I thoroughly enjoy caring for my Pacific Northwest plants. There is such a wide variety that will grow here that I have something new to look forward to every year. I've been living in Washington state since my family moved here from California when I was a kid. Ever since the move I've appreciated the nice mild climate we have here and have been gardening ever since.

SPRING

Every year I look forward to each season and the wide variety of Pacific Northwest plants that I can enjoy. Perhaps my favorite time of year is after a long cold winter because I absolutely cannot wait to see the first blooms of spring! So I like to be sure there are lots of bulbs in the ground each fall so that when spring rolls around everyone can enjoy watching beautiful flowers begin to bloom, appreciating when the sun comes out even more!

One of my favorite bulbs is the daffodil. Daffodils of just about any type will bloom year after year. The bulbs multiply over time and give you more and more blooms each year. The maintenance is next to none. All you might want to do is cut back the stems after they've died back to remove the dead looking things in your landscape, but you can leave them be as well. They will eventually decompose back into the soil which is a good thing!

My other favorite spring time bulbs are the Crocus, and the Tulip. These will come back every year as well, but eventually will run their course and end their lifespan within 2 - 5 years, so be sure to plant new ones every year to keep the color coming.

As for trees, there are many flowering trees that will take your breath away year after year. The flowering plum is one of my favorites as are the flowering cherry trees, with their beautiful pink blossoms. The flowering plum as seen here, begins to flower before the leaves open up. As the leaves grow the flowers begin to fade and the trees will show off their stunning purple leaves all summer long.

SUMMER

I can't wait to start shopping for in May for those bright summer colors!. The nurseries are loaded with so many annuals and perennials it can be overwhelming. Be sure to have a plan before you go, or you could end up feeling overwhelmed and perhaps getting a bit frustrated not bringing anything home! Plus...only buy what you can plant within a few days or you may end up losing them. Potted plants you buy will dry out faster than the funds for the cash for clunkers program!

Every year I buy more pots and annuals to add bursts of color all around the house. A few of my favorites for the sunny spots are Petunias, both upright and hanging, Trailing Lobelia for hanging over the edges of my pots, alyssum to place near walkways because of their fragrance and impatiens and begonias for those shady areas. Of course there are many others but these are the basic annuals I buy every year. When shopping, there is always something new that catches my eye and I'll often buy it just to see how it does in my yard.

I love to see what new designs I can come up with each year for beds and pots. The rule of thumb is to keep plants with the same light and watering requirements together, and to keep the colors for each pot or bed either contrasting (i.e. pink and purple, red and white, blue and yellow) for that big bang of color, and sometimes I'll use mono-toned colors together (i.e. all whites with different color foliage, all different shades of purple, or pinks and reds), and always keep the heights in mind, keeping the tall ones in the center of the pot or in the back of the bed, medium height in the middle, and short ones in the front or edge.

Other favorite Pacific Northwest Plants are Daisies and Lavendar, which are perennials that will come back year after year. I absolutely love all types of Dahlias (a tuber), but beware of the very tall ones over (4-5' tall), as they need to be staked as soon as they get about 3' tall.

Decidious flowering shrubs like Hydrangeas and Lilacs, and Bulbs like the Calla Lilly and the very fragrant and beautiful Oriental Lilly, are some more of my favs, and are of the best performing, easieast to grow as well. And of course the native Evergreen flowering bushes - Azaleas & Rhodies are great for naturalizing my landscape along with other Native plants like Ferns and Salal. Some of the Evergreen bushes that do well here are the Yew, Birds Nest Spruce and Hemlocks .

FALL

My favorite part of fall is watching the leaves of our Pacific Northwest plants turn vibrant shades of yellow, orange and red. Why visit Main when you can get the same great fall foliage right here in the Pacific Northwest? The prettiest are the deciduous trees such as the native maples that turn a gorgeous bright yellow, vine maples that turn gorgeous shades of red, orange and yellow, and bushes like the native Oregon grape and my favorite, the burning bush (Euonymus) that turns the brightest red I've ever seen! Every year the colors vary by intensity depending on the weather conditions. The colder the temps get at night, the brighter the colors are.

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WINTER

In the winter I can still enjoy many Pacific Northwest plants, even though admiration is from a window with raindrops or even snow at times. But evergreen plants of all shapes and sizes love the Pacific Northwest. I call these the hard-scape of my landscape. They stay and look pretty year after year and the only time I might lose one is if there is too much snow sitting on them for too long. Which sadly, is what happened to my Camellia bushes last year. But this is a rare occurrence. Can we say Global Warming anyone?

The Deodora cedar trees we planted 4 years ago grow taller and prettier every year. This tree is so beautiful and graceful no matter what the weather. But if you plant one, be sure to give it plenty of room around the base because it grows wide at the bottom and tall fairly quickly.

There are a gazillion other plants that do well in the Pacific Northwest. Keep checking back here for more great ideas!