Without foundation plants, a house can look stark and bare. A well-designed foundation planting plan helps integrate your home with the landscape so the two blend seamlessly together, creating a welcoming, harmonious look. Instead of the usual row of evergreens, this foundation garden plan features low-maintenance shrub roses, fronted by neat rows of perennials and backed by sprawling clematis, which adds a romantic touch. If you don't have three windows along the front of your home as shown in the layout, simply plant clematis on either side of a large or small window, making sure to provide a trellis to support the vines. You can also shorten or extend this plan to fit the planting space you have by adding or subtracting daylilies, salvias, and shrub roses.
Plants for Creating the Foolproof Foundation Garden Plan
- 6 Miniature roses (Rosa cultivars): Zones 4-11
- 12 Lily (Lilium 'Lollipop'): Zones 4-8
- 2 Indian hawthorn (Raphiolepis indica): Zones 8-10
- 12 Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Stella d'Oro'): Zones 3-10
- 10 Salvia × sylvestris 'May Night': Zones 3-10
- 5 Rose (Rosa 'Betty Prior'): Zones 5-9
- 2 Clematis 'Jackmanii': Zones 4-9
- 1 Clematis 'Henryi': Zones 4-9
If you aren't able to find the exact cultivars listed above, substitute others that have similar colors, shapes, and sizes. Because some plants can become overly aggressive and spread out of control in certain climates, it's always a good idea to check which species are considered invasive in your area before planting.
Get the Free Foolproof Foundation Garden Plan
The garden plan for this design includes an illustrated version of the planted garden, a detailed layout diagram, a list of plants for the garden as shown, and complete instructions for installing the garden. Free, one-time registration allows unlimited access to all garden plans, available as printable PDFs.