And the Oscar goes to...

After watching the Oscars last night, I was inspired to come up with some of my own award winners. This is not a complete list of all the greatest plants out there, but it is a list of winners that I have personally experienced, admired and appreciated.

I’m always on the lookout for great plants, so if you have a list of your own winners, please share it!

Best ongoing summer color (flowers continuously from June - August)
Plumbago
Lantana
Vinca (periwinkle)
Blackfoot daisy
Summer phlox

Best (most) heat-tolerant
Yucca
Stonecrop
Mexican petunia (ruellia – both tall and short varieties)
Azure Skies Blue Heliotrope
Skulcap
Russian sage

Best shade lover
Wood fern (as is most of the fern family)
Hosta
Impatiens
Oxalis

Best landscape shrub (low maintenance)
Indian Hawthorne
Nandina
Yaupon holly

Yucca (just about all varieties)

Ornamental grasses

Best ornamental tree
Red bud
Crape myrtle
Althea -- also called, Rose of Sharon (I’ve seen this listed as both a tree and a shrub)

Best Vine
Clematis
Wisteria
Star jasmine
Passion vine
Mandevilla

Best herbs (easy to grow)
Rosemary
Parsley
Cilantro
Basil

Lavender

Best perennial
Daylily (antique and hybrid)
Summer phlox
Russian sage
Dwarf Mexican petunia

Best all around favorite
Hydrangea

Gardenia
Knockout rose
Texas mountain laurel
Wisteria

Best planting/gardening books

The Southern Living Garden Book (it’s my gardening Bible!)

Plants of the Metroplex by John Howard Garrett

Tough Plants for Southern Gardens by Felder Rushing

Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza (You will love this one if you have clay soil like I do!)