You would think that to start a book, the author(s) would begin with an introduction. In reality, it is the last thing written, once the book is in its final stages of preparation. We have learned a lot more about our own region in the process of developing the chapters and many lists for this book, and we want to give our knowledge to you in short lists. No need to blow your mind reading the entire book at one sitting: instead use the book as a guide as you need it. First we would like to give our thanks to Lois Trigg Chaplin, who wrote The Southern Gardener’s Book of Lists, and who made the suggestion for this book. It is a great idea that she had, and we commend her for providing this resource to the gardener seeking that perfect plant for that exact place in the landscape.
Here is how the Book of Lists works. Each chapter is composed of lists of plants that would fit a particular situation, either in a landscape (for example, a list of annuals for moist and cool situations) or in a region (for example, groundcovers for windy seaside gardens or ornamental grasses for high desert conditions). The lists are never complete. We could write this book forever, adding new hybrids and discoveries and developing new categories almost daily. But we would like for you to do that as you use this book. Add to the lists, pencil in new findings, make notes of what you like or don’t like or how something might be used differently. Make this book a garden-planning resource that you can build on. We have offered you some challenges, as some of the plants found in our lists may be hard to find, but we think they are worthy of your search.
What a difference your microclimate makes. Whether your plants survive and thrive or wither and die in your garden is determined more by your own microclimate than by the overall hardiness zone. Your overall zone is fixed by whomever decides what boundaries of temperature extremes will be used. As Dr. Michael Colt of Idaho says about plant zones, “Actually the specific zone rating of a given herbaceous perennial cultivar should be considered as only a rough guideline rather than a mandatory factor. When in doubt, just do it!” You have the ability within your own zone to provide windbreaks and shelters to protect against drying winds, change shade and sun exposures to provide whatever the plant needs, mulch with different colors to absorb or reflect heat. In short, you can do much to make your own garden conditions receptive to plants you would like to try.
Soil also makes a great difference in whether a particular plant will grow in your locale. Across the Pacific Northwest, soils range from coastal sand to low valley silty clay to high desert silt, and across a pH scale from extremely acid in parts of the rainy northwest area to extremely alkaline in some of the southeastern areas. Learn what your own soil conditions will allow and which plants will best fit your conditions. Use the regions given in this book as a guide, but ask locally about the plants that interest you.
The scientific names that we have used have been checked with Hortus Third and other reference books to be as correct as possible. However, plant taxonomists continue to find reasons to change things every now and then and about every ten years come out with a new list, which causes all writers to check every reference at least twice when writing a book about plant materials. In cases where we were not sure, we used the newest reference available.
Where did all the plants come from in our lists? From nursery industry people, from many gardener friends, from a large network of garden information journalists, from almost any source of new plant material, and from at least sixty-five years of combined experience between the two of us. Before using a plant in a list, we checked against at least two references to make sure it was something available to the gardening public.
In the lists we have used common names for simplicity, followed by the botanical names of genus and species, and in some cases listed cultivars or varieties where a particular individual plant was best suited for the listing. In the chapter on roses we used almost entirely the cultivar names; in the chapter on trees we give you mostly the genus and species names. Unless a specific cultivar/variety was felt to be the exact plant needed for a particular list, only the genus and species names were listed. This does not mean that blind selection of cultivars will give you the expected result; instead it gives you a general listing so you can find locally suited cultivars that would be suggested by your nursery person, extension agent, or other plant expert.
We do not want to give you the idea that by blindly following these lists you will come up with the best selections in the world. There are too many variables, both in life and in landscaping. As Jan Behrs, editor and publisher of Pacific Northwest Gardener Newsletter says, “Gardening is not for the timid. You can’t read a rulebook, then go out and follow a bunch of formulas. It’s more like falling in love. A few marigolds, a few tomatoes, and pretty soon you’re head-over-heels in the dirt, staying up all hours, lusting after new plants, spending all your hard-earned pay, singing in the rain. Don’t worry. Before you know it, both your yard and your life will be blossoming.”
As you look around your own neighborhood, you can see examples of how plant development can vary according to how they are managed, or in the way they respond to differing microclimates. In simple terms, you cannot assume that a particular plant in your yard is going to grow or look like the one in your neighbor’s yard. Dr. Ray Maleike, Washington State Extension Horticulturist, has this to say about a normally assumed plant characteristic, dormancy, “Recent research by Dr. Les Fuchigami, Deptartment of Horticulture, Oregon State University, has shown that if a plant is subjected to a sub-lethal stress (a stress that does not quite kill the plant, as for example lack of sufficient water during a critical part of the growing season), the plant may not go into dormancy, or the stress may break the dormancy that the plant has acquired. If the plant is not dormant, it may not be hardy and the plant may suffer cold injury at a much higher temperature and the plant may be killed.” Meanwhile, your neighbor’s plant, which was kept well watered during the growing season, lives through the cold winter and blooms gloriously the following spring.
The supply of gardening books will amaze you when you step into a modern bookstore. There are books on nearly every subject imaginable, and in some cases three or four written on the same topic. It is up to you to sort through this plethora of composition and harvest the kernels of wisdom that will help you in your gardening endeavors. Here are the books we would suggest that can help you to avoid costly mistakes in your choices of plants, or in the development of your gardens.
Must have for basic reference
Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest, second edition, Dr. Arthur Kruckeberg, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1996.
Hortus Northwest: A Pacific Northwest Native Plant Directory and Journal, Dale Shank (issued bi-annually), PO Box 955, Canby, Oregon 97013.
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, fourth edition, Michael Dirr, Stipes Publishing Co., Champaign, Illinois, 1990.
The Random House Book of Perennials, volumes 1 and 2, Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix, Random House, Inc., New York, 1991.
Sunset Western Garden Book, Sunset Publishing Co., Menlo Park, California (a must for any gardener in the western part of the US).
Trees (Eyewitness Handbooks), Allen J. Coombes, Dorling Kindersley, Inc., New York, 1992.
Trees and Shrubs for Pacific Northwest Gardens, second edition, John and Carol Grant, Timber Press, Portland, 1990.
Should have
The American Mixed Border, Ann Lovejoy, Macmillan, New York, 1993.
Gardening with Roses, Patrick Taylor, Timber Press, Portland, 1995.
Great Garden Sources of the Pacific Northwest, Nan Booth Simpson, TACT, 1994.
Greer’s Guidebook to Available Rhododendrons, Species and Hybrids, third edition, Harold E. Greer, Offshoot Publications, Eugene, Oregon, Library of Congress cat. # 95-067367, revised.
Hortus Third, Staff of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, Macmillan, New York, 1996.
Ornamental Grasses: The Amber Wave, Carole Ottesen, McGraw-Hill Publishing Co, 1989.
Pacific Northwest Guide to Home Gardening, McNeilan and Ronningen, Timber Press, Portland, 1989.
Peonies, Allan Rogers, Timber Press, Portland, 1995.
Rhododendrons in America, Ted Van Veen, Sweeney, Krist & Dimm, 1976.
Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest, Binda Colebrook, Sasquatch Books, Seattle, 1989.
Others for specific needs
The Complete Shade Gardener, George Schenk, Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, 1984.
Designing with Perennials, Pamela J. Harper, Macmillan, New York, 1991.
Flowering, Fruiting and Foliage Vines, Chuck Crandall and Barbara Crandall, Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1995.
Fragrance in Bloom, Ann Lovejoy, Sasquatch Books, Seattle, 1996.
The Garden in Winter, Rosemary Verey, Little, Brown, Boston, 1988.
Gardening with Color, Mary Keen, Random House, New York, 1991.
The Hosta Book, Paul Aden, Timber Press, Portland, 1988.
Landscaping with Container Plants, Jim Wilson, Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, 1990.
Trees of Greater Portland, Phyllis C. Reynolds and Elizabeth F. Dimon, Timber Press, Portland, 1993.
Trees of Seattle, Arthur Lee Jacombson, Sasquatch Books, Seattle, 1989.
In the Pacific Northwest gardeners generally are referred to zones defined by USDA or Sunset, both of which give a good broad definition of plant zones. However, most gardeners, whether neophyte or beyond dedication, will have amended their landscapes with microclimates that extend well outside their defined plant zones. While the concept of microclimate includes the general sunlight, temperature ranges, air movement patterns, rainfall, growing season typical of the region, it specifically focuses on the conditions in one’s own gardening space that allow plant growth. To avoid the pitfall of classifying each plant to an exact temperature regime, we have taken the liberty of giving a broad brush to categories that are acceptable to our plant suggestions. To make the categories understandable, here is our rating system.
Coastal (C) means just that; the garden is on the coast or influenced by the coastal environment. It is subject to wind, salt air, drizzle, and has enormous differences in microclimates. It has the mildest of the growing season temperatures. Includes Zone 5 Sunset, Zone 9 and 8 USDA.
Low Mountains (LM) includes the uplands having a mild, medium-length growing season and may have snow for short periods in the winter. Includes Zone 3 and 4 Sunset, Zone 7 USDA.
Low Valleys (LV) describes the Willamette Valley in Oregon, the Columbia Valley up to the Cascade Range, and the river valleys that lead in to Puget Sound. The growing seasons are lengthy and the winters are varied, often marked by freezing rain and cold wintery winds that can shrivel the hardiest of plants. Includes Zone 6 Sunset, Zone 8 USDA.
Dry Valleys (DV) describes the climate found in Medford and Grants Pass and the upper portions of the Columbia River Valley. The summers are dry and the growing season long enough to produce fabulous fruit crops, and the winters are cold enough to satisfy the dormancy requirements of any perennial. Includes Zone 7 Sunset, Zone 6 USDA.
High Desert (HD) describes much of the eastern portion of the Pacific Northwest. This zone could also be described as high mountain. Growing seasons are short, and temperatures can be more extreme than those of the other climatic zones of the region. Includes Zone 1 and 2 Sunset, Zone 5 USDA.
