I’ve heard many times: I bought a plant, planted it and it died. Or, I bought a plant, planted it and now it’s all over the place.

For many people, walking into a nursery is intimidating. Even with the help of the nursery personnel, the array of trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, grasses, herbs, water plants and vines can be overwhelming. All of these plants have developed a specific gene set to survive in certain conditions that match up with soil, water and light. If you know your needs, and you know your soil, water and light, you are on your way.

Let’s say you want to camouflage a long cedar fence across your back yard. How to do that? There are a couple of ways, but I’m glad to hear you say “I’m not going to buy 50 arborvitae and plant them two feet away from each other.” Arborvitae is the builder’s special. For numerous reasons, avoid it.

Fences can be broken up by plantings. Start with a small, garden-sized tree. Notice the 10-year size guess on the tag. What are your light conditions? Do you have soil that is well-drained and with a pH between 6.3-6.8? Do you have access to water so your new plants won’t dehydrate and die?

Landscape failure is often attributed to poor growing conditions and that includes poor soil. Add at least six inches of compost for every 12 inches of depth dug.

Then, choose a tree that matches the conditions in your yard. A tree that grows slowly is ideal; you will enjoy it for many years. Nice fall color wouldn’t hurt and possibly some interesting bark or red branches for winter interest will only sweeten the deal.

Looking for a conifer? Are you an aspiring lumberjack? That’s okay, just choose wisely. Some conifers can grow at the rate of four feet a year once their roots have established.

Then, look for shrubs that are scaled to work with the tree you’ve chosen and that match your light, soil and water conditions. You don’t want shrubs that get to be enormous in 10 years if your tree is slow-growing. Low-growing shrubs, some evergreen and other deciduous with different bloom times and foliar color would be just the thing.

Do you like perennial color? Include some drought-tolerant perennials such as daylilies, salvias, bee balm or daisies and enjoy the show. A drought-tolerant sword fern for fluff is a nice touch.

This bed is a good start. Plan a low, shrubby transition area, and repeat. Include a bench or some seat rocks and now you have a destination point.

Plants aren’t the only thing to distract the eye from a long fence line. Consider a large trellis with a fast-climbing vine and colorful shrubs at the base.

Do you want a vegetable garden and have full sun? Use the fence as a trellis to grow peas, beans or small squash.

This spring I’m teaching classes at the Peter Kirk Community Center (425-587-3350) and one is “Selecting Plants for the Landscape.” You will walk away with plant lists and solutions. Bring your notebook and questions.

Nancy Tom is an environmental horticulturist and has been in business since 2000 with Down-to-Earth Gardens, Inc. Her projects can be seen at downtoearthgardens.com and she can be reached at 425-736-0420.