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Greg Butler

Winter Window Shopping: 3 Plants to Brighten Your View

Winter Window Shopping: 3 Plants to Brighten Your View

Often, one of my first orders of business when designing a garden is to embellish the immediate surroundings of the house. Carefully selecting plants to enhance the view just outside of our windows can go a long way toward staving off the winter blues, and if those plants offer a bit of fragrance as we scurry back and forth while gathering provisions, so much the better. Here are a few options to brighten the dreary Northwest wintertide.

The Virtues Of Charity

The Virtues Of Charity

Imagine Puget Sound in winter. Dark in the morning. Dark in the afternoon. And it's mostly dreary in between. As a saving grace, our relatively moderate winter temperatures offer a hospitable climate for a dazzling array of winter-blooming shrubs. And there is no better winter-blooming shrub for greater Pugetopolis than Mahonia x media 'Charity'. 

Plants for Dry Shade

Plants for Dry Shade

Way up here in the land of tall conifers, dry shade is a common gardening challenge. I’ve had success with the following plants in the shade of conifers, and they also work well in deciduous woodlands or in the dry rain shadow of north-facing buildings and garden walls. As with any new plantings, they will require summer water for several dry seasons until they have established a root system capable of competing with existing tree roots.

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Bling on the Wing: 12 Months of Flowers for Hummingbirds

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Bling on the Wing: 12 Months of Flowers for Hummingbirds

Western Washington hosts two species of hummingbirds, the Anna’s Hummingbird and the Rufous - and both are searching for nectar! Learn how to improve your habitat and add hummingbird-attracting plants for each season so that you can turn your garden into a gorgeous, year-round hummingbird feeder.

 
 

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