As the summer winds down, my thoughts are turning to next year’s garden.

I’ve learned from this year’s urban vegetable-growing experiment that some vegetables work and some don’t in the small 15’ x 16’ space I have in back [0] in this hot Washington, D.C., climate.

I’ve also found out that many veggies are subject to pilfering by pests, while flowers and shrubs are largely left alone. So next year I’m planning to grow mostly flowers and shrubs, with herbs and a few veggies.

In choosing what to grow, my main considerations must be weather conditions, sunlight, and soil quality. As already noted, the Mid-Atlantic climate means hot, humid summers—in D.C. made hotter by the urban heat-island effect. (The USDA, in fact, recently revised D.C.’s hardiness zone from six to the hotter zone seven [1]). What’s more, our backyard faces west and offers minimal shade. The result: The hottest afternoon sunlight beats down and reflects off the house, generating even more heat. As for the soil, it’s not the best (too high in clay), though I’ve bumped it up with compost [1] and imported soil.

Given these conditions, here’s how my ideal garden breaks down.

On the deck in containers I’ll have tomatoes, green beans, herbs [1] and:

Clematis. This low-maintenance, perennial climber produces huge colorful flowers early in spring and again in early fall. Its the only creeper I’ve grown successfully (besides that pesky weed, the Virginia Creeper).

From the deck to the dogwood in the ground (left), I’ll have:

Echinacea. This super hardy, heat-withstanding perennial is native to the region and produces bold, beautiful purple-pink flowers with interesting cone centers all summer.

Rudbeckia. Hardy, long-blooming and native, like Echinacea, this perennial’s big sunny yellow flowers bloom into the fall.

Chrysanthemum. Also low-maintenance and perennial, mums bloom in fall when little else does. I like the orange ones.

From the deck to the double cherry tree (right), I’ll have:

Lilacs. This hardy perennial shrub produces poker-like pastel blossoms in spring. Just watch out for mildew.

Weigela. This perennial shrub goes gangbusters in warm weather, repeatedly covering itself in pink-burgundy bells. It just needs trimming.

Azaleas. Everybody knows the beautiful showy azalea blooms of spring. They do better in D.C. than their rhododendron cousins.

That’s my list. It’s a lot more contained than previous years based on my accumulated wisdom. Heck this list even leaves room to plant grass for our toddler boys to run around on—no doubt music to their grandmother’s ears.