Here are the online places I've had good success with - plants arrived healthy and well packed.
High Country Gardens http://www.highcountrygardens.com/
Plant Delights Nursery http://www.plantdelights.com/
Schreiner's Iris http://www.schreinersgardens.com/
Oakes Daylily http://www.oakesdaylilies.com/supplier/home.php?id=s000
Here are some plants that I love and highly recommend. All are evergreen, pretty drought tolerant and require virtually no care. All require full sun unless otherwise noted.
- Artemesia - silvery, feathery looking foliage. If it gets floppy you can cut it back hard and it will come right back.
- Bush germander - gray/silver. My favorite is "Azure" for the blue flowers, but you'll have trouble finding that one in a nursery.
- Lamb's ear - silver, wide fuzzy leaves.
- Knockout Roses - red roses, no deadheading or trimming! Comes in pink varieties too. Double-Knockout is great and smaller than Knockout.
- Bicolor Iris - pale yellow flowers with slender strap leaves, more like a grass but does well in shade or full sun, excellent filler. (not really an iris)
- Bamboo Muhly - fluffy and large, no flowers. (Not really a bamboo)
- Catmint - lilac flowers, grayish foliage. Will likely find it online, not in a store. Will die back if lots of cold, but comes back quickly when it gets warm.
- Society Garlic - grasslike, lavender colored flowers
- Bearded Iris - varying colors, recommend the taller ones (Schreiner's Iris online is best)
- Dwarf Pittosporum - green, no flowers. This is the one I have by the front walk.
- Cast Iron plant - full shade!!
- Podocarpus Yew, aka Japanese Yew - tall, looks like a thicker fur tree, evergreen, awesome
Some care required (minimal, trimming in Spring and Fall) but worth it:
- Canna - requires water but not as much as you might think. Looks very tropical.
- Salvia May Night and Caradonna
- Salvia Leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage) - can find smaller versions online at PDN above, larger tend to flop but do well if planted behind smaller stiffer plants to prop them up
- Salvia Indigo Spires - can find smaller versions online at PDN above, larger tend to flop but do well if planted behind smaller stiffer plants to prop them up
- Antique Rose, The Fairy - pink rose with green foliage, lots of thorns but trouble-free and blooms all summer
- Antique Rose, Star of the Republic - peach rose with green foliage, tall. Can get some black spot but only if other plants have it, grows & blooms anyway!
- Antique Rose, Madame Berkeley - pink rose with maroon/green foliage, no pests, blooms a lot in spring.
