Prunining a Clematis Vine

A clematis in full bloom will catch any ones eye, they are spectacular. The full color pictures we see in catalogs are fantastic, big blossoms with bold colors. Yet, many of us have experienced the dark side of clematis - a tangle of woody stems, bearing just a few spindly flowers. The question then is how do you get a clematis to bloom with abundance? The secret is in the pruning. However, pruning is complicated and a puzzle for many.

Before you begin to prune a clematis, you will need to know which pruning group your clematis belongs to: A, B, C, . If you don't know, I suggest you put your pruners away and just watch your plant for a year. During this time, first pay close attention when your clematis blooms - spring, summer, fall, or late winter. Second, (now this is where the pruning instructions get complicated.) note whether it blooms on woody stems that grew last year (old wood). Or does your clematis bloom on green stems (new wood) that grew in the current year as do butterfly bushes and roses. Once you have this information, you will be able to determine which group your clematis belongs: A, B, or C.

Group A contains all the clematis that bloom on new green stems (new wood) and flower in summer and autumn. This group includes 'Ville de Lyon', 'Jackmanii', 'Sweet Autumn', 'Crimson Star' and many others. Group A clematis are easy to prune. With this group you have to be ruthless for these varieties to shimmer with flowers. Each year, in late February and early March, cut back all the stems virtually to the ground (1-2 feet above the soil). Make each pruning cut above a strong set of buds. That's it!

Group B contains varieties that bloom in spring between April and June. They bloom on woody stems that grew last summer (old wood). This group includes 'Elsa Spath', 'Nelly Moser', 'Ruby Glow', 'Henryi', and the 'President' to name just a few.

The growth habit of group B plants makes it difficult to prune satisfactorily without a great deal of hassle.

For Group B, a renewal pruning is really the best strategy if you want abundant flowers each year. Renewal pruning is removing one-quarter to one-third of the oldest branches to within one to two feet above the ground. The renewal technique is a hassle, because once you cut a stem you still have to untangle it from the remaining branches. Renewal pruning is done soon after the plant has finished blooming.

If your not confused yet, there is Group C. This group contains evergreen clematis such as Clematis armandii. These clematis bloom in late winter and early spring on stems produced the previous season (old wood). Wait to prune group C until after they have bloomed. This group generally only needs enough pruning to keep it tidy. But, if your evergreen clematis is not flowering, or has overgrown its trellis, it is time for a renovation pruning. After flowering, prune out almost all of the side branches, leaving only the main vertical stems that attach to the trellis.

My last tip for success with clematis is this - clematis climb a trellis by twisting leaf petioles, the vine itself does not twine as does a honeysuckle vine. Be sure your trellis is not made of material larger then 3/4 of an inch in diameter. A clematis is unable to grasp onto materials greater than 3/4 inch. If your trellis material is too large, you have to manually tie the vine to the trellis. This means just a lot more work for you!

Author Mary Jo Buza, is a landscape designer and owner of Gardens by Design. She has 25 years experience maintaining, designing, and teaching gardening in the South Sound region. For more information on a custom landscape design or consultation call 923-1733.

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Build Harmony with Purple

Trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals with purple leaves look exotic yet are serene and soothing in the landscape. Purple leaves have the unique ability to bring out the best in its neighboring plants, no matter what the color.

Purple leaves combine so well with other colors it equally compliments both hot and cool colors. Hot colors include the flashing and bright shades of red, orange, and yellow. The addition of purple leaves to a hot-colored garden, creates a oasis, a cool quiet place for the eyes to rest.

Cool colors include the mild and tame shades of gray, pale pink, and blue. When cool colors are set against purple leaves they come alive. They suddenly gain character which went unnoticed when surrounded by green. In either situation purple leaves enrich the landscape without clashing.

In the plant world, there are many shades of purple which includes reddish burgundy like barberry 'Crimson Pygmy', or the nearly black of mondo grass 'Nigrescens'. For the purposes of this article when I refer to purple leaves it means to be inclusive of reddish burgundy and the nearly black purple as well.

Each year, new varieties of plants with purple leaves are introduced at nurseries. Their rise in popularity in recent years is a testimony to their versatility in the landscape, and containers, as well. The plants described here is just a small sample of plants with purple leaves that I enjoy.

Redbud 'Forest Pansy' (Cercis canadensis) has new leaves shimmer with purple and mature to maroon. They are delightfully heart shaped with rounded edges. This outstanding tree is covered with magenta pink flowers in early spring. It is a choice it you are looking a flowering tree for a small yard, it grows 20 feet tall by 25 feet wide. Good companion plants for Forest Pansy include: New Zealand flax 'Maori Sunrise' with striking variegated colors of magenta and apricot; fountain grass 'Hameln' with mauve blooms; escallonia 'Newport Dwarf'; and helianthemum 'Dazzler'.

A recent introduction, Ninebark 'Diabolo' (Physocarpus opulifolius), is grown for its wonderfully intense reddish purple foliage. To add to its beauty, Diabolo displays clusters of creamy white flowers in summer.

This is a deciduous shrub that prefers sun and grows 6 to8 ft tall with equal width. A relative of our PNW native ninebark, it is ideal for our climate and our acidic soils. It is a great choice for any wildlife or native garden where seasonal changes and habitat are important. I often plant Diabolo with spireas such as 'Pink Princess' or 'Shirobana' because they each tolerate wet soil.

Another favorite is Elderberry 'Black Knight'(Sambucus nigra) which has extraordinary color in both the leaves and the flowers.Named for its dark purple, almost black leaves, it blooms in June with massive 12 inch clusters of light pink flowers. The flowers sparkle against the dark purple leaves.

A deciduous shrub, Black Knight appreciates full sun for best color, it quickly grows to 8 feet tall and as wide. For magnificent color contrast plant it with variegated weigela 'Nana' or variegated hardy fuchsia 'Tricolor'. Please note you will also a find similar very variety called 'Black Beauty' in local nurseries.

I absolutely loves ferns, so I was very excited when Japanese Painted Fern 'Burgundy Frost' (Athyrium niponicum) became available. Burgundy Frost adds texture and luminescence to a shade garden. It has intense purple fronds frosted with a metallic grey. It's a great companion to plants with yellow leaves such as Japanese forest grass 'Aureola', or Japanese variegated sedge, and hosta with yellow variegation. It also works with the evergreen shrubs sarcococca, or skimma and the evergreen perennial bergenia.

I hope you now have a better appreciation for purple leaves, and what a fantastic addition they are to any landscape. May I dare say - 'Is anything more satisfying than gardening?' Author Mary Jo Buza, is a landscape designer and owner of Gardens by Design. She has 25 years experience maintaining, designing, and teaching gardening in the South Sound region. For more information on a custom landscape design or consultation call 923-1733.

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Easy Edge Plants that Work

The edge of your planting bed says a lot about your garden. From a design perspective the edge even determines the style of the garden. A linear or straight edge is formal, while a curving edge is informal. The edge also defines the space by outlining the shape of the lawn, path or patio. A well-designed edge brings a sense of order and uniformity. Choosing the right plant is the key to an effective edge.

Only the most reliable plants belong on the edge of a planting bed. A good edge plant is self supporting, tidy, and compact. The most important character of edge plants is reliable foliage that retains its color and form throughout the summer. It is also important that the plant be disease and insect resistant.

Finding a plant that full fills all these characteristics is not easy. Bearded Iris for example, are often planted on the edge of a border. Beautiful in May, they possess colorful flowers and dramatic sword-like leaves. But by July, they often look tattered and beaten, and are best planted in the middle of the border. I have put together a sample of well-behaved edge plants for sun or shade.

Easy Edges for Sun

Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata) is a bit slow to get started in the spring but are worth the wait. They will reward you with two months of continuous flowers. Hundreds of small daisy-like flowers completely cover the dense, compact plant. There are two varieties available, 'Moonbeam' with yellow flowers and 'Rosea' with pink flowers.

Sun Rose (Helianthemum) is one of the best border plants I know. This plant brings evergreen foliage, and an abundance of rose-like flowers to the edge of the border. The foliage varies in color from silver to deep green. The flowers appear in May and last until June and are available in pink, orange, red, salmon, yellow, and white.

Other edge plants for sun include: Lamb's Ear, Artemisia 'Silver Brocade', Hardy Geranium 'Ballerina' or 'John Elsley', and Catmint 'Dropmore' or 'Walkers Low', Wooly Thyme, and any of the creeping thymes.

Easy Edges for Partial Shade

Bergenia has large evergreen leaves and flourishes in the shade. The sturdy leaves stand-up to the worst in winter and provides year-round interest. The plant thrives in almost any soil conditions even dry shade found under large conifer trees like the Western Red Cedar. The flowers bloom early in April and are usually pink.

Epimediums are delicate and unusual in their appearance but deceptively tough. The foliage of this plant is outstanding. The angel-wing shaped leaves form graceful mounds that often have red veins and a dusting of red on the leaf edge. While the flowers are delightful they are not showy. Some varieties are evergreen, and others are deciduous. The most common varieties of Epimedium are 'Sulphureum', and 'Rubrum'.

Other edge plants for shade include: Hosta (small-leaf varieties), Geranium macrorhizum, Lady's Mantle (in moist soil), Coral Bells (moist soil), Corsican mint, Japanese Forest Grass, or Japanese Variegated Sedge.

Keep in mind that edge plants need to be in proportion with their background. Therefore, the height and size of the edge plants are an important consideration. A wide and long landscape bed planted with large shrubs calls for a larger edge plant like catmint (Nepeta). In contrast, for a border with a focus on perennials, a short compact plant like helianthemum is a better choice. Repetition always works with edges. Try planting a solid band of a single plant for strong dramatic effect. Or if you have a curving informal border, create unity by repeating the same two or three varieties along the edge.

Author Mary Jo Buza, is a landscape designer and owner of Gardens by Design. She has more than 20 years experience maintaining, designing, and teaching gardening in the South Sound region. Call Mary Jo at 360-923-1733.

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Welcome Home! – Your Entry Garden

Think of your entry garden as a foyer - a place to greet your guests and establish a warm welcome. The front entry is the most frequently traveled place in the landscape. A clear path, a sense of enclosure, and interesting healthy plants all adds up to an entrance that welcomes your guests to your home. But too often, a jumble of plants hides the entrance, or it lacks a clear path that directs you to the front door. Most of us have seen an entry with a few lonely, sick, evergreen shrubs growing in a sea of bark dust.

Enclosures Create a Private Entry

While a front entry is not as secluded as the backyard, it can be more inviting than an expanse of lawn open to the road. The degree of intimacy you want, or need, will depend on how much space is available. In the home where I grew up, a low yew hedge defined our front entrance. This was an early lesson how to create an intimate entry without concealing it.

Any type of enclosure increases intimacy. For example, a group of flowering trees planted near the street can screen the road, offer seasonal interest, and create an enclosure. Add short wall, fence, or evergreen hedge (four feet or less) to create a defined boundary. A low stone wall can enclose the entry physically, yet also invite a neighbor to sit and visit. Or, perhaps you may prefer a picket, or a wrought iron fence, to act as an accent to create a 'feel' privacy. An inviting gate, or a vine-covered arbor, will also add intimacy and creates a welcoming entry.

The Entry Path

A clear path unmistakably points to the front door. It needs to be easy on both the eyes and the feet. This is not a place for uneven cobbles or wood that is slippery when wet. Exposed aggregate with small pebbles has good traction even in wet weather. Make an entry path wide enough for two people to walk side by side. An established cement path can be widened by adding brick trim perpendicular to the sidewalk.

This not only widens the path, but dresses it up as well.

If possible, instead of aiming the path straight for the front door, allow it to meander through the entry garden. This allows your guests to enjoy your plants and breathe enticing fragrances.

Plants Add Personality

Plants with fragrance are essential to the entry garden, and evergreens keep the entry attractive all year. Some of my favorite plants for an entries are both fragrant and evergreen this includes: winter daphne (Daphne odora), sarcococca, and evergreen clematis. Their enchanting fragrance will transform a bleak winter day.

The entry garden is a good place to combine textures and colors. The fine textured hinoki cypress 'Gracilis' contrast nicely with the larger leaves of 'Rainbow' leucothoe, or skimmia, if your entry garden is shady. If your entry garden is sunny, add an 'Emerald Gaiety' euonymus at the base of a hinoki cypress. Gold, silver, and variegated leaves will make your entry garden colorful without a single flower.

Remember to add a few deciduous trees, shrubs, vines and/or perennials. This will give your entry garden the element of seasonal change. I love watching the blue flowers of my anemone blanda bloom in harmony with the yellow flowers of my yellow daffodils.

Throughout the year the entry garden will be a delight; enclosed with an arbor, anchored with evergreens, spiced with fragrance, and a few plants that change with the seasons, and you have all the elements to create a delightful entry garden. Let it be a welcome to all who visit your home.

Author Mary Jo Buza, is a landscape designer and owner of Gardens by Design. She has 25 years experience maintaining, designing, and teaching gardening in the South Sound region. For more information on a custom landscape design or consultation call 923-1733.

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Snipping and Shaping Perennials

With careful attention to deadheading you can keep your perennials looking their best all summer. Deadheading is a simple technique. It is the removal of spent flowers and flower stalks to encourage repeat blooms or to enhance the plant's general appearance. You may wonder how deadheading will encourage a plant to bloom again. If so, it is important to understand a little about a plant's biology.

Let me describe deadheading from the plant's point of view. The plant's entire purpose is to produce seeds for the next generation. If you prevent seed formation by removing the spent flowers, the plant will continue to produce more flowers. The plant needs to complete its life cycle and produce seeds. If you remove the spent flowers, you divert the plants energy from creating seeds toward more flowers and better foliage.

I use three different methods to deadhead plants. Gardeners long before me have coined the terms "snip, shape and shear" to describe each of the three methods for deadheading.

Snipping is the most common method of deadheading. It is the removal of individual flowers or flower stalks. It works best for plants with a few flowers that bloom over a long period of time, rather than all at once. To deadhead perennials by snipping, cut where the flower stalk ends and just above the first set of leaves. The new flowers will grow from the leaf axils, which is why it is important to cut above these leaves

Perennials to Snip for Rebloom: Tall Phlox, Salvia, Lupine, Yarrow, Iceland Poppies, Lady's Mantle, Baby's Breath and Verbena bonariensis.

Perennials to Snip to Improve Appearance: Astilbe, Bergenia, Hosta, Peony, Lambs Ears and Hosta.

Shaping is the best method for perennials that bloom all at once like lavender.

The tool that I prefer to use for shaping is a pair of hedge shears. When I shape a plant I cut it back by one third, removing all of the flower stalks and some of the leaves. As I shape a plant, I try to mimic the plant's natural growth form. Many plants like lavender benefit from shaping. Shaping creates a dense plant with lots of flowers.

Perennials to Shape: Lavender, most Artemsias, Sage, Santolina, Blue False Indigo, and Cushion Spurge.

I tend to shear to the ground any plant that gets leggy. Shearing plants to the ground may sound a bit extreme, but it is the best way to treat leggy plants. It works on plants that are dense and covered with blooms, but tend to crumble under the weight of the seed heads. After you shear a plant, give it extra water. If you do, within a week you will have new growth and in two weeks you will have a mound of fresh compact foliage.

Perennials to Shear: Hardy Geraniums, Lungwort, Brunnera, Catmint, and Lady's Mantle. Not all perennials require deadheading. Many plants have seed heads that are a source of food for birds and other wildlife during the fall and winter months. In addition, many seed heads are attractive and provide an element of winter interest. Perennials that I recommend that you don't deadhead are: Japanese Anemone, Blue Mist Spirea, Snakeroot, Russian sage, Rudbeckia, Sedums and Ornamental Grasses.

Author Mary Jo Buza is a landscape designer and owner of Gardens by Design. She has more than 20 years experience creating, installing and maintaining landscapes in Olympia. For more information on a custom landscape design, consulting visit or her low cost plant shopping service call Mary Jo at 923-1733.

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Going Green – Five Steps to a Water-Wise Landscape

Outdoor water use is the single biggest guzzler of water in either your home or the landscape. In fact, during the summer months, half of all water use is for the lawn and landscape! It is possible to conserve water - a natural resource - lower your water bills, and still have a beautiful landscape. Just follow these seven steps:

1. Add Organic Matter to the Soil

All soils are not created equal. Soil is simply a bunch of mineral particles of different sizes. If most of the particles are large (sand) water drains through too quickly. If most of the particles are small(clay) water drains too slowly. The solution is the same for both situations - organic matter. In a sandy soil, organic matter slows the rapid movement of water through the soil, thus making it more available to plant roots. In heavy clay soil, the addition of organic matter increases infiltration of water which reduces runoff and wasted water.

Organic matter in the form of compost, manures, or even chopped up leaves will improve the soil texture and its water holding capacity. Before you plant, blend 4 to 6 inches of organic matter into the top 12 inches of the planting area. Of all the improvements that can be made to create water-wise landscape adding organic matter is one if the most important.

2. Deliver Water Directly to the Roots

Drip irrigation insures that up to 90% of the water you apply to the garden is actually available to your plants. Above ground sprinklers can claim only 40% to 50% efficiency. Drip irrigation minimizes water loss through evaporation. It also keeps the areas between plants dry, and this dramatically reduces weeds!

Drip irrigation will also encourage healthy roots which can penetrate deep into the soil. Roots will only grow where water, air, and nutrients are present. Why are deep roots important? Deep roots increases a plant’s resistance to drought.

3. Use Water Conserving Mulches

A mulch is anything that covers the soil, it will minimize water loss though evaporation. Organic mulches include wood chips and compost.

But, a mulch does a lot more that cut down on water use - it improves soil texture, it suppresses weeds, and it reduces soil erosion! A 3 inch layer of mulch can cut water use in half just by reducing evaporation. Organic mulches also retain water and increase humidity around the plants. Plan to add a new layer of mulch every 3 years or so. Technically bark is a an organic mulch, however; bark does little to improve soil texture.

4. Limit Turfgrass

Lawns require more water and maintenance than any other part of the landscape. It's a good idea to limit turf to those places with high use and/or high visibility. Design lawns so they can be efficiently water. Eliminate odd shapes and long narrow strips of lawn less than 8 feet wide. Replace long narrow strips of lawn (most often located in the side yard) with a path or stepping stones. Replace shady lawns plagued with moss by planting shade loving ferns and ground covers.

5. Use Water-Wise Plants

Using native and other water-wise plants is the last piece needed to successfully create a water-wise landscape. Many delightful water-wise plants thrive in out PNW climate. Do not think you are limited to junipers and yuccas. Check out the list of my top ten favorite water wise plants:

• Serviceberry (native plant)
• Vine Maple (native plant)
• Cutleaf Staghorn Sumac
• Ceanothus 'Victoria'
• Strawberry Bush
• Purple Rockrose
• Escallonia 'Newport Dwarf'
• Helianthmum
• Russian Sage
• Blue Oat Grass
• For a complete list of my favorite water-wise plants, click here.

Author Mary Jo Buza, is a landscape designer and owner of Gardens by Design. She has 25 years experience maintaining, designing, and teaching gardening in the South Sound. For more information on a custom landscape design or consultation call 360-923-1733.

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High Impact – Low Care Plants

Shade Trees

• Katsura (Cercidiphyllum)
• Red Maple 'October Glory' or 'Red Sunset' (Acer rubrum)
• Sourwood (Oxydendrum)
• Flowering Trees
• Flowering Pear (Pyrus)
• Japanese Snowbell (Styrax)
• Kousa (Cornus) Full Sun Only
• Redbud 'Forest Pansy' (Cercis)
• Stewartia

Conifer Trees

• Alaska Cedar
• Chamaecyparis 'Blue Surprise'(good for narrow space, but need height)
• Deodar Cedar (Cedrus)
• Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendedron)
• Incense Cedar (Calocedrus) (columnar good for screening)
• Juniper 'Skyrocket'(good for narrow space, but need height)
• Leylandii Cypress (Cupressocyparis)
• Mt Hemlock (Tsuga)
• Yew 'Brownii' (Taxus)
• Many Dwarf Conifer Too Many to List Here (Do not plant spruce of any kind!!!)
• Many pines for example Ponderosa grows east of the mountains but here just too wet!!
• Here in PNW try Shore Pine and Scotch Pine

Large Shrubs -Deciduous

• Chokeberry (Aronia)
• Doublefile Viburnum
• Ninebark 'Diabolo' (Physocarpus)
• Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum)
• Red Flowering Currant (Ribes) most other native shrubs
• Smoke Tree (Cotinus)
• Barberry 'Crimson Velvet' or 'Rosy Glow'(Berberis)
• Weigela (all)
• Witchhazel (Hamamelis)
• Coralbark Japanese Maple
• Willow 'Hakuro Nishiki'

Large Shrubs - Evergreen

• Silverberry 'Maculta' (Elaeagnus)
• Osmanthus 'Goshiki'
• Strawberry Bush (Arbutus)
• Ceanothus 'Victoria’
• Choisya
• Escallonia
• Barberry 'Willian Penn' (Berberis)
• Aralia (Fatsia japonica)

Medium Deciduous Shrubs (3 to 5 feet tall)

• Japanese Spirea 'Shirobana'
• Japanese Spirea 'Little Princess'
• Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Pee Wee' or 'Sikes Dwarf'(Hydrangea quercifolia)
• Shrub or Landscape Roses
• Virginia Sweetspire (Itea)

Medium Evergreen Shrubs (3 to 5 feet tall)

• 'Rainbow' Leucothoe
• Cranberry Cotoneaster 'Tom Thumb'
• Dwarf Pieris 'Cavatine' or 'Prelude'
• Hardy Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica)
• Heather 'Spring Torch'
• Heavenly Bamboo 'Bar Harbor' (Nandina)
• Hebe (many)
• New Zealand Flax (Phormium)
• Rockrose (Cistus)
• Sarcococca
• Skimma japonica
• Ornamental Grass (most low maintenance - list my favorites here)
• Acornus 'Ogon'
• Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon)
• Fountain Grass 'Hameln' ( Pennisetum)
• Japanese Forest Grass 'Aureola'(Hakkonechloa)
• Japanese Variegated Sedge (Carex)
• Maiden Grass 'Morning Light' (Miscanthus)
• Moor Grass 'Vareigata' (Molina)
• (Avoid Blue Fescue too wet in PNW)

Ferns (those listed here are surprisingly drought tolerant and evergreen)

• Korean Rock Fern (Polystichum)
• Long-Eared Holly Fern (Polystichum)
• Sword Fern (Polystichum)
• Tassel Fern (Polystichum)
• Perennial and /or Groundcover
• Rockcress (Arabis)
• Aster (dwarf varieties like Wood's Series)
• Bergenia
• Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
• Candytuft (Iberis)
• Daylily 'Stella d Ora' (Hemorcallis)
• Epimedium 'Sulphureum'
• Phygelius
• Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum)
• Hellebores
• Wallflower 'Bowles Mauve' (Ersysium)
• Snow-in-Summer ( Cerastium)

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Low-Care Plants Checklist

The best way to reduce maintenance is to know your site. Here is what you need to know!

What Zone do we have here?

• What reference Sunset? We are in Zone 4 or 5
• USDA map? We are a Zone 8

What Kind of Soil?

• Clay - drains poorly needs lots of organic matter (many plants intolerant of clay soil)
• Sand - drains quickly, requires use of low-water-use plants.
• Glacial Till - often need to build low mounds, can't dig.

How Much Sun?

• Sun loving plants need sun during the heat of the afternoon between noon and 6 pm in the summer.
• Shade loving plants tolerate morning sun from dawn till 11 am during the summer.

Checklist

• Purchase plants labeled for Zone 8
• Resists or tolerates insects or disease damage
• Requires infrequent pruning to maintain habit, good looks, or best blooming
• Is not invasive or overly aggressive
• Thrives without heavy fertilizers
• If perennial, requires infrequent division (remains intact four years or longer)
• If perennial, tends to be long lived (life span or five years or longer)
• Is it a low-water-use plant?
• Is it deer resistant?

How Do You Define Low-Maintenance? Really important to make a list for your self. Example:

• Lawns high or low maintenance?
• Deciduous trees high or low maintenance?
• Roses high or low maintenance?
• Perennials high or low maintenance?

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Shady Retreats – Creating a Colorful Shade Garden

Trees
Most trees grow best in full sun. Listed here are those that tolerate light shade. Those marked with a * prefer full shade

• Japanese Maples - Acer japonica
• Autumn Moon*
• Beni Maiko
• Katsura*
• Red Autumn Lace
• Viridis
• Garnet
• Crimson Queen
• Redbud ‘Forest Pansy’ (Cercis)
• Paperbark Maple (Acer griseum)
• Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)
• Snowbell (Styrax)
• Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)
• Western Red Cedar*
• Western Hemlock*
• Hinoki Cypress

Shrubs
Those marked with a * prefer full shade

• Aucuba*
• Boxwood (Aurea-Variegata)
• Camellia
• Euonymus ‘Silver Queen’
• Fatsia japonica*
• Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica)
• Leucothoe ‘Rainbow’
• Oregon Grape ‘Charity’*
• Pieris (Variegata)
• Rhododendron
• Silverberry ‘Maculata’
• Viburnum davidii
• Yew (Taxus media)
• Barberry ‘Aureau’ (Berberis)
• Boxwood (all)
• Daphne ‘Winter’
• Evergreen Huckleberry*
• Hardy Fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica)
• Hydrangea
• Laurel ‘Otto Luyken’
• Osmanthu
• Red Huckleberry*
• Sarcococca*
• Skimma japonica*
• Witch Hazel (Hamamelis)

Ornamental Grasses

• Sweet Flag (Acornus)
• Sedge ‘Gold Fountains’ (Carex)
• Japanese Forest Grass ‘Aureola’ (Hakonchloa)
• Moor Grass (Molina)
• Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium)
• Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon)

Ferns
Most ferns prefer shade, those marked with a * tolerate dry shade

• Sword Fern (Polystichum)*
• Tassel Fern (Polystichum)*
• Long-eared Holly Ferns (Polystichum)*
• Korean Rock Fern (Polystichum)
• Deer Ferns (Blechnum)
• Lady Fern (Athyrium)
• Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium)
• Perennials and Groundcovers
• Plants marked with a * tolerate dry shade once established
• Astilbe (needs a consistent moist soil)
• Bellflower (Campanula)
• Bergenia*
• Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
• Bleeding Heart*
• Coralbells (Heuchera)
• Bugleweed (Ajuga)
• Cascade Oregon Grape (Berberis nervosa)
• Corydalis
• Helleborus*
• Hosta
• Epimedium ‘Sulphureum’*
• Hardy Geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum)*
• Lilyturf (Liriope)
• Wild Ginger (Asarum)
• Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla)
• Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)*
• Oxalis
• Trillium
• Saxifraga
• Sweet Woodruff

Bulbs

• Anemone blanda
• Anemone 'Wood Anemone'
• Autumn Crocus
• Calla Lily
• Daffodil 'Jonquil' (partial shade)
• Hardy cyclamen
• Snow drop (Galanthus)
• Trout lily (Erythronium)

Vines

• Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum)
• Evergreen Clematis
• Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus)
• Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala)

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Shade Plant Tips

There are lots of different levels of shade! Make no mistake about it! So to make the right choice of plants for your garden you need to understand what time of day that it is shady and for how long is it shady.

Defining Shade
Questions:

• Area receives direct sun all morning until 11 am and no sun the rest of the day. What do you do? Plant sun loving or shade loving plants?
• How about the opposite conditions - No sun in the morning until noon and then full all afternoon. What to plant, sun or shade loving plants?
• How about an area under a large deciduous tree like a big-leaf maple - in this example the area receives direct sun in winter and spring until the leaves emerge and then the area gets filtered sun all day.

One secret I will share with you that helps me every single day as I design gardens is this:
Shade loving plants are tolerant of morning sun until about 11 am. Sun loving plants require the heat and intensity of the afternoon sun. They tolerate morning shade but need direct sun from 1 or 2 pm until 6 or 7 pm.

Answers:

• Area receives direct sun all morning until 11 am and no sun the rest of the day. What type of plants do you use? Shade loving plants.
• How about the opposite conditions - No sun in the morning until noon and then full sun till dark? What type of plants do you use? Sun loving plants.
• How about an area under a large deciduous tree like a big-leaf maple - in this example the area receives sun winter and spring until the big-leaf maple leaves emerge and then the area gets filtered sun all day. What type of plants do you plant here? Shade plants!

The Challenges of Shade
You won’t have as many plants to choose from. Most shade plants will grow in a sunny spot, but few sun plants will grow in a shady one. The good news is there are lots and lots of plants to grow in shade.

Flowering plants rarely bloom abundantly in shade as they do in sun. In shade gardens we focus on form, texture, and foliage color rather than flowers. Plants grow slower in shade. If you want a good looks quickly, it may be necessary to plant more densely.

Shade garden plants often suffer with severe root competition from large trees for water. Here it is important to add organic matter to the soil, select plants for dry shade and use drip irrigation systems.

Slugs can wreak havoc in shade gardens! Use Sluggo (non toxic alternative) as plants emerge in spring.

You can’t grow a perfect lawn in shade. Shade tolerant groundcovers make great lawn substitutes.

Dark colors become invisible in shade, use variegated and golden leaves plants instead.

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Garden Vignettes – The Art of Combining Plants

Vignette - Dry Shade

• Japanese Aralia (Fatsia japonica)
• Brown's Yew (Taxus media)
• Autumn Fern (Dryopteris)
• Coral Bells 'Peach Melba'

Vignette - Full Sun (Drought Tolerant)

• Ceanothus 'Victoria'
• Rockrose (Cistus)
• Maiden Grass 'Morning Light' or Fountain Grass 'Hamlen'
• Lavender or Verbena 'Homestead Purple' or Russian Sage

Vignette - Full Sun (Clay or Wet Soil)

• Ninebark 'Diabolo' (Physocarpus)
• Summer Sweet 'Ruby Spice' (Clethra)
• Spirea 'Fire Light' or 'Little Princess'

Vignette - Foundation Plantings (Shade)

• Heavenly Bamboo 'Plum Passion' (Nandina)
• Sacococcoa rucifolia
• Robust Male Fern (Dryopteris)
• Bergenia or Coral Bells 'Raspberry Ice'
• Hosta 'Krossa Edge Cream'
• Climbing Evergreen Hydrangea (for brick chimmey or to hide a cement wall)
• OR
• Heavenly Bamboo 'Plum Passion'
• 'Rainbow' Leucothoe
• Robust Male Fern (Dryopteris)
• Coral Bells 'Lime Rocky'
• Bergenia

Vignette - Foundation Planting (Sun)

• True Dwarf Boxwood 'Suffruitcosa'
• Evergreen Azalea
• Creeping Thyme 'Pink Chintz' or Diascia 'Kathrine
• OR
• True Dwarf Boxwood 'Suffruitcosa'
• Variegated Japanese Mock Orange (Pittosporum tobira)
• Helianthemum 'Dazzler'

Tropical Vignette (Full Sun to Part Shade)
Original Design by Mary Jo

• Evergreen Magnolia 'Little Gem'
• Chinese Windmill Palm
• Hardy Japanese Banana
• New Zealand Flax 'Maori Sunrise'
• Canna 'Australia'
• Begonia 'Sutherlandi'
• Groundcover Rose 'Peachy Creepe'
• Hydrangea aspera

Low Maintenance Vignette With Conifers (Full Sun)
Original Design by Mary Jo

• Pinus densiflora 'Jane Kluis'
• Dwarf Balsam Fir 'Nana'
• Pinus slyvestris 'Hillside Creeper'
• Dwarf Hemlock 'Coles Prostrate'
• Dwarf Golden Barberry
• Fountain Grass 'Hameln'
• Aubrietia 'Purple Cascade'
• Helianthemum 'Henfield Brilliant'
• Mt. Hemlock
• Cutleaf Staghorn Sumac

Backyard Vignette Summer Color & Evergreen (Full Sun to Part Shade)
Original Design by Mary Jo

• Escallonia 'Newport Dwarf'
• Phygelius 'Winchester Fanfare'
• Helianthemum 'Dazzler'
• New Zealand Flax 'Maori Sunrise'
• Fountain Grass 'Hameln'
• Maiden Grass 'Morning Light'
• Oriental Lily 'Star Gazer'

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Garden Vignette Tips

1.) Where to Start?
Select trees, and shrubs first to build the backbone of the garden. Choose plants that have more than one season of interest, think about foliage, form, texture and lastly their flower color.

Example: 'Rainbow' Leucothoe and Tassel Fern 'Gold Fountains' Sedge and Blue Hosta

2.) What influences how you combine plants?
Put plants together like a collage, repeating forms, scale, texture and repeating colors

Example: Redbud 'Forest Pansy', Dwarf Barberry 'Crimson Pygmy', New Zealand Flax 'Maori Sunrise', Fountain Grass 'Hameln', Helianthemum 'Dazzler'

3.) What connects the plants in a design?
Strong hardscaping features and repetition.

Example: a fence, or a path anchor the design; a clipped hedge gives a solid back ground

4.) Contrast plays a important role in creating colorful plant combinations Complementary color are opposite each other in on the color wheel.
Examples: green and red; blue and orange; purple and yellow Plant Mt. Hemlock with dwarf barberry 'Crimson Pygmy' or large conifer like Douglas Fir plant with Variegated Redtwig Dogwood. Contrast plants of different textures

Example: Plants with big bold leaves with delicate and small leaves.Plant Japanese Aralia with Yew 'Brownii' or Heavenly Bamboo Contrast plants with same colors (monochromatic) but different forms.

Example: Verbena 'Homstead Purple' and Salvia 'Blue Queen' the Slavia is tall and spiky and the verbena squat and round.

5.) Plants must have same requirements for sun vs. shade and dry soils vs. moist soils
Examples: Shade Plants for Dry Soils: Skimma, Tassel Ferns, Epimedium, and Bleeding Heart. Sun Plants for Moist Soil: Ninebark 'Diabolo', Spirea 'Little Princess', Fountain Grass 'Hameln', and Daylily.

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Water-wise Plantlist for the Puget Sound Lowlands

Shade Trees

• Pyramidal European Hornbeam 'Fastigiata' (Carpinus betulus)
• Dawyck Purple Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
• Raywood Ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa)
• Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata)

Flowering Trees

• Flowering Pear 'Chanticleer' (Pyrus calleryana)
• Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis)
• European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
• Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)

Large Deciduous Shrubs (8 ft and up)

• Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria)
• Amur Maple (Acer ginnala)
• Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)

Large Evergreen Shrubs (8 ft and up)

• Strawberry Bush 'Compacta' (Arbutus unedo)
• Pacific Wax Myrtle (Myrica californica)
• Ceanothus 'Victoria' (same)
• Escallonia 'Apple Blossom' (same)
• Aucuba japonica (same)

Medium Flowering Shrubs (5 to 8 ft)

• Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)
• Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum tomentosum)
• Red Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
• Variegated Weigela (Weigela florida)

Medium Evergreen Shrubs (5 to 8 ft)

• Skimmia japonica (same)
• Sarcococca ruscifolia (same)
• 'Rainbow' Leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana)
• Hebe buxifolia (same)
• Japanese Holly ‘Convexa’ (Ilex crenata)

Medium Deciduous Shrubs (5 to 8 ft)

• Barberry 'Rose Glow' (Berberis thunbergii)
• Burning Bush 'Compacta' (Euonymus alatus)

Small Deciduous Shrubs (up to 3 ft)

• Spirea 'Shirobana' (Spirea japonica)
• Barberry 'Crimson Pygmy' (Berberis thunbergii)
• Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa)
• Blue Spirea (Caryopteris)

Small Evergreen Shrubs (up to 3 ft)

• Japanese Holly 'Helleri' (Illex crenata)
• Euonymus 'Emerald Gaiety' (Euonymus fortunei)
• Rock rose (Cistus)
• Purple Sage (Salvia)

Groundcovers

• Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
• Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)
• Rubus calycinoides

Ornamental Grasses (3 ft and up)

• Maiden Grass 'Morning Ligh' (Miscanthus sinensis)
• Switch Grass 'Shenandoah' (Panicum virgatum)
• Reed Grass 'Karl Foerster' (Calamagrostis acutiflora)

Perennials (3 to 4 ft)

• Hardy Fuchsia 'Riccartonii' (Fuchsia magellanica)
• Cape Fuchsia (Phygelius rectus)
• Agastache 'Apricot Sunrise' (same)

Perennials (12 to 16 inches tall)

• Daylily 'Stella de Ora' (Hemerocallis)
• Aster Wood's (same)
• Tall Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

Perennials (under 8 inches)

• Helianthemum (same)
• Candytuft (Iberis)
• Snow-in-summer (Cerastium)
• Arabis ‘Spring Charm’ (same)

Ferns

• Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
• Tassel Fern (Polystichum polyblepharum)

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Water-wise Plant Chart