My Mom is from Minnesota. Twin Cities area. So I think that is zone 4 if I remember right. She loves gardening, but I want to make it easier for her. My father retires in less than a year, and my mother will soon follow (she also has had a bad back the past few years). She has lots of planting areas around the house, and I am thinking specifically in this 4x5 little plot she has... Raised up about 6 inches from the ground around it, just on the south side of a little 12 foot Maple, so it is mostly in the sun. Last year she put red, white, and purple flowers there in the shape of an American flag. Looked quite nice! but I think those were annuals... So, she has an empty plot. I don't think she has put anything in there yet, so I want to get her something that will be easy to maintain for the years (so perennials) to come!

What do you suggest?

I think I might just go to the greenhouse and look around for things that she might like. But I am so unfamiliar with gardening (besides pulling weeds for my Mom! LOL), I wouldn't know where to start!

Thanks for helping me! :-)