Search Results

A brilliant green carpet Arctostaphylos — dense, with numerous white flowers. Tolerates poor and sandy soil and appreciates well-draining soil. If you have clay, amend the soil, and/or plant it on a bank. Evergreen. A hybrid of Arctostaphylos nummularia and Arctostaphylos uva ursi found in the mid-1960's in Mendicino County of California. Mature...

Larger glossy leaves and even larger showy berries make this a distinctly different Kinnikinnick. It accepts summer water and is fine in part sun to shade. Provide well-drained soil. Pale pink flowers Evergreen, woody ground cover; Mature size: 6-12 in T x 6 ft W + Minimum temperature: 0° F

Striking fern with crisscrossed pinnae & crested leaflet tips. Appreciates organic-rich soil; does not thrive in clay soil. Mature size: 18-24 in T & 20-24 in W Minimum temperature: -30° F

Fringed Aristolochia has lax arching stems to 2-foot that rest on the ground or hang over the edge of a container. Curious yellow and maroon-fringed one-inch flowers are like nothing else except perhaps the most bizarre meerschaum pipe, and its silver-veined, green, rounded leaves are distinctive as well. In a word—arresting! Native...

Heart-shaped evergreen leaves hide curious, reddish, 3-pointed spidery flowers. It forms a ground cover 6 inches tall for areas of dry shade beneath a tree or in the lee of a building. This is our Northwest native and one of the prettiest of the hardy gingers. (Not culinary.) Minimum temperature: -20° F

Frosty white buds open to form a dome of fragrant, clove-scented, pale pink stars in summer through fall. Its seed pods are entertaining, too — 4-inch long, upright, fuzzy, pointed pods filled with cottony seeds. Remove them before they open if you don't want a lot of babies (Asclepias speciosa babies, that...

Its uncommon delicate beauty belies the tough grit of this neatly clumping evergreen fern. It has fetching black stems and its pale- to medium-green fronds are comprised of myriad small pinnae or leaflets. Mature size: 6 in T x 12 in W Minimum temperature: -40° F Featured on Great Plant Picks: https://www.greatplantpicks.org/plantlists/view/186

Shimmering, shiny, medium green, rounded leaves on a rounded plant bloom pinkish-white in early spring. Winter foliage will be darker green and the bark will be smooth; Summer foliage will be light green and the bark will be peeling. Meandering and twisting trunks are a deep mahogany. Of the edmundsii cultivars we...

Sky-blue flowers with yellow anthers perch on two-foot tall stems with yellow-green, softly arching narrow leaves. It is a summer rainfall flower coming from the Eastern Cape of South Africa to Tanzania. Place in a sheltered location, and remove seed heads if you want it to remain localized. (Snail proof!) Minimum temperature:...

February days find new sea-green blades pushing skyward. By early May, four-foot spires are covered in white star flowers with prominent stamens and pinkish-tan midribs. Bees and butterflies will take advantage! Coming from the Mediterranean, particularly the Catalan coast, but also from N. Africa, it likes rocky hillsides — tough...

A stunning fountain of bold green and white leaves are arresting from afar but also possess details that merit closer scrutiny. It promises that your garden will not be dull. Bambooesque in impression and exhilarating in full moonlight. 8 feet tall, and slowly spreading. Minimum temperature: -10° F

Swamp milkweed grows 4–5 feet tall and has clusters of pinkish-purple buds that open to invite butterflies mid to late summer. After blooms fade, 4–5-inch long seed pods develop then split open to release seeds that catch and ride the wind with puffs of silky threads. Upright and clump-forming, this...

Incredibly hardy, this Asparagus comes from Russia and is an ornamental, delicate, twining vine 15' tall/long with significant orange berries if it's happy. Its golden fall color is stupendous, a veritable beacon if trained on a tuteur! Minimum temperature: -40º F

In mid-summer, loosely arranged, 2-inch diameter light yellow star flowers on slender, willowy, stems. Blue-gray narrow leaves, the texture of Bear Grass. Remove the spent flowers if you're the tidy sort, or leave them on for winter interest and a chance of self-sowing (though we've not yet seen self-sowing in our...

A common fern that has been around, but still to be discovered by many and used to advantage; scolopendrium has a bold arching form with 2–3 inch wide, lustrous and puckered evergreen fronds. Mature size: 16 inches T x 24 inches W Minimum temperature: -30° F Featured on Great Plant Picks: https://www.greatplantpicks.org/plantlists/view/185

Double, saturated violet-pink flowers completely cover this choice aster cultivar from early through late autumn. Stunning! Attracts birds, butterflies, and bees! Mature size: 24–30 inches tall & 24 inches wide Minimum temperature: -30° F