Easy come, easy grow: You don't need a green thumb for these plants bloom

While some people seem to have a "green thumb" when it comes to plants and flowers, others may struggle with getting green things to sprout, grow and blossom.

If you are one of those folks who doesn't have the time or talent (or both!) for growing things green, these bushes, flowers and plants might be just up you alley.

Most all of them are hardy, require little maintenance and care, and several offer a long growing season. So, take a look at the list and then get planting:

> Boxwood evergreen: A great "foundation plant" that is a slow grower and is not difficult to prune, boxwood's small glossy leaves make this evergreen plant a perfect choice to add to any landscape.

Forsythia

> Forsythia: These popular flowering plants and shrubs bloom in the spring and are overall easy to care for.

Viburnums

> Viburnums: Another spring bloomer that is simple to maintain, these shrubs are diverse in shape and foliage with fragrant blooms. Most have a reliable performance record in colder climates as well.

Hydranga

> Hydranga: These offer big, beautiful blooms of deep colors in summer. New varieties will grow in colder climates and some are now so small that they will fit into perennial borders.

Butterfly bush

> Butterfly bush: Summer flowering and low maintenance, these large, arching shrubs produce masses of flowers beginning in mid- summer and going into fall.

Crepe myrtle

> Crepe myrtle: Known as the "lilac of the south," crepe myrtles bloom for a long time over the hot summer months. Crepe myrtles, which are both hardy and versatile, should be pruned once a year in late winter.

Knock-out roses

> Knock-out roses: These colorful beauties will bloom all the way from spring into fall. Knock-out roses are the most disease- resistant rose on the market. They are both winter hardy and heat tolerant. However, they do get larger in size with age, so if you want to keep them small, they must be pruned annually.

Source: Paul Schnare, owner of Sunny Hill Gardens and Florist in Cape Girardeau