Although Extension itself doesn't offer landscape design services, we are happy to answer plant selection questions through this platform. For a more thorough consultation or assistance in design or planning details, though, we suggest contacting either of the sources linked below to see if they can help with this project:

• The Design Center for Environmental and Community Health (EaCH)
• Therapudic Landscapes Network
• Naomi Sachs, founding director of the organization above

Miri

Thank you!  I would love to hear what plants you recommend as it will be used year around. I was thinking of fruit trees, other trees (small), ornamental grasses, bambo and some types of evergreens. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Hi John,

We can offer a starter list of plant candidates, but it won't be an exhaustive array of options, nor necessarily the best choices since that can depend on other factors that may be more easily determined with a site visit or after more lengthy discussion. (For instance, any chance users of the garden - such as children - might try to eat berries unsupervised, and therefore plants with known toxicity risks should be avoided?)

Considerations in plant choice depend on environmental factors that we would need more information about, such as:

• summer sunlight levels (full sun being 6-8 or more hours, part sun being roughly 3-4 hours, and so forth), taking into account from both taller existing (or planned) plants, the building itself, and any fencing or other nearby structures
• soil drainage/moisture (does water pool for hours or days after heavy rain? are there raised beds which get drier faster than at-grade soil? are there mature tree roots already in the area that will be competing with new plantings for water?)
• if deer browse the area (perhaps not if this garden is fenced, but in areas with abundant deer, they can jump a fence less than eight feet high if they can see where they'll be landing)
• how much space is available for each plant to mature, especially trees and shrubs that form the backbone of a garden and which should not rely on trimming alone to fit the space (plus, certain species do not tolerate routine trimming well)

Fruit trees are, in general, not low-maintenance plants and often require regular season-long upkeep with pruning and preventative pesticide applications (even if those are organic) to suppress problems with pests or diseases that could periodically ruin crops or threaten tree health. A few fruit types are more resilient than others, but each has their vulnerabilities to environmental challenges. For newcomers to fruit cultivation, we strongly suggest folks begin with berry plants and other small fruits since their maintenance is not as involved. If the conditions suit them, herbs are a nice way to add a harvestable element to a garden while keeping upkeep simple and straightforward, plus they'd provide a nice sensory element, both in airborne scents and tactile stimulation.

Miri

Thank you for the information. Below are some starter ideas, but it is by no means an exhaustive list of possible candidates. We'll include a few that draw wildlife like butterflies and birds since that may appeal to visitors. If you want to view some images to get a sense of aesthetics, you can do a web search on their botanical names (in italics) since common names sometimes vary from region to region. There are some included in our online Recommended Native Plants pages. We'll preferentially list some native species, but those included that are non-native will be non-invasive. There are sometimes several cultivars (varieties) of each species, so their mature size/shape can vary, as can their foliage color or other attributes, so you may have some ability to customize the plant to fit your desired traits within each group. There are too many cultivars to list them here.

There are many perennial (lives for multiple years) ornamental grasses, though they are not evergreen. That is, they usually do retain their dried foliage into winter, but the foliage will not remain alive or green. That said, dormant ornamental grasses are still considered decorative and can lend texture and pleasing sounds to a winter garden landscape when a breeze moves the leaves. Plus, those with interesting seed heads are also decorative in that capacity. Almost all ornamental grasses that mature more than a foot or so high are sun-loving, so would need an exposure of about 6-8 hours or more of direct light during the summer. Below are some species that add nice foliage textures, colors, or movement to the garden. Traditionally, ornamental grass foliage is left alone until about March, when it's trimmed down to within a few inches of the ground to make way for fresh foliage. Even though they are cut back in this way once a year, they reach their full height by the end of each summer/autumn.

• Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) - native
• Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) - native
• Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) - native
• River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) - native, and one of the only options for a half-day of shade or so that will tolerate lower light well
• Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) - native
• Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra) - arching stems; some forms with colorful striping; also a great option for a part-shade area

Bamboo is a unique type of grass, but many forms are running and not clumping, meaning their ground-level stems and root system spreads very far and relatively quickly and can be a bear to try to contain or eradicate later. Clumping types can spread but in a very limited and slower-paced fashion, to the point that they are not considered invasive. As such, clumping forms of bamboo are strongly recommended if you use bamboo at all, and the group typically grown in our area is Fargesia. Their stems ("culms") don't get as thick as the running forms, but their foliage aesthetic will be the same.

Shrubs or small trees that produce berries that are edible and which also offer seasonal aesthetic interest:

• Highbush and Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium angustifolium) - native
• Serviceberry (Amelanchier, several species and hybrids) - native; generally a small tree but can be grown as a very large shrub with multiple trunks
• Chokeberry (Aronia) - native; questionable common name but they get it due to extreme tartness of the fruit when eaten raw, not because it's toxic
• Huckleberry (Gaylussicia baccata)

Evergreens for winter interest and/or screening, depending on space available:

• Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) - native
  • lots of options for varieties that mature either as shorter shrubs or as slender columns or moderate-width upright small trees
  • birds enjoy the berries if you select a variety that is female since wind-blown pollen from wild male trees should pollinate them

• various dwarf conifers (needled or scaly evergreens) as they will be very slow-growing and smaller-maturing and can be used like compact shrubs, like certain cultivars in the groups below; some change color in winter, turning more bronze in some cases, and some have colorful summer foliage in blue-green or golden-green for added variety all season long
  • Cryptomeria japonica
  • several junipers (Juniperus)
  • Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)
  • Arborvitae (Thuja)
  • Falsecypress (Chamaecyparis)

• Inkberry Holly (Ilex glabra) - native
  • could produce berries if the variety is female and it's pollinated, but this is less likely if only one variety is used and won't happen at all if you plant only a male variety; inkberry berries are black when ripe, so not readily apparent, and even though they're not safe to eat in quantity it's less likely a child will notice them since they don't stand-out very much
  • although this is a true holly, its leaves are spineless; you can find the same traits with non-native Japanese Holly, which also has male and female flowers on separate plants (males cannot produce berries)

Shrubs for attracting butterflies:

• Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) - native
• New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) - native
• Bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis)

Plants for attracting hummingbirds:

• Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) - native vine, will need a trellis, pergola, arbor, obelisk, or some other support structure to climb/ramble on
• annuals like flowering sage (many species and cultivars)
• Beebalm (Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa) - native, also great for butterflies

Shrubs for scent:

• Summersweet (same as above) - very sweetly-scented blooms
• Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus) - very fruity-scented blooms
• Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) - native; crushed/rubbed foliage has a warmly spicy smell; best in part shade or the shade of a taller tree
• Fothergilla (Fothergilla major, Fothergilla gardenii) - blooms mildly scented
• Bayberry (Myrica cerifera, Myrica pensylvanica; both of which might be listed under Morella instead of Myrica since botanists have renamed them) - native; crushed/rubbed foliage has a spicy smell
• Swamp Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum) and a few of the other native deciduous azaleas - scented blooms, also attractive to pollinators and hummingbirds

Winter interest aside from evergreen or retained foliage:

• River Birch (Betula nigra) - native; especially dwarf variety 'Fox Valley' (also named 'Little King') which doesn't grow nearly as fast or as large as typical River Birch selections do, but still develops the classic exfoliating bark in strips of cream and cinnamon-brown
• Redosier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) - native; although a dogwood, this is a shrub and not the typical tree most gardeners are familiar with; young stems in winter turn vibrant red, though some cultivars turn yellow

Remember to take into account a plant's mature size when deciding where to plant it since not all can be trimmed to fit (nor would it look good to do so for some species). If you work with a consultant or landscape designer to flesh-out more specific layout ideas, you can use this starter list of plants and the selections you like to give them a sense of what your goals are with the space. The dormant season in the garden can still offer a plethora of foliage colors, textures, plant forms, and other interest to keep it appealing and worth exploring.

Miri

This is AWESOME information!!  Thank you so much!

You're very welcome, and good luck with your project!