What Plants Are Good for Foundation Planting?

Foundation plantings are shrubs and other plants in front of your house's foundation to mask the bricks or blocks and create a pleasing setting for the building. Foundation plantings can adorn the entryway or the corners or the entire foundation. The right shrubs and plants improve the appearance of your home and increase curb appeal.

Summersweet Bush

Clethra alnifolia of the sweet pepperbush family is a fragrant shrub also known as summersweet. It gets 4 to 8 feet high with white summer-blooming flowers. Leaves are 2 to 3 inches long and turn yellow in autumn. Grow clethra in acidic soil in full sun or shade. Soil should be moist. Propagate the shrub via cuttings, seeds, or division in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9.

Lily of the Valley Bush

Pieris japonica of the heath family is a fragrant evergreen shrub that is also known as Japanese andromeda. It gets 8 to 12 feet high and 6 to 10 feet wide. Leaves are 2 to 3 inches long, turning from red to green. Flowers are bell-like in panicles, in various colors. Grow this shrub in light shade in well-drained soil. Propagate via cuttings in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 8.

Gallberry

Ilex glabra of the holly family is an evergreen, drought-tolerant shrub that is also known as inkberry. It gets 4 to 8 feet tall with a multi-trunk. Leaves are 1 to 2 inches long with tiny, white spring flowers. Fruits are green berries that get black in the autumn. Grow in full sun or partial shade in moist soils. Propagate via seed, cuttings or suckers in USDA hardiness zones 5 to 10.

Knock Out Rose

Rosa Radrazz of the rose family is a fragrant, easy to grow shrub. It gets 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide with good clusters of blooms. Colors range from light pink to red. Grow Knock Out roses in sun or shade, in any soil. Propagation is illegal due to patent licenses. These roses grown in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9.

Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea of the aster family is a fast-growing perennial. It gets 3 feet tall, with dark green coarse leaves 3 to 8 inches long and purple flowers 3 inches wide. Grow in full sun or partial sun. Propagate via seed or division in USDA hardiness zones 3 to 9.