Charlotte NC Yard Landscaping Ideas

Charlotte, NC, is a city with a lot of potential when it comes to landscaping. Botanically and ecologically, it’s very rich. Putting together a landscape planting design might be a bit overwhelming. In this guide, we’ll offer a breakdown of our favorite plants for a Charlotte landscape.

Plants for Your Charlotte Landscape 

These eight plants are some of the best and most colorful you can use to adorn your Charlotte landscape and take it to another level. We’ll go through all the details you should know to choose your favorites and how to care for them to get the most out of them.

Monarda, Electric Pink Bee Balm

Monadas, also known as Bee Balm, make some of the most underrated perennials. They’re strikingly vibrant with a great in-group diversity. The Electric Pink Variety is a special one; it:

• Blooms with vibrant, neon-y pink flowers that make the plant’s most distinct feature.
• Attracts bees and butterflies among other pollinators.
• Grows to a mature height of 1.5-2 feet tall.
• Thrives in USDA hardiness zones 4-9.
• Prefers full sun to partial shade and well-draining soils.
• Is drought-tolerant and deer-resistant.

Blazing Star Kobold Gayfeather

Blazing Star Kobold Gayfeather, known botanically as Liatris spicata 'Kobold', is another striking plant that will grab the eyes of any passerby. This plant:

• Blooms with tall spikes of vivid purple flowers.
• Attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies.
• Is relatively compact, with a mature height of 18-30 inches and a spread of 12 inches.
• Grows well in USDA hardiness zones 3-8.
• It is drought-tolerant and low maintenance.

Little Goldstar Black-Eyed Susan

Black Eyed Susans are extremely popular perennials. For good reasons! Little Gold Star, known scientifically as Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Little Goldstar', has all the great qualities of the classic, with some upgrades. This variety:

• It is compact with a mature height of 12-18 inches and a spread of 18 inches.
• Blooms with stunning golden-yellow flowers with dark centers of black eyes, Susan.
• Blooms from mid-summer to fall.
• Attracts bees and butterflies.
• Grows and thrives in USDA hardiness zones 4-9.
• It is drought and heat-tolerant.

Swamp Milkweed

Milkweeds are some of the best and most important plants for pollinators, especially butterflies. If you want to create a little garden in Charlotte for the butterflies in your city, this is the plant group you should go for. Swamp Milkweed, also known as Asclepias incarnata, is a variety that stands out. It: 

• Blooms with pink flowers.
• Grows to a mature height of 4-5 feet and width of 2-3 feet.
• Thrives in USDA hardiness zones 3-6.
• Its leaves and stems provide food for the caterpillars of monarch butterflies.
• It is very low maintenance.
• It is very tolerant of heavily moist soils.

Iron Butterfly Ironweed

Ironweed plants are great perennials. Iron Butterfly, also known botanically as Vernonia lettermannii 'Iron Butterfly', is one of our favorite varieties. It:

• Blooms with purple flowers against narrow foliage.
• It is relatively compact with a mature height and spread of 18-24 inches. 
• Grows in USDA hardiness zones 4-9.
• It is drought tolerant.
• Heavily prefers the full sun and thrives in sunny areas.

Zagreb Coreopsis

Zagreb Coreopsis, also known botanically as Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb', is one of the most eye-catching entries on this list. It:

• Blooms with bright yellow flowers that have a daisy-like form.
• It has a long season, blooming from summer to fall.
• Attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies.
• Has a compact growth habit, reaching a height of 1-2 feet.
• Grows in USDA hardiness zones 3-9.
• It is drought tolerant.

Purple Dome New England Aster

When it comes to Aster, choosing from the varieties is hard work due to the large diversity of colors in this plant group. The Purple Dome New England variety, also known as Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome', is a great place to start with this group of plants. It:

• Flowers with deep purple blooms.
• Attracts butterflies and bees among other pollinators.
• Blooms throughout late summer and fall summer.
• Fits various garden sizes, with a mature height of 2 feet.
• Has exceptional resistance to pests and diseases.
• Grows in USDA hardiness zones 4-8.
• Requires the full sun to thrive.

Ruby Star Coneflower

Last, but nowhere near least, is the Ruby Star Coneflower, arguably one of the most catchy flowering plants. Botanically known as Echinacea purpurea 'Ruby Star', the Ruby Star Coneflower: 

• Blooms with large magenta flowers.
• Blooms from mid-summer to early fall.
• Attracts butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.
• Grows to a mature height of 40 inches.
• Thrives in USDA hardiness zones 4-9.
• It is drought tolerant.

You can find those lovely varieties in our Shrubhub garden shop here. While shopping, take advantage of our 30% discount and gift a lovely plant to your friends, neighbors, or family. If you’re not sure what to choose, go for our gift cards. 

This guide has detailed our favorite varieties for a Charlotte landscape. Choose your favorite and know your options. We recommend planting those different varieties together for a vibrant and diverse landscape.

Taking care of your landscape and developing it is a life-long process. A joyful one. That is if you're always developing and building on a strong foundation that you're happy with. However, if you have a problem with the fundamental design, then trying to change the plants or other small aspects would be like treating the symptoms rather than the problem.

If this is your case, then have no worries. At Shrubhub, we're currently offering a 70% discount on all our design services, including our 3D landscape design.

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