If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.
To help you make the best choices, we’ve asked regional garden experts to tell us what plants are on their spring shopping lists. These plants serve a range of purposes in the garden, but all are region-specific stars. From out-of-this-world flowers to show-stopping foliage and everything in-between, discover fantastic plants that would be a welcome addition to any garden in the region.
Find great shopping-list plants for the Mountain West below, and check out this comprehensive collection of articles to discover more springtime planting and planning inspiration.
Name: Philadelphus lewisii
Zones: 4–9
Size: 8 to 12 feet tall and 6 to 12 feet wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist to average soil
Native range: Northwestern United States, California, southwestern Canada
Lewis’ mock orange, which grows throughout the mountain states, is Idaho’s state flower. Though often called “syringa,” it has no relation to lilacs (Syringa spp. and cvs., Zones 3–8). Wildly fragrant, the flowers smell like those of an orange tree. In May and June, bright white blossoms make this shrub easy to spot along streams and hillsides. It does well in almost any garden soil and is fairly deer resistant. Mock orange is typically a loose, vase-shaped shrub. Prune it immediately after it flowers by
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