Hollies are good year round, evergreen, and produce berries for the birds in winter. You need a boy and a girl to make berries though. Wigelia is a beautiful bush with loads of flowers in the spring, and interesting foilage in fall. Burning bush turns bright red in the fall, then looses it's leaves. Forsythia has abundant GOLDEN flowers in spring. Red twig dogwood has bright red branches for winter interst. Grasses are wonderful for plumes in the fall, and give the landscape character in the winter. Some need full sun, some more shade. Read the tags at your local garden center to decide which is best for the area you're interested in planting. New plantings need a little more care in the begining. Extra deep watering to establish deep roots, and fertilizer. Once established, (the 2nd yr) just fertilize in the spring, and water in dry spells. None of these NEED pruning, but you can prune them to keep them in shape.For a bright splash in the spring, plant some bulbs under these. Just cut the heads off when they wilt.

Daylilies and Hostas are my two favorite low maintenance and long lived plants. There are thousands of dayliles to choose from with different colors and bloom times. Most peak in the summer. Daylilies prefer full sun. One of the most popular varieties is 'Stella De Oro' because it reblooms over and over. 'Happy Returns' is similar. Both are yellow. Some of my favorites: 'Rocket City', 'Barbara Mitchell', 'Miss Jessie' (spider), 'Brocaded Gown', 'Moonlit Masquerade' (outstanding!, got at walmart last year, 2005, for $3.97, in a bag), 'By Myself' (bright orange), 'Siguidilla' (red). Most hostas thrive in the shade, where grass usually doesn't grow well. They come in all different sizes. I like the bigger varieties like 'Sum and Substance', 'sieboldiana Elegans', and my all time favorite 'Sagae' (formerly 'fluctuans varigated'). 'Ginko Craig' is a tiny, cute border hosta. 'Royal Standard' has an extremely fragrant white flower and withstands quite a bit of sun. One of the oldest and original varieties is Plantagenia. It's white flower is extremely fragrant also. Most hosta flowers are lavendar and not very fragrant.

12-22-2016 Go to a local nursery and they will sell you plants that do well in your area. They can also tell you how to take care of them and a lot of other things you want to know.