches wide. If they're kept moist, Dicentras can take sandy or clay soils, but they grow best in soil amended with compost. Other candidates for poor soils: Black-eyed Susan, yarrow, aster and bee balm (Monarada).

Love butterflies and birds? Want to invite bees and other pollinators to your ornamentals and edibles? Plant 'Apollo Mixed' Cosmos, and their daisy-like pink, white and purple blooms will offer your winged visitors a place to land. These pretty annuals with feathery foliage need full sun, stand up to hot weather and diseases and received a prestigious Award of Merit from the United Kingdom's Royal Horticultural Society. The plants stay compact at 18 to 26 inches tall and 20 to 24 inches across, and they bloom from summer to frost when kept evenly moist. They grow easily in average soils and will often self-sow. Many birds like to eat the seeds.

Salt and plants don't mix, which means gardeners who get salt spray from a nearby ocean or melted salts from icy streets that have been salt-treated need to watch what they plant. Daylilies, ornamental grasses like 'Karl Foerster' (Calmagrostis acutifolia) and blanket flower (Gaillardia) can stand up to salts. Catmint, or Nepeta, is another good choice. Hardy in Zones 5 to 9, Nepeta 'Blue Prelude' likes part to full sun, opens showy, fragrant flowers from spring into fall and attracts hummingbirds with its minty scent. (It also attracts cats, as its name suggests.) The plants reach 2 to 3 feet tall and wide.

Deer can ruin anything they can reach in your yard or garden — even hanging baskets, if they're low enough. Physical barriers like 8-foot tall fences, row covers and plastic netting may help. Some gardeners use motion-activated devices, but deer can get used to them, and repellants have to be reapplied regularly. Often, your best bet is simply planting things deer don't like, such as garlic or rosemary around your plants, or flowers like yarrow (Achillea). Achillea 'New Vintage Red' resists deer and rabbits, blooms from late spring into summer and is a perennial in Zones 4 to 9. Pollinators are drawn to its ruby-red flowers. The plants can take drought and heat and prefer full sun and average water. They mature at 12 to 15 inches tall and 10 to 15 inches across.

Are rabbits robbing your garden? Salvias, with their pungent odor, are typically deer and rabbit-resistant. They thrive in hot, dry conditions and are available in a wide range of colors. 'Rockin' Fuchsia' is a compact annual (or a perennial in Zones 9 to 11) that helps keep four-footed pests out of your garden while attracting hummingbirds, bees and butterflies with its tubular-shaped blooms. It doesn't set seeds, so it flowers non-stop from spring until frost. Give the plants part sun to sun and they'll grow to 36 inches tall and 30 inches wide. These handsome, easy-to-grow plants make attractive "thrillers" in containers and do equally well in borders, beds or landscapes. Other rabbit-resistant plants include anemones, foxgloves and Kniphofia (Red-Hot Poker).

It's hard to enjoy being outdoors when you're plagued by mosquitoes. If you don't like using chemical repellants, grow flowers with scents that naturally deter them, like marigolds, lavender, citronella grass (also called lemon grass), rosemary or bee balm (Monarda). Easy-to-grow marigolds are annuals with a pungent odor that can also help keep away whiteflies, thrips and aphids. The cheerful gold, yellow and orange marigolds shown here in 'French Happy Mix' thrive in full sun and well-draining soil. These dwarf beauties grow 6 to 7 inches tall and 7 to 8 inches wide.