What grows here?

The classic answer to a sightline when there is no room for a hedge.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 5 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.

Watch for: Narrow forms lose their shape if the top is ever cut. Buy the mature height you want.

Examples, not recommendations: Columnar hornbeam; Italian cypress in mild dry climates; Upright yew in cool climates. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Dense all year, and it wants more width than people allow for.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 24. This is the right light band.

Watch for: A hedge kept below its natural width thins at the base, which is exactly where a seated sightline runs.

Examples, not recommendations: Yew; Portuguese laurel; Holly. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Screens in summer, filters in winter, and holds brown leaves through the cold.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 8. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.

Watch for: Winter screening is partial. If the problem is a winter sightline, this is not the answer.

Examples, not recommendations: Beech; Hornbeam. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Salt air is a different problem from wind, and this is the group that solves both.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 30. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Salt tolerance is specific. A plant that shrugs off wind inland can still burn in a coastal gale.

Examples, not recommendations: Escallonia; Griselinia; Elaeagnus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Summer shade that gives the winter sun back. The best shade device there is, and the slowest.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 30. This is the right light band.

Watch for: Mature spread is the number that matters, and it is almost always larger than the space allowed.

Examples, not recommendations: Field maple; Serviceberry; Hop hornbeam. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Shade over a pergola in July and bare timber in January, which is usually exactly right.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 30. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.

Watch for: Wisteria in particular puts real load on a structure. Build for it before planting it.

Examples, not recommendations: Grape vine; Wisteria, given the structure for it; Virginia creeper. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

For the corner that never dries, which most planting advice treats as a fault to fix.

• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 3 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 24. This is the right light band.

Watch for: These want consistent moisture, not stagnant water. Standing water still needs solving.

Examples, not recommendations: Astilbe; Ligularia; Iris sibirica. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The classic answer to a sightline when there is no room for a hedge.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 5 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.

Watch for: Narrow forms lose their shape if the top is ever cut. Buy the mature height you want.

Examples, not recommendations: Columnar hornbeam; Italian cypress in mild dry climates; Upright yew in cool climates. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Summer shade that gives the winter sun back. The best shade device there is, and the slowest.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 30. This is the right light band.

Watch for: Mature spread is the number that matters, and it is almost always larger than the space allowed.

Examples, not recommendations: Field maple; Serviceberry; Hop hornbeam. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Structure and a canopy edge without committing the whole garden to shade.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.

Watch for: Many small trees resent reflected heat off a wall far more than they resent full sun.

Examples, not recommendations: Crabapple; Japanese maple in sheltered positions; Redbud. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

For ground that floods and then dries hard, which is a different problem from ground that is simply wet.

• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 3 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 26. This is the right light band.

Watch for: The cycle is the point. Anything that only tolerates constant wet dies in the August between floods.

Examples, not recommendations: Iris in damp ground; Switchgrass; Joe Pye weed in North America. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The workhorse of a north-facing bed that gets a couple of hours of sun.

• Light: About 31 moles a day is well past the 28 this group tolerates. Expect scorch and bolting rather than slow decline.
• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.

Watch for: These fail from dryness under a wall or a tree far more often than they fail from shade.

Examples, not recommendations: Hellebore; Geranium; Hosta where slugs allow. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

For roofs, gravel and anywhere the answer to drainage is 'very'.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 36. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Winter wet is the killer, not winter cold. In a wet climate these need overhead cover as much as drainage.

Examples, not recommendations: Sedum; Sempervivum; Delosperma. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The most common failed planting in any garden, usually because it was never a light problem people checked.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 30. This is the right light band.

Watch for: Below about twelve moles a day, no grass mix holds. That is when a different ground cover is the answer, not more seed.

Examples, not recommendations: Fine fescue mixes; Clover and micro-clover blends; Moss, accepted rather than fought. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Built for hard sun, sharp drainage and being ignored.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 34. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Wet feet in winter kills these more reliably than cold does. Drainage, not hardiness, is the question.

Examples, not recommendations: Lavender; Rosemary; Cistus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Wants a hot wall, a lot of light and someone who waters it.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 35. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: A container against a sunlit wall can run twenty degrees above air temperature. That is a watering problem, not a light problem.

Examples, not recommendations: Basil; Thyme in a deep pot; Oregano. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

For the herb pot by the back door that only gets morning sun.

• Light: About 31 moles a day is well past the 26 this group tolerates. Expect scorch and bolting rather than slow decline.
• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.

Watch for: Below about eight moles a day these survive without ever being worth picking.

Examples, not recommendations: Parsley; Chives; Mint, contained. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The most light-hungry thing most people try to grow, and the one most often put in the wrong place.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 38. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Leaves grow at fifteen moles a day; fruit needs more than twenty. That gap is why people get plants and no crop.

Examples, not recommendations: Tomato; Pepper; Courgette. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The thing that stops a bed looking empty in February.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day against an ideal of 20. There is no stated ceiling for this group, but that is a lot more light than it is built for.
• Reflected heat: Surfaces here reach about 138°F. A container in that is a watering commitment, not a planting decision.

Watch for: Clipped evergreens in containers dry out from the root ball in, and the damage shows a season late.

Examples, not recommendations: Box alternatives such as Japanese holly; Pittosporum; Osmanthus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Built for hard sun, sharp drainage and being ignored.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 34. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Wet feet in winter kills these more reliably than cold does. Drainage, not hardiness, is the question.

Examples, not recommendations: Lavender; Rosemary; Cistus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Wants a hot wall, a lot of light and someone who waters it.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 31 moles a day, against an ideal of 35. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: A container against a sunlit wall can run twenty degrees above air temperature. That is a watering problem, not a light problem.

Examples, not recommendations: Basil; Thyme in a deep pot; Oregano. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

For the herb pot by the back door that only gets morning sun.

• Light: About 31 moles a day is well past the 26 this group tolerates. Expect scorch and bolting rather than slow decline.
• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.

Watch for: Below about eight moles a day these survive without ever being worth picking.

Examples, not recommendations: Parsley; Chives; Mint, contained. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.