Around the house with KPLU

How do I appreciate native plants? Let me count the ways...

1. Ease of maintenance
2. Habitat and food for wildlife
3. Adapted to local conditions
4. Natural grace and beauty

I have been enamored with our native plants since I first moved to Washington 15 years ago. I fell in love with what others who grew up here may have taken for granted. Ah, sword ferns, plentiful and regal! The evergreen huckleberry with its coppery new growth and sweet, black berries-who wouldn�t like a plant that beckons you to make pancakes? I learned the identities of all the natives on my property and on hikes in the Olympics and Cascades. I�m still totally smitten.

Now I use natives as staples in my garden designs and add them continually to my own plot. In my mind there are two categories of native plants for the cultivated garden. Those more refined and suitable for prominent, high profile planting beds and those whose wilder ways are perfect for areas where they can mingle, tangle and provide shelter and food for wildlife.

Some of my favorites from the more refined category:

Lewisia cotyledon

Lewisia cotyledon is a tiny evergreen that finds nooks of soil in shady rock walls just to its liking. Few flowers last as long as Lewisia�s bright spring display.

Philadelphus lewisii (Mock Orange). When you open your bedroom window in June, you�ll want the fragrance of this shrubs� white flowers wafting in. This is another shrub that seems to be unfazed by different soils as long as it has a dose of daily sun.

Gymnocarpium Dryopteris

Gymnocarpium Dryopteris (Oak Fern). One would never suspect when admiring a stretch of this lush, woodland ground cover in the shade of firs and cedars that its drought tolerant. I�m not the only admirer of this stunner that made the 2008 Great Plant Picks�.

Definitely a candidate for the small garden where space is precious and all plants must be performers, Acer circinatum (Vine Maple) is a tree whose fall color rivals any other tree in the nursery. I love the shrimp pink seed pods (samara) that dangle off the branches in late summer.

For areas of the garden farther away from the house, try Physocarpus capitata (Ninebark), a hearty shrub with pretty white flower clusters in early summer and the most interesting striped bark you�ve ever seen. Birds love to nest in its dense branches and I like how fast it has filled in and given me privacy.

Vancouveria hexandra

Nothing says spring like Vancouveria hexandra. Because the leaves die back in fall, its best sited in a spot, say near a sundeck, that is mainly used during the growing season. Its delicate, pale green leaves are shaped like duck feet and its airy white flowers are charming.

Looking for a plant to fill a special niche in the garden? Natives can solve the problem of a challenging soil or exposure since chances are there is a native plant that has adapted itself to this type of location and will serve you well in your garden. My guess is, the more you try our native plants, the more you�ll appreciate them, this month and throughout the year.

By Colleen Miko, CPH
Colleen�s, A Landscape Design Company
www.colleenmiko.com