8 Great Plants for Wow!

Start planning your warm-weather gardens now with a little help from an expert.

» From Southern Living

Joseph De Sciose and Allen Rokach

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One Wonderful Yucca

If you think of yuccas as vegetative versions of Vlad the Impaler, check out 'Banana Split' curve-leaf yucca (Yucca recurvifolia, also known as 'Monca'). It features gracefully cascading leaves with soft, nonlethal tips. And what color! Golden leaves with gray-green margins light up the garden. Combine this yucca with shrubs having coarser, dark green leaves, such as hydrangeas or common camellias. It's also great in a container or a massed planting. Give it well-drained soil, and go easy on the water.

'Banana Split' Curve-Leaf Yucca
Type: shrub
Size: up to 6 feet tall, 4 feet wide, smaller in containers
Light: sun or light shade
Soil: well drained, tolerates drought
Water: moderate
Pests: rust on leaves
Added bonus: tall spikes of white flowers in summer

SOURCE: Available at garden centers.

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