Skip to content
Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Archives: Garden Tips

Gardening tips and suggestions.

Garden Tip #87

Trees are the answer! Or at least trees make our lives better by casting shade, cleaning the air and giving refuge to birds. It’s important to find the right tree for the right place.

  • Great Plant Picks has selected plants that are proven performers in the Pacific Northwest. Complete profiles of all selected trees are available at their website www.greatplantpicks.org or give them a call to get their free booklet (206) 362-8612
  • Use SelectTree, a database from the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute to select attributes that you want your tree to possess, such as clay soil, dry, resistant to verticillium wilt and fragrant flowers (that search suggested ornamental pear). Over 1,000 trees are profiled.
  • More tree information can be found at Virginia Tech Dendrology department fact sheet database, including a recording of the proper pronunciation of the Latin name. Over 800 trees are listed.
  • Friends of the Trees promotes planting trees in our cities to improve our quality of life. Their website also offers tree profiles and has a list of suggested trees for planting under power lines.

Garden Tip #191

Silvics of North America Online by United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 1990.

Property owners with woodlots and tree lovers alike will find the Silvics of North America an informative and authoritative reference source on trees. Two hundred, mostly North American native trees are described including native habitat, associated trees and shrubs, propagation details, growth rate, and information on the major pests that may damage the tree. Many entries have information on the root development, which can be helpful in learning if a chosen tree will tolerate construction, or be appropriate for planting over water utilities.