Imagine your side yard as a colorful playground for plants. You can mix flowers, herbs, and easy-to-care-for plants to make it look amazing. Each plant adds color, smell, or texture to your space.
Tired of a boring side of your house?
Discover 17 plant ideas to make it lively and pretty. Use flowers for bold colors, herbs for tasty smells, and succulents for low work.
Turn your side yard into a favorite spot for everyone.
Vibrant perennials are an excellent choice for adding year-round color to the side of your house. Consider planting varieties like Daylilies, which bloom in a range of colors, or Coneflowers, known for their resilience and unique shape. Additionally, consider incorporating Sedum for their succulent-like blooms and low maintenance. With careful selection, you can create a stunning display that shifts beautifully through the seasons, providing visual interest and attracting pollinators throughout the year.
Low-maintenance succulents are perfect for adding a modern touch to the side of your house without demanding much attention. These hardy plants thrive in well-drained soil and require minimal watering, making them ideal for busy lifestyles. Varieties such as Echeveria, Sedum, and Aloe offer unique textures and colors, providing visual interest year-round. Arranging these succulents in stylish pots or decorative planters can enhance your home’s aesthetic while ensuring effortless beauty.
Fragrant herbs are a fantastic addition to the side of your house, offering both beauty and sensory delight. Plants like lavender, rosemary, and basil not only produce lovely aromas but can also be used in cooking, making them functional as well as decorative. Growing these herbs in pots or directly in the ground can create a lush and inviting atmosphere, attracting beneficial pollinators while enhancing your outdoor space with their vibrant colors and textures.
Bright annual flowers are perfect for adding a burst of color and seasonal cheer to the side of your house. These vibrant blooms come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and hues, allowing you to create a stunning visual display. Options like marigolds, petunias, and zinnias are not only easy to grow, but they also attract pollinators. Planting these annuals can instantly elevate your outdoor space, making it inviting and lively throughout the blooming season.
Lush ferns can transform the side of your house into a tropical oasis. Their vibrant green foliage adds depth and texture, creating a lush, inviting atmosphere. Ideal for shady areas, ferns thrive in damp, humid conditions, making them perfect for spots with limited sunlight. Consider varieties like Boston ferns or maidenhair ferns for a striking visual impact. Grouping different types can enhance the tropical feel, while their low maintenance needs make them a hassle-free choice for stunning greenery.
Climbing vines are an excellent way to add vertical interest to the side of your house while enhancing its aesthetic appeal. These plants can easily cover fences, trellises, or walls, transforming bare spaces into lush displays of foliage and flowers. Varieties such as clematis, wisteria, and jasmine not only create a stunning visual impact but also provide added privacy and shade. With minimal maintenance, climbing vines can thrive in various conditions, making them a versatile choice for any garden.
Decorative grasses are an excellent choice for adding texture and movement to the side of your house. Their tall, slender blades create an elegant contrast to static structures, while their gentle sway in the breeze adds a dynamic element to the landscape. Varieties like Miscanthus and Panicum not only provide visual interest but also require minimal maintenance, making them ideal for busy homeowners. Incorporate them into beds or borders for a soft, natural look that enhances your home’s exterior.
Colorful shrubs can add vibrancy and charm to the side of your house, transforming an ordinary space into an inviting landscape. Opt for varieties like hydrangeas, which bloom in shades of blue, pink, and white, or loropetalum with its striking purple foliage. Mix in some potentilla for bright yellow flowers, or choose dwarf spireas for their delicate pink blooms. These shrubs not only enhance the aesthetic appeal but also provide structure and depth to your garden design.
Shade-loving plants are perfect for brightening up those gloomy corners on the side of your house where sunlight rarely reaches. Consider options like hostas, which provide lush foliage, or ferns that add texture and elegance. Astilbes, with their feathery plumes, can bring a pop of color, while heucheras offer vibrant leaf variations. These plants thrive in low light, helping to transform dim areas into lush, inviting retreats.
When looking to make a bold statement with unique foliage plants on the side of your house, consider incorporating varieties like the striking Lantana, with its vibrant clusters of blooms, or the dramatic Colocasia, also known as elephant ear, which boasts enormous, heart-shaped leaves. Other excellent choices include the colorful Heuchera, or coral bells, with its stunning array of leaf colors, and the exotic foliage of Alocasia. These plants not only provide eye-catching visuals but also complement other garden elements beautifully.
Heavenly scented flowering plants can transform the side of your house into a fragrant oasis. Varieties like jasmine, gardenias, and lavender not only add visual appeal but also fill the air with delightful aromas. Plant these near entryways or windows to enjoy their enchanting scents from inside and outside. Opt for a mix of heights and colors to create an inviting atmosphere, while ensuring they thrive in the available sunlight and soil conditions.
Drought-tolerant plants are essential for eco-friendly gardening, especially in arid climates or regions with limited water supply. These resilient species require minimal irrigation once established, making them perfect for low-maintenance landscaping. Consider incorporating succulents, native grasses, and flowering perennials that thrive in dry conditions. Not only do they conserve water, but they also attract pollinators, enhance biodiversity, and contribute to a sustainable garden design that supports the environment.
Container gardens offer a versatile and flexible planting option for the side of your house. They allow you to showcase a variety of plants, from colorful flowers to lush herbs, without committing to permanent landscaping. Ideal for narrow spaces, containers can be easily rearranged or swapped with the seasons, enhancing curb appeal. Additionally, container gardening enables you to control soil conditions and drainage, making it perfect for optimizing plant health in challenging environments.
Ground covers are an excellent choice for the side of your house, as they effectively suppress weeds while adding visual interest. Varieties like creeping thyme, ajuga, and Irish moss form dense mats that outcompete unwanted plants for nutrients and sunlight. They require minimal maintenance and can thrive in various conditions, making them perfect for those hard-to-reach areas. Additionally, many ground covers produce beautiful flowers or vibrant foliage, enhancing the overall aesthetic of your landscape.
Creating a functional garden on the side of your house can be both practical and rewarding by incorporating edible plants. Consider planting herbs like basil, parsley, and chives, which thrive in smaller spaces and add flavor to your meals. Vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and leafy greens can also flourish in portable containers or vertical gardens. By choosing edible plants, you not only enhance your outdoor aesthetics but also guarantee a fresh supply of produce right at your doorstep.
When selecting plants for the side of your house, consider native species that require minimal maintenance while supporting local wildlife. These plants are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, making them easier to care for. Additionally, they provide essential habitats and food sources for birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. Incorporating native plants not only enhances biodiversity but also creates a beautiful and eco-friendly landscape beside your home.
Vertical gardens are an innovative solution for maximizing limited outdoor spaces, particularly on the sides of houses. These garden designs utilize vertical structures like trellises, living walls, or pocket planters to cultivate plants upward rather than outward. Ideal for small gardens or narrow pathways, they can accommodate a variety of greenery, from vibrant flowers to culinary herbs. Vertical gardens not only enhance aesthetic appeal but also improve air quality and provide a natural habitat for local wildlife.
By integrating these 17 plant ideas, you can effortlessly transform the side of your house into a thriving paradise. You might think it’s too much work, but with a mix of low-maintenance plants and native species, you’ll find your oasis requires minimal upkeep while offering maximum visual delight. Embrace the beauty and functionality that a vibrant garden brings, and watch as it elevates your home’s charm and invites nature right to your doorstep.
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