Native plants in the coastal garden

“Native Plants in the Coastal Garden” (1996, revised 2002) by April Pettinger and Brenda Costanzo brings a British Columbia focus to native plant gardening. Essays describe the rise of a late 20th century naturalistic aesthetic in European and American garden design and the supreme suitability of native plants for this look. Many different design aspects are considered, such as container gardening with native plants, and the large role that grasses play in any landscape.

Only in the latter half of the book are species described in depth, presented in groupings by appropriate habitats. Trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants have equal treatment with a section for each on propagation and cultivation. Photos are limited and most of the information on nurseries and public gardens is out of date.

Excerpted from the Summer 2019 Arboretum Bulletin.

Gardening with native plants of the Pacific Northwest

Art Kruckeberg (1920-2016) has a legendary reputation for his research and teaching in botany, and his expansion of that work into the natural history and geology of selected ecosystems. But for gardeners, he is best remembered for his classic “Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest,” first published in 1982, followed by a second edition in 1996.

Linda Chalker-Scott is rapidly developing her own renown for books that encourage learning the science behind growing plants. Now she has taken on the major task of guiding the publication of a third edition of “Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest.”

This is not just an editorial update. It is a collaboration from different perspectives and eras. Kruckeberg was a professor of botany for nearly four decades at the University of Washington until his retirement in 1989. In his first edition, he acknowledges the help of several individuals that figure prominently in the mid to later 20th century Arboretum, including Brian Mulligan, Roy Davidson, Joe Witt, C. Leo Hitchcock, Sylvia Duryee, and his wife, horticulturist Mareen Kruckeberg, the latter credited with conceiving the concept of this book.

Chalker-Scott is an associate professor of horticulture and extension specialist at Washington State University. Her contributions to the new edition further enhance the reader’s understanding of our native plants in their natural setting, and how to make them thrive in the not-very-natural setting of a typical home garden.

For those familiar with the older editions, the first thing you’ll notice in the new edition is the inclusion of many color photographs, almost one for every text entry. Each photograph has a selection of habitat icons “to help gardeners both visualize the best natural settings for native plants and identify environmental preferences.” For example, a plant may naturally grow in the full sun of a meadow or prairie, or it may need the superb drainage of a rock garden. Plants may be best adapted for wetlands or drylands, or perhaps a woodland or even a seashore. Another symbol marks plants especially successful in restoration projects. The new edition also updates taxonomy, reflecting the recent publication of the 2nd edition of the “Flora of the Pacific Northwest” (see my review in the Spring 2019 issue of “The Bulletin”).

For those new to this book, the breadth of the plant selection may be surprising – we have many garden-worthy natives. The emphasis is on woody plants. Almost all native trees are reviewed in some depth, including those not recommended for a garden setting. In the chapter on deciduous shrubs, ten “choice” species are considered first as the best choices. Much of the writing in these plant descriptions is the voice of Kruckeberg, although I noticed that favored plants are now “our” favorites – the two authors agree on most of the selections.

Chalker-Scott has added a new chapter that brings her signature work on horticultural science to the establishment and maintenance of a garden rich in native plants. She alleviates concerns about using “nativars” – propagated selections chosen for an unusual and desirable trait, such as double flowers or variegation. She also assures the new gardener that it is okay to mix well-behaved exotics into your garden of mostly natives.

One major difference between the second and third editions is the removal of any instructions on how to collect native plants from the wild. Chalker-Scott cautions, “This practice must stop if we are to retain many of our rare, threatened, and endangered species. It’s a better ethical and ecological choice to purchase native plants from reputable nurseries that have propagated and cultivated their plants without endangering native populations.”

Excerpted from the Summer 2019 Arboretum Bulletin

Plants of the world

[Plants of the World] cover

“Plants of the World” by Maarten J. M. Christenhusz, Michael F. Fay, and Mark W. Chase is the first book to explore systematically every vascular plant family in the world. The plants are organized in a modern phylogenetic order, in which more than 450 families are described and illustrated.

Following an introduction that sets out the various aspects that are covered in the treatments, the entries follow an encyclopedic format with information about distribution, phylogeny and evolution, numbers of genera and species, uses, largest genome, and etymology. Illustrations are color photographs showing key features of selected representatives. Small global distribution maps are included.

The information isn’t detailed but the entries capture in a summary manner the basic features of every vascular plant family in the world. The end matter includes a glossary, further reading, general references and index.

This ambitious book seems like an important reference work that will set the tone for further works to follow.

Excerpted from the June 2019 Leaflet for Scholars Volume 6, Issue 6

Flora : inside the secret world of plants

[Flora] cover

I didn’t expect to like “Flora: Inside the Secret World of Plants.” Publications from big institutions (in this case the Smithsonian and Kew Gardens) can be ponderous. At first glance, it looks like an overblown coffee table book. Lovely photos, but – yawn – not much interesting content.

I was wrong. I recommend this to every gardener. Start with the Table of Contents – pedantic advice, yes, but seeing the layout helps you understand the book’s flow. First, it answers the question, what is a plant?

The rest is very systematic, starting from the ground up with roots, moving along the stems and branches to the leaves and flowers, and finally seeds and fruits. It makes a lot of sense to read this in order.

The publisher is DK, well known for books with strong graphic design and as expected, the illustrations are excellent and enhance the text. The individual concepts are brief, easy bites, but as you read, you’ll pick up all sorts of knowledge about the plants you love that will inform your gardening. Along the way, too, there are brief bios of the people of plants – the botanists, the gardeners, the illustrators. It’s a surprisingly complete package.

Excerpted from the June 2019 Leaflet Volume 6, Issue 6

The History of Landscape Design in 100 Gardens

Ugh. That was my first reaction to the title “The History of Landscape Design in 100 Gardens.” I immediately pictured a dull, dusty history book.

When I opened the book, I was surprised. Choosing a random page, I was hooked by the narrative and soon fully engaged. Author Linda A. Chisholm skillfully weaves stories of gardens and gardeners seamlessly within the prevailing styles and the broader culture of their times.

To do this, she uses “one hundred of the world’s great gardens, chosen to illustrate the history and principles of landscape design and to answer the question of why a particular style became dominant at a specific time and place in history.”

This history begins with a wide swath from the 9^th century to the 15^th century C. E. This was a time when gardens were enclosed, providing protection from the dangerous world outside. This style was used in both Christian and Muslin gardens, the latter in part represented by the Alhambra in Spain.

A later chapter, entitled “The Poppies Grow”, explores how “designers of five beloved gardens find solace in opposing the industry that led to war.” These gardens include Hidcote, Sissinghurst, Great Dixter, and Dumbarton Oaks. I’ve been to all, but I will now better appreciate their shared purposes.

Each of these entries are short, but – as a librarian friend of mine commented – meaty. Most of the gardens will be familiar. There is an emphasis on European and American history, although the two chapters that linked European and East Asian gardens were especially insightful. For example, I have never considered the similarities between French Impressionism and Japanese garden design of the same period.

This is a wonderful way to teach a challenging subject – the history of design. The author’s astute organization of the chapter topics, along with the photographs of Michael D. Garber, make this book work. I wish there was a broader selection of west coast gardens (there are two, both in Sonoma County, California), but that is a small quibble. An excellent bibliography leads the reader to a wealth of other publications to pursue these topics further.

Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society, Summer 2019

Flora of the Pacific Northwest : an illustrated manual

For Pacific Northwest botanists of all levels, the one-volume book informally known as “Hitchcock” has been standard equipment since its publication in 1973. This work, “Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual” by C. Leo Hitchcock and Arthur Cronquist, was intended as a field version of the five-volume flora “Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest,” written by the same authors with two additional botanists and two illustrators from 1955-1969.

“No scholarly endeavors are immune to the advancing frontiers of knowledge.” This quote is from the introduction of the new, second edition of the one-volume “Flora,” expanded by a team of four editors with three new illustrators. Changes in taxonomy, especially from molecular studies, plus newly described taxa and the establishment of non-native species (which this flora includes) have created a long overdue need for an update.

In the 45 years between publications, there has been a nearly 25% increase in the number of taxa included, the biggest single reason being “the establishment, or detection, of additional exotic taxa within our area.” While this work does not introduce any new names or classifications, just keeping up with widely accepted taxonomic changes has resulted in over 40% of the listings in the first edition having a new genus and/or species name, or being placed in a different family.

Hitchcock was a long-time professor of botany at the University of Washington. He was also a gardener, and many references remain in the 2nd edition regarding the ornamental qualities and garden adaptability of the subjects.

These include the observation that the incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) is a fine ornamental tree, and that “trilliums are rather easily grown, and T. ovatum in particular is an excellent garden pl [plant], but it is a shame to dig them in the wild, esp [especially] since they grow readily from seed.” This urging of conservation (as well as the use of abbreviations) is a repeated theme: “The lilies are a constant temptation to the avaricious gardener, but our spp. [species] rarely thrive in cult [cultivation] and should not be removed from the wild.”

Like the first edition, this book attempts to be comprehensive in its presentation of species, subspecies, and varieties throughout Washington, much of Oregon and Idaho, the western part of Montana, and southern British Columbia. The first edition introduced the new (at the time) idea of embedding the species descriptions and illustrations within the taxonomic keys. This proved to be a good decision. It has remained a best-seller for the University of Washington Press for the last four decades.

At 882 pages (the first edition had 730), it is perhaps a bit hefty for field work, but this is a must for your home garden library. The aforementioned use of abbreviations keeps it from becoming even bigger, and this is a bit of a challenge for reading at first. But after a while, this shorthand becomes familiar. The Miller Library has a lending copy of the new edition, and keeps non-circulating copies of both editions and the earlier volumes of “Vascular Plants.” Be sure to take a look at this new standard for our regional botany!

Excerpted from the Spring 2019 Arboretum Bulletin.

Olympic National Park : a natural history

Olympic National Park book cover “Olympic National Park: A Natural History” was first published in 1996. Author Tim McNulty and University of Washington Press have now come out with the fourth edition (2018). It’s no wonder this book has been so popular. McNulty is an excellent essayist and the subject is a mostly unspoiled, large-scale ecosystem, from seashore to mountaintops, the latter easily seen on a clear day from Seattle.

This is not an identification book or field guide. There are photographs, but they mostly set the mood of the book by being clustered up front. Instead, this a reading book, intended to be savored cover-to-cover, to gain an understanding of the flora and the fauna in broad settings: the mountains, the forests, and the coast. The author concludes with the human history of the region, especially pre-European, and the much more recent struggle to establish and maintain the integrity of the national park and its ecosystems.

This newest edition is the same as the previous (2009) in large part, but includes the story of the removal of dams on the Elwha River. It also updates efforts to restore the animal life as found prior to the influence by European and eastern North American settlers, with the reintroduction of fishers and the removal of non-native mountain goats.

The Olympic Peninsula is sometimes described as a refugia, a place where plant and animal species survived while disappearing from nearby locations. This is in part because of the wide range of topographical niches, caused by extreme changes both in elevation and rainfall over short distances. Species could adapt by moving to nearby, suitable habitats.

Earlier history is part of this story, too. While much of the peninsula avoided glaciation, “the ice age and the climatic upheavals that preceded them have reshuffled the deck of plant and animal communities wildly in the Olympic Mountains…alpine and sub-alpine species mixing willy-nilly with lowland plants and varieties.” This gives hope that these mountains and lowlands will continue to provide refuge for plants during future climate change.

Excerpted fom the Spring 2019 Arboretum Bulletin.

Buzz : the nature and necessity of bees

Buzz book cover I was very impressed with the story-telling skills of Thor Hanson that I discovered when reading his “The Triumph of Seeds” (see review in the Fall 2015 issue of the “Bulletin”). He makes scientific research easy to understand and an adventure that’s fun!

“Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees” is Hanson’s newest (2018) book. As before, he combines just the right touch of personal, local experience – he lives on an unidentified island in the Pacific Northwest – with wide-ranging research. For this book, he traveled to Sri Lanka to investigate a bee-like wasp, and to southern Africa, one of the ecosystems where honey bees are native.

“Bees are the vegetarian descendants of a sphecid wasp ancestor from the mid-Cretaceous. That much is known.” As these wasps are not vegetarian, why and how did bees make this dramatic lifestyle change? This is still a mostly unanswered question, but Hanson seeks out some of most recent research and insightful researchers to explore the possibilities.

This led him to participate in “The Bee Course”, a nine-day, intensive study set in the Arizona desert in August. Why there and then? Arizona has the highest concentration of bee species (1,300) in North America and unlike tourists, they don’t mind the heat and are particularly busy during the flush of flowers by many cacti and other wildflowers at that time of year.

During the course, Hanson became smitten with an alkali bee (Nomia sp.), a genus that has an opalescent exoskeleton, “flashing a rainbow of colors that shifted and swirled in the light.” While this species was a rare treasure from his visit to Arizona, he discovered later that near Touchet, Washington, alfalfa farmers have learned to create an environment to nurture native species of alkali bees in exchange for pollinating their crops. This is not a small-scale operation. There are an estimated 18-25 million nesting female alkali bees scattered over 300 acres.

There are other local connections, too. The author profiles Brian Griffin of Bellingham, well-known amongst gardeners and fruit-growers for his commercializing and promotion of keeping orchard mason bees. Hanson also made his own discovery, finding a cliff on a neighboring island to his own that is home to 400,000 digger bees – the largest know population of such bees – amongst a complex community of several other types of bees, wasps, flies, and beetles.

Excerpted from the Spring 2019 Arboretum Bulletin.

Pacific Northwest Insects

Pacific Northwest Insects book cover Fascinated by all the small life forms you find in your garden? Perhaps not, but it is still valuable for gardeners to know about them. “Pacific Northwest Insects” by Merrill Peterson will help. This excellent new field guide provides incredible color photos of over 1,200 species native to our region. The scope is the phylum Arthropoda, so this includes all the true insects (bees, beetles, butterflies, flies, etc.) plus centipedes, sow bugs, spider mites, and even spiders and ticks (yikes!).

This wider scope means this book provides better coverage of the many “bugs” you’ll find in your garden. Peterson recognizes the importance of plants to the insect world and visa-versa. “Given the specialized associations between insects and plants, it is no wonder that many entomologists are skilled field botanists.” This book is the most comprehensive in the Miller Library collection for this region and our reference copy will help you with any identifying invertebrate visitors to your garden.

If you can get past the creepy factor, there’s also a lot of fascinating facts to discover. Did you know that moths are a significant food source for grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains fattening up for their winter hibernation? Or that beetles are the most diverse and numerous order of multicellular animals in the world, making up 20% of all species? Many visitors think the Pacific Northwest has limited insect life. That’s not true – this book will help you identify over 3,000 species – but we lack many “huge or gaudily colored insects.”

Excerpted from the Spring 2019 Arboretum Bulletin.

The Brother Gardeners

[The Brother Gardeners] cover

The Brother Gardeners tells the story of how the English garden came into glorious maturity in the 18th century. But its focus is on the men (alas, almost no women) who brought that garden into being, constructing it to include seeds and plants from the American colonies, and eventually from Australia, South America, Asia, and Africa.

Wars are treated by the brothers as annoying obstacles to be overcome. Political divisions are ignored in order to keep governments friendly to plant transport.

Wulf does a superb job of bringing to life the personalities of the gardeners: Linnaeus, John Bartram, Joseph Banks and numerous others. They all work indefatigably, write each other reams of letters, bicker, fail and try again throughout this book, as they serve the goddess of botany.

Linnaeus, without whose organizing system the huge explosion of new species imported by England would not have been manageable, was not always treated well by his English and Swedish beneficiaries. John Bartram, the American farmer, sought out new species all over the colonies and sent them to England. As a result, American plants became essential to English gardens. Joseph Banks, who focused both his energies and his fortune on collecting plants, spread his passion for botanizing until it became an English mania, and promoted successfully the development of an English policy of plant distribution to and from its colonies.

By the end of the 18th century, Continental gardeners were clamoring to create English gardens rather than the other way around, as had been past practice, and New World plants grew abundantly throughout the Empire.

Wulf describes all this in winningly readable, impressively researched prose. Added benefits are the 18-page glossary of plants and an index which includes both Latin and common plant names. The whole book is a delight.

Published in the March 2019 Leaflet Volume 6, Issue 3.