Life
Great Plant Pick: Polystichum setiferum ‘Bevis’ aka Bevis’ soft shield fern
This dark green fern with a feathery texture is a treat any maritime garden with light, open or…
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Great Plant Pick: Helleborus x sternii aka Stern’s hellebore
This hybrid’s flower buds are flushed with deep red and open in late winter to reveal chartreuse interiors.
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Great Plant Pick: Sarcococca ruscifolia aka fragrant sweetbox
Sweetbox’s tiny white flowers open to release a delightful perfume of sweet vanilla in winter.
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Great Plant Pick: Camellia x williamsii “Brigadoon”
Here’s a shrub that blooms profusely during the dark days of February.
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Great Plant Pick: Erica x darleyensis ‘Kramer’s Rote,’ darley heath
This hybrid heath is admired for its outstanding habit, evergreen foliage and vibrant flowers.
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Great Plant Pick: Galanthus nivalis aka common snowdrops
Once established, the bulbs are long lived and lend themselves to dividing and naturalizing in the landscape.
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Great Plant Pick: Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane,’ Diane witch hazel
“Diane” witch hazel produces dark copper-red flowers in winter, providing quite a show against its bare branches.
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Great Plant Pick: Cyclamen coum aka Persian violet
This winter bloomer features white to pink to magenta flowers. All have purple markings at the base of…
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Great Plant Pick: Cryptomeria japonica ‘Tansu,’ dwarf Japanese cedar
This compact conifer’s evergreen foliage can take on a bronzy tone in winter if grown in full sun.
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Great Plant Pick: Pinus heldreichii aka Bosnian pine
With its stately form and upright needles, this conifer adds an aristocratic air to the garden.
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Great Plant Pick: Erica carnea ‘Porter’s Red,’ winter heath
The shrub — with hundreds of small, urn-shaped, magenta flowers — adds winter interest to the garden.
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Great Plant Pick: Acer griseum aka paperbark maple
You can’t walk by this tree in the colder seasons without noticing its chestnut-brown peeling bark.
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Great Plant Pick: Sedum kimnachii aka Mexican sedum
An excellent groundcover plant, this variety forms a flat, dense carpet of glossy chartreuse leaves.
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Great Plant Pick: Tsuga canadensis “Cole’s Prostrate,” prostrate Canadian hemlock
This dwarf prostrate conifer is a year-round evergreen with bright green new growth in the spring.
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Great Plant Pick: Asarum caudatum aka western wild ginger
This wild ginger keeps rust-brown flowers hidden under its foilage in the wintertime.
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Great Plant Pick: Polypodium glycyrrhiza aka licorice fern
This native plant grows just as well in a garden bed as it does on a dead tree…
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Great Plant Pick: Sedum spurium “Ruby Mantle”
What: Sedum spurium “Ruby Mantle” has small, scalloped red-flushed green leaves that form a durable, evergreen, succulent, weed-smothering…
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Great Plant Pick: Vitis vinifera “Purpurea”
It’s a common wine grape, but in the Puget Sound region, it’s grown for its beauty — the…
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Great Plant Pick: Berberis julianae aka wintergreen barberry
The round shrub’s bright red leaves in the fall will deepen in tone to burgundy as winter approaches.
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Great Plant Pick: Acer palmatum ‘Tamuke yama,’ red laceleaf Japanese maple
This weeping tree is a striking specimen, holding its burgundy-red foliage color though the summer.