Near strip malls, gas stations, convenience stores and ribbons of paved streets, a pocket of native plants prevalent here a century ago exists in Mountlake Terrace like a hidden oasis.
There are berry patches dotted with black and ruby jewels, thickets of ferns, a bubbling stream and abundant evergreens.
Sitting under a canopy of twining wild cucumbers on Wilbur Saxton’s deck, it’s hard to believe this is the city.
Saxton, a retired analytical chemist for the Food and Drug Administration, has nurtured this half-acre garden for 30 years.
He began gardening with exotic plants because that’s what nurseries sold. His interests turned to native plants after he acquired wooded property in Lewis County. He loved the combination of shade and sun, the foliage, the way the trees and undergrowth created shadows. “I thought I ought to be able to duplicate that in some fashion.”
Now he prefers the “tranquil green” of native plants to the “flashy colorful” exotics, and his garden contains more than 125 species of plants native to Western Washington.
Saxton may be using native plants, but his garden is not an untended wild thing. In many ways, his garden is traditional: There are curved planting beds neatly lined with cemented bricks, a vegetable patch, a compost heap and design principles at work.
What’s unique is the way Saxton uses native plants to bring texture, subtle color and beauty to his garden – something that might be easier with the blazing-colored plants of warmer hemispheres.
In Saxton’s garden, plants are arranged in scenes like forest groves with layers of low ground cover, taller shrubs and towering trees original to the Northwest: pines, firs, cedars, dogwoods and hemlocks. Coastal strawberries, twinflower, meadowrue, starflower, ground salal, woodland strawberry and wild strawberry are his ground covers. He replicates the native landscape in his yard art using charred stumps.
Saxton uses plants others might not such as devil’s club, a spiky plant that fits its name. Skunk cabbage sits potted next to a pond. “It’s beautiful and it smells, but unless you have a lot of it, it’s not a big problem,” he said.
Rather than covered in commercial mulch, Saxton’s beds resemble the bottom of a forest floor. He keeps a truck-size brush pile of tree debris, which is shredded and mixed with pine needles to produce a natural mulch.
|
Native plant resources
Carelessly removing plants from their natural setting can damage the environment, warns a Washington State University Extension Web site, gardening.wsu.edu/text/nvethics.htm.
Collecting whole plants can be particularly devastating because doing so can wipe out entire species of plants. The Web site gives methods for collecting plants as well as ethical and legal considerations.
The Washington Native Plant Society is another valuable resource. Its Native Plant Stewardship Program teaches volunteers about plants native to Western Washington, including native plant identification, ecology, restoration and public outreach. Volunteers in turn help with native plant restoration. Experts train the volunteers through lectures, field trips and workshops. For more information, contact the society at 206-527-3210 or 888-288-8022 or e-mail npsp@wnps.org.
|
There is trimmed grass in his yard, but he isn’t fussy about caring for it. He spot sprays the lawn with weed killer but doesn’t fertilize, describing weed and feed products as “an extravagant use of chemicals.”
Saxton created a stream near his front door. A metal fountain that emulates the twisting, curling vines of the wild cucumber hangs from his roof. His water features are attached to recirculating pumps that keep the water constantly “trickling and splashing” – a way to optimize the rainwater flowing off his roof.
Saxton lived and worked long, hard hours on the family farm near Chehalis until he was 23. That experience imprinted in him a need for space and the desire to grow plants.
In recent years he’s grown more interested in botany. He joined the Snohomish County Native Plant Stewardship Program. After 100 hours of volunteer work and instruction, he now teaches other people about native plants by giving tours of his garden.
He is concerned about the scarcity of native plants along the I-5 corridor compared to what was there a century ago.
The native vegetation and wildlife have evolved together, and it is important they remain together, he said. “Wildlife is more than birds,” he said. “It’s salamanders, snakes and insects – all of those are important to the environment.”
Although he’s replaced almost all the exotics in his yard, Saxton doesn’t expect others to be as radical.
“Most people mix them with other plants, but that’s a valuable step,” he said. “You can get color and attract wildlife.”
Herald Writer Debra Smith may be reached at 425-339-3197. E-mail her at dsmith@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
