Start Here — Find What Belongs Where You Live

Free, no signup. Start Here — Find What Belongs Where You Live.

The gardener's companion

Plant what belongs
where you live.

Tell us your corner of the world and how the light falls, and we will show you what will actually thrive -- ranked by real sun, water and USDA-hardiness data.

Try "97214", "Austin", or "Brooklyn". Every plant we show is sourced from USDA and cooperative-extension data.
01 — When are you planting
SpringSummerFallWinter
02 — Which way does it face
NSEW
North-facing
Full shade -- under about three hours of direct or dappled light.
The coolest, shadiest ground -- especially against a wall.
03 — How does the ground behave
Dries out fastSandy, sloped, or up against a hot wall.Stays evenOrdinary garden soil that drains but holds.Stays dampLow ground, heavy clay, or near water.
Matches
112
Native
13
Edible
58
Low water
23
112 plants suit north-facing ground that stays damp.
Closest spot on the map: North side (shade / cool) -- the nearest of our five named spots, not an exact match for what you described.
See the matches on the map →

Which way a bed faces is a starting point, not a measurement. We do not print an hours-of-sun figure for your bed, because an aspect alone cannot give one -- it depends on your latitude, the season, and every tree, fence and wall around you. What is reliable is the direction of the effect: in the Northern Hemisphere a south-facing bed collects the most sun and heat, a north-facing bed against a building is the coolest and shadiest, east-facing beds get gentle morning sun, and west-facing beds get hot afternoon sun.

The exposure classes above use the cooperative-extension thresholds: full sun is six or more hours of direct sun a day, part sun and part shade are about three to six, and full shade is under roughly three (University of Minnesota Extension; NC State Extension Gardener Handbook). Those hours mean direct sun striking the plant, not how bright the yard looks. Count your own hours here -- it takes one clear day and it beats any estimate we could make.

Hardiness zones come from the 2023 USDA map and describe average winter cold ONLY; they say nothing about sun, summer heat, rainfall or soil. Confirm yours at planthardiness.ars.usda.gov.