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Northwest Native Plant Landscape Guide

King County’s Natural Resources and Parks department has made it easy for gardeners to include native plants in their gardens. The site includes garden design plans for sun or shade, dry or wet sites; detailed plant profiles that may be searched by name or browsed by photos; and a collection of short articles on topics such as proper site preparation. The most useful feature is the ability to create customized plant lists that can be printed, emailed or even saved for a later visit.

Washington Natural Heritage Program

“The WNHP manages site-specific and species/ecosystem-specific information on priority species and ecosystems; those that are rare or have very limited distribution.”

Washington Flora Checklist

A database constructed by members of the UW Botany department. “The Washington Flora Checklist aims to be a complete checklist of the vascular plants of Washington State. The checklist currently contains 3687 unique taxa.”

PlantNative.com

“Dedicated to moving native plants and naturescaping into mainstream landscaping practices.” Includes a how-to for creating a native plant landscape and directories by state for native plant nurseries, regional plants and community service organizations.

The Flora of Mount Adams, Washington

Flora of Mount Adams cover For the serious student of native plants, “The Flora of Mount Adams, Washington” will be an important work. Considered to be the most diverse flora in the state, Mt. Adams hosts several, quite distinct habitats and over 800 distinct species of plants. As there are no photographs and only botanist-oriented descriptions and identifying keys, this is not for the casual seeker of wildflowers. Instead, look for co-author Susan McDougall’s “The Wildflowers of Mount Adams, Washington.”

Excerpted from the Fall 2008 Arboretum Bulletin.

Evergreen Muse: The Art of Elizabeth Colborne

bookA strong woman from the early 20th century was Elizabeth Colborne (1885-1948), who grew up in Bellingham. She was an artist that worked in several media with various subjects, but is best remembered for her color woodcuts of northwest forest scenes, with detailed and accurate renditions of our native trees and other plants. Evergreen Muse by David Martin is a catalog of her works displayed in an exhibit at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham during the summer of 2011.

Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.

Native Plant User Guide

bookGardeners east of the Cascades will be pleased to have this addition to the limited collection of garden books for their region. Native Plant User Guide is published by the nursery Rugged Country Plants in Milton-Freewater, Oregon and, while self-promoting, there is far more descriptive detail and cultural help than you’d expect from a nursery catalog. With careful reading, gardeners west of the Cascades will pick up useful ideas, too.

Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.