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Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Keyword: Shrubs

Plants for seaside gardening

I need plant suggestions for growing in cold, salty winds only 15 to 20 feet from the high water mark of the Georgia Straits. In winter, the salt water from the ocean occasionally douses the area where I will be gardening. I’m particularly interested in perennials and small shrubs.

 

I found a list from Island County, WA (no longer available online) with revisions added for Bay Area gardeners.

Excerpts:
“Some of the better salt-tolerant shrubs and small trees to consider include Salal (Gautheria shallon), Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor), Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), Elderberry (Sambucus species), Tall Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium), Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana), and the Wax Myrtle (Myrica [now called Morella] californica).

There are a variety of native plants that are commonly found near the shoreline, and which typically do well in the Puget Sound area. These include the sword fern (Polystichum munitum), Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), Coastal lupine (Lupinus littoralis), Honeysuckle (Lonicera species), and Coastal strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis).”

Washington Native Plant Society also has a list of plants for a saltwater setting.

I recently answered a question about salt-tolerant grasses which may be helpful to you as well.

The book cited in the answer above, Frances Tenenbaum’s Gardening at the Shore, also lists shrubs and perennials. Below are those which might work in zone 8 or lower, and which are smaller than 20 feet.
Shrubs:

  • Acca (also called Feijoa) sellowiana (8-12 feet)
  • Amelanchier (small tree/large shrub)
  • Arbutus (there are some smaller species than the familiar Pacific madrone)
  • Arctostaphylos patula (6 feet)
  • Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (ground cover)
  • Atriplex canescens (3-5 feet)
  • Baccharis halimifolia (6-10 feet)
  • Calluna vulgaris (from 6 inches to 2 feet)
  • Caryopteris x clandonensis (2-3 feet)
  • Ceanothus (many varieties of different sizes, from ground cover to 20 feet)
  • Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (look for a dwarf variety of this tree)
  • Clethra alnifolia (8 feet)
  • Gaultheria shallon (ground cover)
  • Hydrangea macrophylla (6-8 feet)
  • Juniperus virginiana (look for creeping juniper cultivars like ‘Bar Harbor’ and ‘Blue Rug’ which are salt-tolerant)
  • Picea glauca (look for dwarf cultivars like ‘Arneson’s Blue’)
  • Rhus typhina
  • Rosa rugosa
  • Rosmarinus officinalis
  • Syringa vulgaris
  • Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
  • Viburnum (numerous species of different sizes)

Perennials:

  • Achillea
  • Armeria maritima
  • Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’
  • Artemisia schmidtiana
  • Asclepias tuberosa
  • Baptisia australis
  • Echinacea purpurea
  • Hemerocallis ‘Stella d’Oro’
  • Nepeta x faassenii and Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’
  • Perovskia atriplicifolia [now renamed Salvia yangii]
  • Platycodon grandiflorus
  • Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
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plants for full sun that provide a lush year-round garden

I have an asymmetrical flower bed in front of my house. It faces southeast and the house is white, with reflection of light. I purchase plants for full sun but they tend to get fried. I am interested in finding perennials to provide interest 12 months of the year. I prefer shrubs with a variety of texture. Plants that attract butterflies would be nice, and any grasses that are known not to grow out of control. What plants do you recommend that would give me a lush, year-round garden?

You may want to plant a mixture of perennials and shrubs, particularly those which tolerate bright light. An excellent book full of lists of plants is Ray and Jan McNeilan’s Pacific Northwest Gardener’s Book of Lists (1997). This book includes lists such as Shrubs for Interest in Each Season (pp.62-64), and Herbaceous Perennials for Full Sun All Day (pp.138-139).

I think you may find many of the other lists in this book valuable as you design your flower beds.

The Great Plant Picks website has lists of many different plants that do well in Northwest gardens, including pictures and descriptions.

There are quite a few books which address the issue of providing year-round color and interest in the garden, such as Adrian Bloom’s Year-Round Garden: Colour in Your Garden from January to December (Timber Press, 1998) and his Bloom’s Best Perennials and Grasses : Expert Plant Choices and Dramatic Combinations for Year-Round Gardens (Timber Press, 2010). The Miller Library also has booklists on topics like Winter Gardening and Perennials which may be of use to you.

And, here is an article entitled “Create a Butterfly Garden” (S. Lamb et al., January 2002) from Oregon State University.

Visiting local gardens throughout the year and noting the plants that appear to be thriving may help, and a trip to your local nursery can give you lots of ideas and information. The Center for Urban Horticulture and the Washington Park Arboretum both feature seasonal plant highlights.

shrubs and low trees that will grow in the shade

Can you suggest some shade shrubs/low trees that could be used in the bottom quarter of a huge, years-old pile of yardwaste and branches that is now a 20 foot cliff? I have started with some Vinca minor in the lower part but could use some ideas of some things to plant that might get 15 feet tall, evergreen, and grow in woods/shade or sun through trees.

The closest list I could find to meet your needs is one of evergreen shrubs that will grow in shade:

Japanese aucuba – Aucuba japonica vars.

common boxwood – Buxus sempervirens

camellia – Camellia sp.

gilt edge silverberry – Elaeagnus x ebbingei ‘Gilt Edge’

Euonymus – Euonymus fortunei radicans

Japanese aralia – Fatsia japonica

drooping Leucothoe – Leucothoe fontanesiana

Oregon grape – Mahonia aquifolium

Burmese mahonia – Mahonia lomariifolia

longleaf mahonia – Mahonia nervosa

holly leaf osmanthus – Osmanthus heterophyllus vars.

English laurel – Prunus laurocerasus ‘Mount Vernon’

Japanese skimmia – Skimmia japonica

evergreen huckleberry – Vaccinium ovatum

nannyberry – Viburnum lentago

Source: The Pacific Northwest Gardener’s Book of Lists, by R. & J. McNeilan, 1997, p. 46-47

 

purple-leafed shrubs

Can you give me some information on Weigela Midnight Wine and dwarf Nandina? Are there any plant lists of purple-leafed shrubs?

 

Following is a good description of Weigela ‘Midnight Wine.’ The information comes from the Missouri Botanical Garden, so it is tested and accurate.

WEIGELA

‘Elvera’ Midnight Wine is a dwarf version of the popular Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’ (W760). It is a dense, rounded, low-growing deciduous shrub that typically grows to only 1.5-2 feet tall and as wide. Features profuse reddish-pink flowers and burgundy-purple foliage. Reddish-pink, funnel-shaped flowers (to 1.25 inches long) appear singly or in clusters along the branches of the previous year’s growth in mid- to late spring, with sparse and scattered repeat bloom often occurring on new growth as the summer progresses. Elliptic to obovate, glossy, burgundy-purple leaves (to 3 inches long) turn very dark purple in autumn. Hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. Original cultivar name is ‘Elvera’, but plants are being marketed under the registered trademark name of Midnight Wine. U. S. Plant Patent #12,217 issued November 20, 2001.

NANDINA

There are several varieties of dwarf Nandina, such as ‘Harbour Dwarf,’ ‘Firepower,’ ‘Nana,’ and ‘Nana purpurea.’ University of Florida Extension has a feature on dwarf Nandina on their website (now archived).  There are also plants available from nurseries such as Forestfarm Nursery in Oregon, and Whitney Gardens in Washington.

PLANT SUGGESTIONS

As far as lists of plants with purple foliage, you should find a wealth of information in the book Black Magic and Purple Passion, by Karen Platt, 2004. There are also lists online, such as this page from Iowa State University Extension, entitled “A Passion for Purple.” You can also search Royal Horticultural Society’s Plant Selector and other similar resources by leaf color.

Garden Tip #50

A book by Jekka McVicar called Seeds: the ultimate guide to growing successfully from seed (Lyons Press, 2003, $22.95) will help you turn your seedy hopes into plant reality. Thirteen chapters are divided by types of plant including ferns, grasses, shrubs, perennials and herbs. The practical information that applies to all kinds of seeds, such as what type of soil to use, and how to break seed dormancy, is included in the last chapter. Color photos illustrate throughout.

For online tips for seed starting go to:
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/pnw0170/pnw0170.pdf from Oregon State University.

Deer in My Garden, Volume 1: Perennials & Subshrubs

Grass Valley, California is on the outer rim of our region, but the resident gardening columnist Carolyn Singer is worth knowing about, especially for gardeners in the foothills of the Cascades.  She is very experienced with the ravages of deer, and address this concern in two books.  “Deer in My Garden” (2006), was largely written while the author spent the summer of 2005 in Seattle and focuses on perennials and subshrubs.  “Deer in My Garden: Volume 2” (2008) considers the impact on groundcovers and garden edge plants.

Both books are part of “The Yucky Flower Series,” honoring the advice of her then 3-year-old grandson: “The deer wouldn’t eat yucky flowers!”  So that is what she planted.  Her deer-resistant recommendations are based on her own experience, or those of gardeners who grew trial plants for her, knowing that in the interest of science (or cervid consumer selection), the trial plants might disappear.

While yucky to deer, the selected plants are all quite lovely to gardeners and would make many other recommended plant lists.  Most are drought tolerant and adapted to a wide temperature range.  Best of all, the author enthusiastically rates the maintenance requirements of most as “EASY!” to “VERY, VERY EASY!”  Deer or no deer, these are great garden plants.

 

Excerpted from the Spring 2015 Arboretum Bulletin

 

Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest

Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest cover

Mark Turner, another gifted photographer, has produced his second Timber Press Field Guide: “Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest,” co-authored with Ellen Kuhlmann. As with his earlier book on the wildflowers of the region (co-authored with Phyllis Gustafson), this is designed for use in the field. Quickly accessible inside the front and back covers are diagrams of the various types of flower parts, leaves, fruits, and seeds. The cover is weather-resistant and a ruler, in both inches and centimeters is handily placed on the back cover.

This guide is also very comprehensive. “While a few readers may gripe about the size and weight of this volume, we chose to err on the side of clarity and include at least a pair of photographs for most of the 568 taxa that have a main entry.” The authors also joke that this book was “…our excuse to learn the willows” and sure enough, 28 pages are devoted to this genus that is notoriously difficult to identify at the species level.

The plant descriptions begin with conifers, followed by angiosperms divided by leaf types. There are no keys, but the extra photographs, and their high quality, makes finding plants pretty straightforward. The range maps include all of Washington and Oregon, along with southern British Columbia and northern California, showing all the counties or regional districts where the plant has been documented. The maps are a fascinating study all on their own.

The helpful introduction is only slightly modified from Turner’s earlier book, but no matter: it is useful information on how to get the best use out of this book and make the most of your plant exploration. The descriptions of the different ecoregions could make a useful booklet by itself.

Excerpted from the Fall 2014 Arboretum Bulletin.

The Gossler Guide to the Best Hardy Shrubs

[The Gossler Guide to the Best Hardy Shrubs] cover

I have long enjoyed the folksy but information packed annual catalogs from Gossler Farms Nursery in Springfield, Oregon. It is a great pleasure to now have the first book by the family (mom Marjory and sons Roger and Eric Gossler), The Gossler Guide to the Best Hardy Shrubs. Here the very practical, learned-by-experience descriptions of the catalog are expanded to 350 of their favorites, and all would make a good choice for local gardens.

The highlight of the introductory chapters is “How Not to Kill Your Plants” with lots of advice on how to select, buy, plant, and nurture your new shrubby children. “Consider it an open adoption: you want to know about the birth parents, what neighborhood the plant came from, whether drugs were involved, and so on.” This same professional insiders advice continues in the A-Z listings, where I learned that a favorite of mine, Enkianthus perulatus, is rarely found in nurseries “…because it grows too slowly to be profitable.”

Excerpted from the Fall 2010 Arboretum Bulletin.