Plant Features

Favorite plants of the summer

By Mike Darcy — Posted October 4, 2023

Four favorite plants that thrived in Pacific Northwest’s warm summers.

The replacements

By Erica Browne Grivas — Posted September 5, 2023

Over-reliance on certain trees often prompts the need to turn to newer varieties in place of faltering favorites.

In Japanese, Hinoki literally translates to “fire tree.” Like its namesake, Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) lights up the landscape. An evergreen conifer with an upright form that resembles a burning fire, Hinoki has a slow growth habit that fits well in small landscapes, including residential gardens.

Maximalist gardening goes big

By Debbie Teashon — Posted June 21, 2023

Maximalist garden design has two main principles: going bold and going big. Maximalism has found many adopters in the gardening community, but it’s not limited to gardens. It also applies to graphic design, home décor and other design-related fields. Maximalist gardeners plant as much as they can in the soil, experimenting with color combinations and […]

High demand for low-water shrubs

By Tracy Ilene Miller — Posted May 31, 2023

Growers and retailers capitalize on native and climate-adapted varieties for modern landscapes In the 1980s, the utility Denver Water coined the term “xeriscape” by combining the word “landscape” with the Greek prefix “xero” for “dry.” A niche movement was born. But the use of low-water shrubs and plants was at the time predominantly limited to […]

Natives shine on

By Kym Pokorny — Posted April 20, 2023

Thanks to climate change, sales of drought-tolerant, pollinator-loving native perennials are enjoying their time in the sun Concern for the environment and pollinators is inspiring gardeners to add native plants to their landscape. At the same time, climate change is driving an ongoing increase in demand for heat- and drought-tolerant natives. Sustainable landscaping with native […]

The eternal appeal of oaks

By Erica Browne Grivas — Posted March 24, 2023

Original species have stood the test of time and still sell well, while new smaller columnar hybrids of Quercus are coming on strong With fossils found as old as 55 million years, oaks have been entwined with human history since it began. Because of their longevity and massive proportions, the largest oak species in the […]

Diversifying the tree palette

By Emily Hoard — Posted March 24, 2023

In response to climate change, growers have become more conscientious about offering a mix of natives and clonal selections When he began working in urban forestry more than 20 years ago, Scott Altenhoff and his team would refer to a list of trees known to be strong performers in different conditions. “We would call them […]

High times for low-water plants

By Tracy Ilene Miller — Posted February 24, 2023

Retail garden centers increasingly turn to drought-tolerant varieties that beat the heat The summer of 2015 was a turning point in the Northwest, which suffered the longest heat wave in 75 years. Portland had more days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit than any other year in recorded history up to that time. That year marked a […]

Low-water lawn alternatives

By Kym Pokorny — Posted January 30, 2023

Miniclover, ecolawn and a variety of groundcovers grow landscapes that are green and drought tolerant Expansive lawns in Europe and the rising popularity of golf in the late 1900s launched America’s obsession with a perfect plot of grass. The invention of the rotary mower and the development of climate-adapted grass varieties made a landscape of […]