Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gardening
  3. Inspiration
  4. Evergreens

Is it possible to have a year-round garden without replanting?

Add as a preferred source on Google

Year-round gardening sounds like a lot of extra work. While it would be nice to take the cold season off and give yourself a break, you’ll surprised to discover that growing a year-round garden is easier than you may think. Tending to your garden every season of the year is important to your plants. This helps you create a connection to your plant ecosystem and better understand your plants’ needs.

In order to have a four-season garden, you’ll need some variety in the plants you grow. There are some fruits and vegetables that don’t need replanting during the winter months. With perennial flowers, you can also enjoy a successful year-round gardening. Our tips and tricks will help you choose the right four-season plants to keep your garden thriving 365 days a year.

Recommended Videos

What plants are best for each season?

Forsythia growing in garden
Flower_Garden / Shutterstock

Planting a garden is not meant to be a demanding chore. Instead, it should be an enjoyable hobby that’s relaxing and fun. One way to keep it pleasant and stress-free is with four-season plants to garden. The key to their health is in organization and proper planning of your project.

Designing a four-season garden guarantees that your home is filled with color and fragrances all year long. Choose the appropriate plants before you start, based on your location. If you know which species do best in your region, your chances of having a successful year-round garden are higher.

Let’s see which ones do better each season of the year:

Spring plants

  • Tulip
  • Peony
  • Snowdrop
  • Pansy
  • Forsythia

Summer plants

  • Daylily
  • Rose
  • Coneflower
  • Hydrangea
  • Bee balm

Fall plants

  • Mums
  • Hardy begonias
  • Asters
  • Ornamental kale
  • Sedum

Winter plants

  • Holly
  • Firethorn
  • Chokeberry
  • Hellebores
  • Christmas rose

Which plants grow year-round?

Having a beautiful garden each month of the year is possible. Your best bet to achieve that is by growing perennials. While most plants only flourish for one season of the year, perennials continue to throw out flushes of flowers under appropriate weather conditions.
Depending on where you live and your growing conditions, you can combine a few perennials from these popular options:

  • Coneflower
  • Bluestar
  • Barrenwort
  • Sedum
  • Japanese silver grass

What kind of plants come back every year?

Perennials also come back naturally every year. Some of the species that continue to grow until maturity are daisies and peonies. These excellent options will give your garden lovely flowers every blooming season. Their roots are stronger than average, and they survive the cold winter months. Once the spring comes back, they’re ready to bloom again with the same beauty as last season.

These are some of your best choices if you’re looking for minimal maintenance and great satisfaction:

  • Daisies
  • Coreopsis
  • Salvia
  • Peony

What plants flower year-round?

If growing cold-season plants is your cup of tea, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s possible to enhance your patch during the chilly months. Kick off the season with this curated selection of winter favorites:

  • Sweet pea
  • Petunia
  • Calibrachoa
  • Sunflower
  • Verbena

What plants don’t need to be replanted?

As more people start to grow their own food, you may want to add some fruits and vegetables your four-season nursery. Most of the vegetables you find at the store are annuals, but there are many perennials that you can grow at home. These delicious varieties add color to your orchard and taste to your dishes:

  • Asparagus
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Rhubarb
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Strawberries
Red and green strawberries on vines
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While it’s easier for gardeners in mild weathers to cultivate a large variety of plants, gardeners anywhere can grow a prosperous year-round nursery. To succeed with a four-season garden, your safest bet is to add at least two different plants per gardening season. By choosing native species over nonlocal varieties, you also increase your chances of success. If you need help deciding on which plants will grow best throughout the year, you can contact your local cooperative. They can provide expert advice on the best plants for your seasonal changes.

How often should you water your grass seeds for the best results?
Tips for watering grass seed to get the lawn of your dreams
Grass with dew on it

A beautiful, lush green lawn is something that many homeowners strive for, but sometimes cultivating that lawn can be quite the headache. Getting your seeds to germinate and grow into thick, healthy grass requires balancing all of its needs. For such a simple plant, grass sure does need a lot of attention! Watering, mowing, dethatching, aerating, and reseeding your lawn can take a while to figure out, but it's easier with the help of a guide.

Read more
Pruning basics: What it is and how to do it right
How to prune your trees and shrubs
Person pruning a tree

What you need to do to keep a tree or shrub healthy can depend a lot on the type of tree or shrub, but something that is almost always the same is pruning. While there are a few small variations from plant to plant, the basics of pruning are mostly the same no matter what you’re growing. If you’re a beginner, you might have a few questions. What is pruning? How often should you do it, and in what season? Don’t worry, we’ll answer these questions and more in this guide to the basics of pruning.
What is pruning?

Pruning is the process of removing certain branches from a plant. Cutting your plant might sound intimidating, but pruning is actually important for maintaining the health of your trees and shrubs. The primary branches that are removed are those that are dead, dying, damaged, diseased, or at risk of becoming damaged. Branches at high risk are usually those that are growing too close to another branch or a structure of some kind. If the branches rub against each other too much in the wind, the friction can damage the bark. This leaves them vulnerable to pests and fungal infections.

Read more
Vinca minor as ground cover: Here’s what you should know
Is Vinca minor right for your lawn? Here are the pros and cons
Purple periwinkle (Vinca minor) flowers

People are starting to look for alternatives to grass lawns, whether it's because they’re easier to maintain, better for the environment, or just more attractive. From Irish moss lawns to creeping thyme, there are plenty of interesting plants you can grow as a ground cover. One popular grass alternative is Vinca minor, also known as common periwinkle. It offers many benefits, but it isn't a perfect plant for everyone. How do you know if a Vinca minor lawn is right for you and your home? We'll walk you through all the pros and cons of growing Vinca minor as a groundcover so you can make the best choice for yourself.
Pros of Vinca minor as ground cover

Vinca minor provides several benefits as a ground cover. It’s low maintenance and tolerates drought, sun, and shade. This is also a low-growing plant, which means you don’t need to worry about mowing it to keep the height down. It also grows quickly and vigorously, spreading to fill your entire lawn. It will spread to fill in empty patches, helping repair damaged sections and letting you save on seeds.

Read more