The Dry Garden
For dry conditions like those found in Sharon Delblanc’s Edmonton garden, Tina Burback of Edmonton’s Greenland Garden Centre suggests these plants.
1 Ornamental Grasses like ‘Karl Foerster’ will stay in compact clumps and prevent erosion.
2 Stoncecrop such as Sedum telephium ‘Autumn Joy ’ are one of the hardiest plants in cold climate regions.
3 Creeping Thyme planted between flagstones creeps close enough to the ground to provide erosion and weed control.
4 Bellflower like Campanula ‘Blue Waterfall’ does well in hot, dry areas, even when planted in a container.
780-467-7557, greenlandgarden.com

The Urban Garden
Like Ryan Scarff’s Calgary garden, great container gardens are full of variety. Suzanne Ismail of Edwards Garden Centre recommends these plants.
1 Herbs like parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano
and mint all do well.
2 Ornamental Grasses are sturdy additions; try ribbon grass, or purple fountain grass with its reddish tinge with fluffy plumes.
3 Foliage Plants add texture: try heuchera, hostas or vincas like ‘Maculata,’ with bright green leaves that trail up to 30 inches.
4 Supertunia Vista does superbly in containers. Spot Royal Velvet by its deep purple colour and sweet scent.
403-288-9638, edwardsgarden.com

The Water Garden
If Julie Paul’s Vancouver garden has you ready to get wet, Peter Fitzmaurice at GardenWorks in Burnaby recommends these easy-to-grow plants.
1 Siberian Iris is one of the easiest and most reliable to grow; for best results, grow in sets of five leaves in September and don’t disturb them.
2 Yellow Flag Iris serves as a great wetland filter, and it tolerates drought and high soil acidity.
3 Forget-Me-Not sports pale blue flowers in its second year of growth. It’s most commonly grown in damp soil.
4 Corkscrew Rush adds texture to the water garden with its cork-screws, which can be up to a foot and a half tall.
604-299-9622, gardenworks.ca