The Best Outdoor Plants for Zone 6

Glossy Abelia

• The glossy abelia is an evergreen or semi-evergreen broadleaf shrub between 3 and 6 inches high, frequently seen used as ground cover. Thriving in sunny and shady locations, the shrub flowers beginning in May and continuing through the fall months. Flowers are pink or white, and as they fall they are replaced with brightly colored sepals that give the impression of the appearance of another set of flowers.

  The leaves of the glossy abelia turn maroon in mild winters; the colder the winter, the more foliage the plant will lose. Able to adapt to a number of different soil types, sunny and shady conditions and temperatures, the glossy abelia makes an excellent border plant. Suggested cultivars include Sherwood, Canyon Creek and Rose Creek.

Oregon Grape Holly

• Oregon grape holly is a plant with a story -- it was one of the plants brought back by Lewis and Clark from their explorations into new United States territory.

  An evergreen shrub with a mature height of between 5 and 6 feet, it grows wild from British Columbia through northern California; as such, it is well-accustomed to weathering chilly, snow-covered winters. Technically not a member of the holly family, it gets its name from its holly-like leaves, ringed with spiky teeth. The leaves are green in the summer and maroon in the winter. The grape portion of the name comes from blue berries that ripen in the summer after the yellow flowers that appear in the late winter and early spring.

  A hardy plant, it does well as ground cover -- especially considering it is disease and pest-free.

Hydrangea

• The hydrangea is a popular flowering plant that blossoms with large, showy clusters of flowers in a variety of color. Zone 6 is the coldest zone that most of these Japanese natives are rated to. The exception is the panicle, the most hardy of the hydrangeas.

  There are a variety of different cultivars. Flowers can be bluish-purple, white, pink and blue. Some, such as the lacecap, reach a mature height and width of between 4 and 6 feet, while the panicle can mature into a ball-shaped plant with a diameter up to 15 feet.

  There is also a variety of climbing hydrangea, with a unique vine shape. This version is rare but increasing in popularity, as it is suited to Zones 4 through 7 and can climb up to 80 feet.

Daffodils

• Daffodils are the heralds of spring, often among the first flowers to blossom after the long, cold winters. There are a number of different varieties and thousands of different cultivars, the majority of which are rated for Zone 6 -- in fact, there are a handful of varieties that can only be grown in this zone.

  Usually planted in clumps, these tall, spindly flowers are usually white and/or yellow, but some varieties have center cups that can be pink or orange. Daffodils have a long blooming season; depending on the cultivar and the environment, it can last anywhere from 2 to 6 months.

  The daffodil is also known as the narcissus, and sometimes -- incorrectly -- as the jonquil.