If you've recently added one to your home at ground level, you may be wondering what you can plant around a sunroom that would be low maintenance yet eye-catching. To protect your investment, it's best to avoid having grass too close to the windows because mowing and weed whacking could cause them damage. Instead, here are some creative ideas for landscaping around a sunroom.

Plant Compact Shrubs.

You just added a wonderful space to enjoy the natural light of day, so it wouldn't make sense to plant anything that would block it. The simplest way to landscape around your sunroom is to plant shrubs that won't grow taller than about four feet. You could choose compact burning bushes, azaleas, hydrangeas, or camellias for seasonal color. Or you may choose evergreens for year-round greenery. Then, cover the ground with fresh mulch and make sure to keep your shrubs trimmed so they don't grow too tall.

Start a Rock Garden.

If you're looking for an idea the neighbors might not have thought of, why not plant a rock garden? There are quite a few low-growing plants that thrive in rocky spaces that would add visual interest to your sunroom. Here are three examples that will thrive in our area:

• Rockcress - For a short plant with pretty flowers, choose rockcress, which is deer-resistant and grows well in full sun to part shade. 
• Sedum - If you want something a little taller, sedum is a lovely succulent that grows up to three feet tall and produces butterfly-attracting flowers in the summertime. It grows best in full sun and will come back year after year. 
• Deadnettle - In case your sunroom is on the shadier side of the house, a plant like deadnettle will work well. It grows up to 12 inches tall in part to full shade and produces purple, pink, or white flowers depending on the variety.

Bring the Beach Home.

One way to really create a point of interest outside your sunroom window is to create a seashell garden. If you've spent years collecting pretty shells at the beach, this is your chance to showcase them in a beautiful way. As with any other garden, you want to clear the area of grass and create a blank canvas. Then, place your cleaned shells in a single layer in whatever arrangement you want. Whether you mix the different types of shells all together or separate them by type and lay them in geometric designs, it's up to you! And if you don't have enough shells to completely fill the space, that's fine! You can use the same plants in a shell garden as you would a rock garden, or claim to need more seashells as an excuse to take a quick trip to the beach!

We hope these ideas for landscaping around your sunroom have inspired you to think outside the box(wood). Happy planting!