What to plant guides
Each guide is a list from our rules engine for stated conditions and a 12 × 6 ft sample bed: which plants, how many of each, substitutes, mulch and when to plant. The plant table behind them is awaiting horticulturist review.
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The guides whose lists passed our publishing checks. The rest are below as examples.
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 5
Zone 5 · Midwest
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6
Zone 6 · Midwest
- Dog-safe plants for a part-shade bed in zone 8
Zone 8 · Southeast
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 4
Zone 4 · Midwest
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6
Zone 6 · Midwest
- Deer-resistant plants for a part-shade bed in zone 7
Zone 7 · Mid-Atlantic
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 6
Zone 6 · Midwest
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 5
Zone 5 · Midwest
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 6
Zone 6 · Midwest
- Cottage garden plants for a sunny bed in zone 5
Zone 5 · Midwest
- Cottage garden plants for a sunny bed in zone 7
Zone 7 · Mid-Atlantic
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 5
Zone 5 · Midwest
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6, Mountain West
Zone 6 · Mountain West
By need
Beds with dogs or cats (no plant flagged toxic)
By zone
Don't know your zone? Look it up by ZIP.
Zone 4
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 4
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 4
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 4
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 4
- What to plant in a part-shade bed in zone 4
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 4
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 4
Zone 5
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 5
- Dog-safe plants for a part-shade bed in zone 5
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 5
- Deer-resistant plants for a part-shade bed in zone 5
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 5
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 5
- What to plant in a part-shade bed in zone 5
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 5
- Cottage garden plants for a sunny bed in zone 5
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 5
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 5
- Prairie-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 5, Great Plains
Zone 6
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6
- Deer-resistant plants for a part-shade bed in zone 6
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 6
- What to plant in a part-shade bed in zone 6
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 6
- Cottage garden plants for a sunny bed in zone 6
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 6
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 6
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6, Mountain West
- Deer-resistant part-shade plants for zone 6, Northeast
Zone 7
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 7
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 7
- Deer-resistant plants for a part-shade bed in zone 7
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 7
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 7
- What to plant in a part-shade bed in zone 7
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 7
- Cottage garden plants for a sunny bed in zone 7
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 7
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 7
- Deer-resistant full-sun plants for zone 7, Southeast
Zone 8
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8
- Dog-safe plants for a part-shade bed in zone 8
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8
- Deer-resistant plants for a part-shade bed in zone 8
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 8
- What to plant in a part-shade bed in zone 8
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 8
- Cottage garden plants for a sunny bed in zone 8
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 8
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 8
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8, Southwest
- Shade plants for humid summers in zone 8, Southeast
- Part-shade plants for zone 8 in the Pacific Northwest
- Full-sun plants for zone 8 in Texas and Oklahoma
Zone 9
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9
- Deer-resistant plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9
- What to plant in a full-sun bed in zone 9
- What to plant in a part-shade bed in zone 9
- What to plant in a shady bed in zone 9
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, Southwest
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, California
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, Florida
By region
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, Southwest
Zone 9 · Desert Southwest
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8, Southwest
Zone 8 · Desert Southwest
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, California
Zone 9 · California
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 6, Mountain West
Zone 6 · Mountain West
- Shade plants for humid summers in zone 8, Southeast
Zone 8 · Southeast
- Part-shade plants for zone 8 in the Pacific Northwest
Zone 8 · Pacific Northwest
- Full-sun plants for zone 8 in Texas and Oklahoma
Zone 8 · South-Central
- Prairie-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 5, Great Plains
Zone 5 · Great Plains
- Deer-resistant part-shade plants for zone 6, Northeast
Zone 6 · Northeast
- Dog-safe plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, Florida
Zone 9 · Florida/Gulf
- Deer-resistant full-sun plants for zone 7, Southeast
Zone 7 · Southeast
By city
- New York City
- Los Angeles, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- Houston, Texas
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Diego, California
- Dallas, Texas
- Austin, Texas
- Jacksonville, Florida
- San Jose, California
- Columbus, Ohio
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- San Francisco, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Denver, Colorado
- Washington, DC
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- El Paso, Texas
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Portland, Oregon
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Detroit, Michigan
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Tucson, Arizona
- Sacramento, California
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Tampa, Florida
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Orlando, Florida
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Richmond, Virginia
- Birmingham, Alabama