A spot like this, in the baking sun by a pool in Denver, Colorado, needs to have plants that can take a beating and still look good all summer. Garden designer Tom Peace used a variety of tough perennials and shrubs that add interest all season while requiring a minimum of fuss. This planting includes:

Upright juniper (Juniperus cv., USDA Hardiness Zones 2-9)
Columnar blue spruce (Picea pungens cv., Zones 2-8)
Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum, Zones 3-9)
Blue sage (Salvia azurea ssp. pitcheri, Zones 5-9)
‘Firetail’ persicaria (Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’, Zones 3-8)
‘Butterfly Blue’ scabious (Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’, Zones 3-8)
Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Zones 5-9)
‘Globosa’ dwarf blue spruce (Picea pungens ‘Globosa’, Zones 2-8)
‘Zing Rose’ maiden pink (Dianthus deltoides ‘Zing Rose’, Zones 3-10)
‘Happy Thought’ geranium (Pelargonium ‘Happy Thought’, Zone 11)
Tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis, Zones 7-11)
Blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens, Zones 4-9)
‘Morning Light’ miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’, Zones 4-9)

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