Mahonia aquifolium

Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon Grape Holly) is a striking evergreen shrub with multi-season interest. In spring, racemes of cheerful, bright golden-yellow flowers appear just above the leaves. Lightly fragrant, they attract pollinators before giving way to clusters of dark blue-purple, edible berries in late summer. Resembling small grapes, they attract birds and wildlife. They may be eaten fresh off the plant and make excellent jellies. The lustrous evergreen foliage of holly-like, leathery leaves, emerges bronze-red in spring, matures to glossy dark green by summer before turning deep burgundy in fall. This small ornamental shrub is the State Flower of Oregon.

• This broadleaf evergreen shrub has an upright to spreading habit and grows slowly, up to 3-6 ft. tall (90-180 cm) and 2-5 ft. wide (60-150 cm). Oregon Grape spreads by suckers to form colonies. Remove these suckers as they appear if you do not want this plant to naturalize.
• A part shade to full shade lover, this plant is easily grown in organically rich, moist, acidic, well-drained soils. Prefers part shade and doesn't tolerate full sun. Protect your Oregon Grape from drying winds. Better fruit production if grown in groups
• Deer resistant
• No serious pest or disease issues. May be occasionally affected by rust and leaf spots, aphids, scale and whiteflies.
• Perfect when massed in shady borders, woodland gardens, foundation plantings, shade gardens. 
• Propagate by seeds, stem cuttings, or division of multi-stemmed parent plants.
• Native to Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to northern California

Hirta Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susans)

Gloriosa Daisy, Black-eyed Susan,Yellow Ox-eye Daisy, Brown-Eyed Susan, Brown Betty, Golden Jerusalem, English Bull's Eye , Yellow Daisy (Rudbeckia Hirta)

Rudbeckia hirta, commonly known as Black-Eyed Susan, Gloriosa Daisy or Yellow Oxeye Daisy is a cheerful, widespread prairie plant that belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is renowned for its showy golden, orange or bicolor flowers, adorned with up to 8-20 rays and dark chocolate, dome-shaped cones. Blanketing the landscape with its dazzling bright blossoms for months, it is ridiculously easy to grow and largely trouble free.

• Native to central North America, Black-Eyed Susans are annuals or a short-lived perennials which grow in prairies, dry fields, open woods and along road shoulders.

Blooming profusely from early summer to frost, Black-Eyed Susans provide weeks of eye-catching color, decorating borders and meadows

Prunus Laurocerasus

Mt. Vernon’ is very compact, reaching only 3 feet in height and spread yet retains the large species-type leaves. Slow growing, it can be a good addition to a rock garden. Prunus laurocerasus is a large, spreading evergreen shrub with large, glossy, dark green leaves and a hardy constitution. The leaves are evergreen, simple, alternate, and 2 to 6 inches long. The green-to-brown stems emit the typical cherry odor when bruised. The species can grow to 18 feet in height under ideal conditions and can spread to 25 feet. Generally, it is kept more modest under cultivation; various cultivars have been developed. The leaves keep their color throughout the summer, but they can lose some of their luster in cold climates. The flowers are tiny, white, and intensely fragrant, appearing in mid-spring. The fruits are inconspicuous, hidden amongst the foliage, borne in the summer. Often used as a hedging plant.

• Perfect as a specimen plant or for hedges or screens.
• Prune as needed after flowering. Propagate by semi-ripe cuttings from late summer to fall or hardwood cuttings from late fall to late winter; propagate by seed in fall.
• Low maintenance, the leaves of this lovely shrub may be damaged by vine weevil, leaf-mining moths, or powdery mildews.
• This plant has high-severity poison characteristics. Leaves and fruit may be harmful if ingested.

Betula papyrifera (Paper Birch)

Betula papyrifera, commonly called paper birch or canoe birch, is a robust, fast-growing landscaping tree with a most attractive gleaming white bark, which peels off in papery strips to reveal an orange-brown bark underneath. Growing with an oval rounded habit, mature trees develop black markings on the white bark. The ovate, irregularly toothed, dark green leaves turn bright yellow in fall. In spring, tiny yellowish-brown male flowers appear in drooping catkins while greenish female flowers appear in upright catkins. The female flowers give way to drooping cone-like fruits containing numerous small winged seeds.

The paper birch received its name from the nature of its bark. Long ago, people would peel layers of the thin, paper-like bark and write on it as a way to send messages. The common name of canoe birch comes from the use of the bark for making sleek, lightweight canoes among Native Americans and early fur trappers.

Exceptionally hardy, paper birch performs best in cool northern climates where root zones are often covered with snow in the winter and do poorly in the heat and humid areas. Betula papyrifera is one of the best-loved trees of the New England landscape (it is the state tree of New Hampshire), often planted for the beauty of its distinctive bark and golden fall color.

• Grows up to 50-70 ft. tall (15-21 m) and 25-50 ft. wide (7-15 m).
• A full sun or part shade lover, this plant is easily grown in medium to wet, well-drained soils. Tolerates a wide range of soils, including sandy or rocky loams but needs consistently moist soils.
• Perfect as a specimen plant or in borders, cottage gardens, city gardens, and foundation plantings.
• Low maintenance, this plant needs little pruning. If pruning is necessary, prune during the dormant season and avoid pruning in spring when the sap is running.
• May be affected by sawflies, aphids, rust, and leaf spot.
• Propagate by seed, softwood cuttings or grafting
• Native to North America

Escallonia 'Newport Dwarf'

Newport Dwarf Escallonia is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low-maintenance shrub, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It is a good choice for attracting birds and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Newport Dwarf Escallonia will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH and can handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Newport Dwarf Escallonia features showy clusters of pink trumpet-shaped flowers with red overtones at the ends of the branches in early summer, which emerge from distinctive crimson flower buds. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.

Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'

Miscanthus species and cultivars, award-winner Chinese Silver Grass 'Morning Light' (Miscanthus Sinensis) is a remarkable ornamental grass. First, it features a unique and exquisite vase shape that stands out beautifully in the garden. Second, its fine-textured foliage that sways gracefully in the slightest breeze and delicately softens any landscape is slightly ivory variegated, making it look silver from a distance. Finally, this graceful ornamental grass is one of the best grasses for winter color in mild climates.

• Recipient of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society.
• Blooming later than most Miscanthus cultivars, 'Morning Light' displays tiny crimson-red plume flowers in late summer or early fall, which delicately change to silvery white as they mature and provide good winter interest.
• Rarely flopping, this striking ornamental grass can be easily grown in a dense, upright, rounded fountain-like clump, up to 4-6 ft. tall (120-180 cm) and 3-4 ft. wide (90-120 cm).
• Performs best in full sun in moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soils. Protect from excessive winter wet. Drought and salt tolerant once established.
• Very versatile, it can be used as a graceful accent plant in the garden, massed to create screens or hedges, or planted in borders, coastal gardens, city gardens, cottage gardens , or prairie plantings.
• This Chinese Silver Grass is generally pest and disease free. It is deer and rabbit resistant but attracts birds.
• Cut foliage to the ground in late winter before new shoots appear. Propagate by seed sown in pots in a cold frame in spring or by division in spring.
• Native to Asia, the specific form of Miscanthus Sinensis is invasive in several US states. The invasive potential is of less concern for many of its ornamental cultivars, some of which are sterile. However, as a general rule, do not plant more than one cultivar on your property, and use only a vegetatively propagated cultivar that has shown little or no evidence of self-seeding in your area.
• Discover beautiful U.S. native plant alternatives.