This vibrant, full-sun, low-water planting is built on an all-season backbone to deliver year-round structure and color.

Anchored by drought-tolerant evergreens—Yucca ‘Bright Edge’, Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’, and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Somerset’—the design maintains strong form and interest in every season. While not all of these evergreen “backbone” plants are visible in the photos, they’re integral to the overall composition.

At the heart of the summer show is the old-fashioned Rosa ‘Radway Sunrise’, the centerpiece and largest flowering shrub. Its multi-colored blooms shift from deep magenta to yellow to soft orange as they age. Ground-hugging Dianthus ‘Flashing Light’ forms a colorful, zippy carpet that supports rather than steals the spotlight. Agastache ‘Electric Punch’ and Kniphofia ‘Timothy’ provide soft, muted counterpoints in subtle creamy-peach, sherbet-orange tones (not bright orange), drawing pollinators and hummingbirds.

When deciding where and how to place plants in your own garden scheme, leave open space between “forever” plants like the Yucca, Juniper, and Chamaecyparis. These gaps are intentional landing spots for perennials and allow for future changes and additions—think seasonal interest from extra summer-blooming perennials, ground covers, or spring bulbs. For more on spacing, see the blog post: Forever vs. For Now: Garden-making Tips for Proper Plant Spacing.

Once established, this combo needs only periodic irrigation, making it a sustainable, low-maintenance choice. The mix of evergreen structure, multi-season floral display, and pollinator (including hummingbird) appeal creates a lively, resilient landscape.

The photos to the left are from my parking-strip garden and illustrate the look and feel of this combination; they may not show every plant or the exact arrangement. This combination is inspired by that section of my garden. You can see more of this area on my YouTube channel playlist: My Personal Garden in Portland, Oregon (Zone 8b/9a).