Better Homes And Gardens Carefree Lawn

Extra-Easy Sun-Loving Garden Plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Gary Palmer

Yes, your sunny garden can look beautiful without requiring a lot of maintenance. Just use one of these no-fuss garden plans that you can download for free (after a one-time registration). Each one relies on easy-care, sun-loving plants that will provide color and texture throughout the growing season.

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Water-Wise Garden

Low-Water Garden Plan

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

You won't have to worry about dragging the hose around to water this garden during the summer. It's filled with heat- and drought-tolerant plants such as sedum, feather reed grass, and euphorbia that can withstand extended dry spells. This layered design works well as a foundation planting or in front of a fence.

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Beautiful Heat-Tolerant Garden

hot summer garden plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Keep your yard looking fantastic even through heat waves with this high-impact, low-care garden plan. It features a variety of summer-blooming favorites such as salvias, irises, and zinnias. Fill a corner of your yard with this design for a big display of brightly colored flowers and foliage.

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Colorful Curbside Garden

Easy Streetside Garden Plan illustration with curb and sidewalk

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Turn the space between the street and your sidewalk into an oasis of color with fuss-free native perennials and ornamental grasses. Plants such as purple coneflower, baptisia, goldenrod, and aster will boost your yard's curb appeal with hardly any effort on your part.

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Tough-as-Nails Perennial Garden

Tough-as-Nails Perennial Garden Plan Illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Russian sage, lavender, and catmint are sure bets for an easy-care garden. These tough plants mix with perennials to produce beautiful bursts of pink, yellow, and purple all summer long. The variety of heights makes this garden perfect for flower beds against fences.

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Heat-Loving Flower Garden

Heat-Loving Garden Plan

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Some plants shut down in hot weather. But the varieties in this design continue to shine in the baking sun, so you can enjoy a brilliant patchwork of color no matter what the weather's like. Dahlias and lilies are the backbone of this garden, offering bold blooms (they're perfect for cutting!) throughout the summer.

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Front Yard Corner Garden

tiny corner garden plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Banish front-yard blahs by installing this corner-fence garden of fast-growing flowers. Packed with sun-loving selections, the design features a mix of colorful annuals punctuated with just a few perennials. Cheery black-eyed Susan complements easy-care cosmos, penstemon, butterfly bush, and more in this long-blooming garden plan.

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Small-Space, Easy-Care Sunny Garden

no-fuss sun-loving garden plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Enjoy loads of beautiful color all season long with this simple garden plan. It features no-fuss favorites such as coreopsis and purple coneflowers. This garden will thrive and bloom through even the warmest summer weather.

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Beat-The-Heat Summer Garden

Extra-Easy Sun-Loving Garden Plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Gary Palmer

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No-Fail Annual Garden

Annual Full-Sun Garden Plan Illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Annual gardens are a fun way to add brilliant color that lasts from spring to frost. In this design, a blue morning glory on a trellis or similar plant support structure in the center of the bed serves as a focal point. The rich color of its blooms are complemented and contrasted by the surrounding annual flowers.

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Easy-Care Perennial Garden

perennial garden plan

Credit: Illustration by Gary Palmer

Nonstop color is what this garden plan is all about, thanks to the drought-tolerant perennials in it. You'll enjoy their palette of pink, purple, yellow, and white flowers from spring to fall because when one variety finishes flowering, another takes its place.

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Clay Soil Garden

clay soil garden plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

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Carefree Late-Summer Garden

Simple Late-Summer Perennial Garden Plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Sun-loving, summer-blooming perennials keep the color coming on strong all the way through the end of the growing season in this no-fuss garden plan. Their seed heads also add some winter interest, while providing a source of food for birds that don't fly away to warmer climates.

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Beginner Perennial Garden

Full Sun Beginner Perennial Garden plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

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Low-Care Fall Garden

Fabulous Fall-Garden Plan

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

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Easy Slope Garden Plan

easy slope garden plan illustration

Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke

Solve a tough-to-mow slope with this easy-care garden plan. It combines colorful annuals and perennials into a gorgeous display that will bloom from spring to fall.

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