Right plant, right place is a landscape principle I’ve known about for decades. I thank Rodale’s All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener for first introducing me to this concept in the early 1990s when I was a young, adolescent gardener.

There’s a small section in this book that includes two diagrams. One shows a home surrounded by new plantings that look all cute and tidy in their young landscape. The second contrasts how those same plants will look several years later at maturity. WOW! The future diagram showed a sloppy, overgrown mess! That’s what happens when trees are planted too close to homes, shrubs go in the wrong spots, and potent perennials pervade — or invade — their surroundings.

And I’ve not been able to “unsee” this now-and-future diagram ever since. I can usually spot a poorly planned landscape from a mile away. It seems epidemic in communities of new homes. It’s also common in situations where someone flipped a home and revamped the yard with bulk shrub purchases from the home store. I know these landscapes are well intended and may look “pretty” for the time being. But I can “see” what some of those landscapes will look like in five or 10 years and, frankly, many won’t look good at all.

I’ve adopted these landscaping principles when designing my own landscape. The first house my wife and I bought had pretty much a quarter acre of grass with two trees when we bought it. It was essentially a blank canvas. And it was a great opportunity to create our own, unique yard.

What Does Right Plant, Right Place Mean?

I admit I made some mistakes early on when trying to follow the right plant, right place philosophy. But I’ve also learned a lot. And being a gardener, including a lay, do-it-yourself hobby gardener like me, is all about trial and error. And I think the right plant, right place teachings really only makes an impact on the gardener when experimenting. But if you want to avoid making mistakes when trying to follow right plant, right place landscape guidelines, you’ve got to learn from the experts.

“Right plant, right place” is a philosophy tracing back to the 1960s. That’s when famous British gardener Beth Chatto coined the phrase. It launched a new era in landscape design around the world. It also helped inspire a movement toward educating yourself about plants before buying them. The 1984 book aptly titled Right Plant, Right Place (Nicola Ferguson, Summit Books) further popularized the landscaping philosophy.

When I’m trying to determine what palette of plants I can choose from for my yard, I always start at one place: knowing my climate zone. You can refer to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map for this. Even if you think you know what climate zone you’re in, I recommend you check it out again. The USDA climate zones have changed in recent years as climate change morphs many boundaries delineated decades ago.

Other Things To Consider When Choosing The Right Plant For The Right Place

Knowing your climate zone is an important place to start when planning the landscape for your yard. But it takes more than just knowing whether you’re in Zone 9A or Zone 8B when deciding what plants to buy. This is the case even when planning a native plant garden or buying native plants from your local garden nursery.

You’ve also got to answer these questions:

• Are there any challenges (moist low spots, windy high spots, etc.) that could prove difficult for many plants?
• How big will your selected plants become?
• How quickly will they get that big?
• Do you have space for that tree you want?
• Are you able to put that tree in a spot far enough away from your home or other structures?
• Will the tree’s roots cause problems for your foundation? Potentially lift your sidewalk or driveway down the pike?
• Will your selected trees drop messy flowers or seed pods on hardscaping (driveways, sidewalks, etc.)?
• Will shrubs selected for places near or under windows grow too tall or too quickly to properly maintain?
• Will shrubs or perennial flowers you choose for borders grow too wide? Are they likely to invade surrounding yard areas or other beds?
• Are your selected plants considered invasive in your area?
• What type of maintenance will your planned landscape require? Will it mean more work or money than you’re willing to spend?

And these are just some of the factors you need to consider when determining the right plant and right place. I reached out to University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (UF/IFAS) Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Extension Agent Morgan Pinkerton. She works in the UF/IFAS Parks and Recreation Department and formerly instructs others on the right plant, right place philosophy. I asked if she could please expound on some of the key considerations when choosing what plants to plant. I’m grateful to say she kindly obliged!

Test Your Soil

Pinkerton says it’s important to have your soil tested before choosing plants for your yard. “Plants need the right pH and amount of nutrients to be able to thrive,” she says. “Plants can be impacted by both too little nutrients and too much nutrients too. While we may be able to visual look at texture of the soil, we can’t see the pH or the nutrients of the soil without a soil test. So rather than guessing, a soil test gives us an excellent starting place for gardening.” She says the soil test will provide a baseline for choosing what plants will grow well in your soil.

“Once plants are installed, soil testing can help you determine when fertilizer and other inputs are needed to keep those plants happy and healthy. Overfertilization can lead to damage to plants and the excess nutrients can move, causing problems for our environment, especially our water bodies. Not only does a soil test help an individual gardener decide what is best for their landscape, but it also helps protect our natural resources and encourage gardeners to utilize sustainable practices.”

Soil Drainage

You’ve read more than a few plant tags over the years? Well, I’ll bet you’re aware that many plants prefer well-drained soil. Others like it wet. And this can make or break whether a plant is the right choice or a wrong decision for a certain place in your yard.

“Our sandy Florida soils tend to drain pretty well, but there are other factors that can impact the drainage too such as organic matter content, compaction, slope, elevation and more,” notes Pinkerton. “The drainage may even be different from one area of your lawn to another.”

She says there’s an “at-home way” you can test how your soil drains. “I would first identify areas that have differences, such as areas that are higher or lower elevation. You can then dig holes about 12-18 inches deep in each of these different areas. Then fill these holes with water and check on how fast the water disappears from the holes. If water drains away within one hour, the drainage is good. If water takes several hours to a day to drain, we consider this drainage to be fair. And if the water takes more than a day to drain, then it would be considered poor drainage.”

Consider Microclimates In Your Landscape

Your neighborhood, town, city, or region may be classified as being in a certain climate according to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. But your yard may have certain spots that serve as climates of their own. These are called microclimates. Pinkerton explains microclimates in more detail.

“Many gardeners are familiar with the USDA hardiness zones and use them as a tool to select which plants are most likely to thrive in their location,” says Pinkerton. “These zones are based off average annual temperature. However, sometimes folks will notice the plants that thrive right down the road from them are different than what does well in their yard. While temperatures do play a big role in whether or not a plant will survive in an area, there [are] a lot of other factors that contribute to plant health like moisture, light and more.”

She says microclimates are defined as “small areas where these environmental conditions are slightly different.” She goes on to say, “For example, if you are close to a lake, you may have slightly cooler and more humid temperatures in the summer. That same lake, in the winter, may help hold heat in the area and provide a microclimate that protects plants from cold damage.”

Conducting Further Research

If you’re reading this and gleaning some knowledge about right plant, right place, you’re already well on the way to properly planning your landscape. But there’s always something to learn — one reason I love gardening!

I suggest reading up on landscaping, especially native landscapes in your area. Talk to the experts. Take some classes at your local garden extension service or visit botanical gardens near you. Shop at local garden nurseries near you and talk to the head gardeners there. If your neighbors seem to know a thing or two about landscaping their yards, talk with them. You’re going to learn so much about choosing the right plants for the right places this way.

Most of all, don’t be afraid to experiment. As I said earlier, trial and error is one way we all learn in gardening. And it’s how we all become better, more knowledgeable, more experienced, and — yes — wiser gardeners!