Helping consumers break the rules of design, for fun and profit Traditionally, annuals fill the shelves of garden centers come Mother’s Day. The beautiful pieces wait for customers to pile them into carts, move through the check-out line and carry them home to fill containers and hanging baskets. But the popularity of pots stuffed with […]
Flowering cherry trees then and now
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Flowering cherry trees remain popular, from old mainstays to new selections, with more on the way It’s March, and soon showy displays of Japanese flowering cherry trees will trumpet their annual announcement that spring has arrived. Thus, consumers will be prompted to head to garden centers with hopes of adding the ephemeral beauty of these […]
Tough and beautiful
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Spireas are mainstays of the shrub world, thanks to their gorgeous blooms and steadfast demeanor Timing is everything with Japanese spirea (Spiraea japonica). The time is now — as in no later than early March for a hard pruning — for this tough, summer-flowering shrub that blooms on new wood. Yet, pruning can be a […]
Tough, tall and reliable
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Honeylocust provides abundant shade, grows quickly and adapts well to extreme conditions Acer (maple) and Quercus (oak) may monopolize spotlights on shade trees, but Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis (honeylocust) holds its own as a major crop and it’s an important addition to the catalog of reliable tall trees. Oregon nurseries grow more honeylocust than any […]
Can-do conifers
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As home gardening booms, these unheralded trees shine as wise, low-maintenance investments In a northwest region surrounded by forests of Doug fir, Ponderosa pine, grand fir and hemlock, people could easily take conifers for granted. However, many gardeners recognize the versatility and minimal care that make them a staple in the landscape. Even before COVID-19 […]
The rise of the tupelo tree
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With the steady introduction of new cultivars, Nyssa sylvatica gains prominence in the trade Nyssa sylvatica — commonly known as sour gum, black gum and black tupelo — is a shade tree to watch in the 2020s. Right around the turn of the century, several factors came into play, including successful breeding programs, the tree diversity […]
Reblooming is booming
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Consumers are drawn to new annuals, perennials and shrubs offering easy, continuous interest When many consumers approach a garden designer or visit a garden center, they know two things for sure: They want low maintenance, and they want color from spring till fall. “I’m looking for successive bloom,” said Jenna Bayer, owner of Jenna Bayer Garden […]
Creative crape myrtles
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Covering many climates and color options, Lagerstroemia is a reliable seller for growers Lagestroemia (crape myrtle) is thought of as a southern U.S. plant, yet it is on the City of Portland street tree list and has grown in Oregon for more than a century. A pair of crape myrtle Portland Heritage Trees can be […]
White and woody
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This palette of white-blooming trees and shrubs provides strong design options White blooming plants can provide balance in the garden or landscape, and landscape designers’ plans. “I do find clients who have an approach of a modern or more formalistic garden, that tend to go for white [blooming plants],” said Roxy Olsson, a landscape designer […]
Plants for a better planet
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Great Plant Picks program highlights selections that perform consistently in the Pacific Northwest Over the last several years, many areas around the country have experienced prolonged droughts, excessively hot temperatures, and a noticeable decline in the population of pollinators. No one can deny that planting to increase insect diversity and lower water use is a […]
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