Growing Zone 4

Strawberries fruit their first season from a small bed or a few containers, and homegrown berries taste nothing like the firm shipping types.In Alabama the traditional method is an annual planting: set June-bearing plants like 'Chandler', 'Camarosa', or 'Sweet Charlie' in the fall, mulch...

Raspberries deliver a delicate, aromatic berry you rarely find fresh in stores, on compact canes that fit a small sunny corner.Be realistic about raspberries in central Alabama: they evolved for cool summers, and our July heat and humidity bring root rot, spider mites, and...

Elderberry gives you creamy summer flower plates, dark berry clusters for syrup and jelly, and a native shrub pollinators and songbirds work all season.American elderberry is a fast, suckering native shrub that tolerates the damp, heavy spots most fruit refuses - ditch edges, creek...

Witch hazel opens spidery yellow flowers in late fall and winter when nothing else is blooming, then turns clear gold each autumn.Witch hazel is a large native shrub or small multi-stemmed tree that flowers on bare or nearly bare branches in the cold months,...

Weigela loads its arching branches with rosy trumpet flowers in late spring, and hummingbirds work it from the first day it opens.Weigela is an easygoing deciduous shrub covered in pink, red, or white tubular flowers in late spring, with many modern varieties reblooming lightly...

Viburnums stack three seasons into one shrub: spring flower clusters, summer berries that feed birds, and reliable fall color or evergreen structure.Viburnum is a large and varied group ranging from fragrant deciduous types to dense evergreen screening shrubs, all of them dependable landscape plants....

Ninebark gives you burgundy, gold, or lime foliage from spring to fall, white flower clusters in May, and peeling winter bark.Ninebark is a native, four-season shrub grown mainly for its colored foliage, with clusters of white or pink flowers in late spring and shredding,...

Clematis climbs a trellis or lamppost and opens saucer-sized flowers in purple, pink, red, or white through the warm months.Clematis is the classic flowering vine, with large single or double blooms held on wiry stems that scramble up any support you give them. The...

Enormous crimson-freckled white and pink trumpets carry a perfume that fills a whole yard at dusk in high summer.Oriental lilies are workable in zone 8a but they are particular: give them sharp drainage on a raised bed or slope, morning sun with afternoon shade,...

Arching stems hang with white bells tipped in green, ringing out over strappy foliage in a long, generous late-winter to spring display.This is the standout bulb on our list for the Deep South and a true Southern heirloom, found thriving around old homeplaces and...

Goblet-shaped lavender-pink flowers erupt from bare ground on leafless stems in early fall, a genuine surprise in the September garden.Colchicum corms bloom within weeks of arrival on naked stems, with the broad strappy foliage following in spring and dying away by early summer. Two...

Sheets of upfacing sky-blue stars with white eyes light up bare late-winter ground while the rest of the garden is still asleep.Plant these small bulbs three inches deep in generous drifts, since their charm comes entirely from mass, not from individual flowers. Glory of...

Airy silver-blue spires that shrug off heat and drought - a pollinator favorite that blooms for months.Russian Sage (Perovskia) is a tough, aromatic perennial with clouds of lavender-blue bloom from summer into fall. Deer-proof and heat-loving. Nursery-grown by Wade Greens and sold grower-direct -...

Native golden plumes that light up the fall garden and feed late-season pollinators.Goldenrod (Solidago) blazes with arching gold flower sprays in late summer and fall - a tough, native perennial and a magnet for bees and butterflies. Offered in 4" Pot and 1-Gallon Pot,...

An evergreen perennial that blooms in the cold months - premium, deer-proof shade color.Hellebores (Lenten Rose) open nodding, long-lasting blooms from late fall through winter in shady spots, with handsome evergreen foliage the rest of the year. Offered in 4" Pot and 1-Gallon Pot,...

Spicy-scented, frilled blooms that overwinter in the South for color spring and fall.Garden Dianthus (pinks) form tidy mounds topped with fragrant, fringed flowers, thriving in cool weather and returning year after year in mild climates. Offered in 4" Pot and 6-Pack, shipped well-rooted from...

The New England Aster closes the season with a burst of purple, daisy-like blooms that pollinators mob before winter.New England Aster is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and...

The Toad Lily surprises late in the season with exotic, orchid-like speckled blooms that light up shady corners.Toad Lily is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and 6" pots,...

Helenium blazes with warm daisy blooms in red, orange, and gold from late summer into fall - a pollinator magnet.Helenium is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and 6"...

Japanese Anemone floats delicate pink or white blooms on tall, wiry stems, bringing airy grace to the autumn garden.Japanese Anemone is nursery-grown by Wade Greens in Lineville, Alabama, cared for by hand and shipped healthy and ready to thrive. Offered in 4" and 6"...