The Beauty Japanese plum first entices bees in early spring with sweet-smelling flowers and then temps humans with luscious red fruit in mid summer.

The April Plant Profile is the stunning Cornus purpurea-flavus, also known as the Purple and Gold Dawgwood. Native to Western Washington, this shrub has the potential to be boundless, so don’t try and fence it in. It can tolerate a lot of rain, but can be affected by heavy snowfall. These Dawgwoods can flower at any time of the year, but blooms are most prolific in June. 

If you’ve been dreaming of escaping our cold, snowy Pacific Northwest, to a sunny and warm Mediterranean climate, dream no more! The ‘Frantoio’ is one of the most successful olive trees for the Pacific Northwest. Touted as the hardiest olive for our climate, 10° F or below and apparently gains cold hardiness the older it gets. Beautiful silvery foliage is attractive year-round. 

Eucalyptus gunnii is the tallest eucalyptus in the Arboretum and is now one of the taller broadleaf trees—being nearly 80’ tall at present—and enjoys a prominent position in the future footprint of the Australian Forest.
Part of its longevity and good performance is also likely due to its provenance.  Eucalyptus are generally grown from seed, and seed from higher elevation trees have proven to be much hardier.  

Your neighborhood hummingbirds will appreciate the nectar producing flowers on these winter blooming shrubs.

This sculptural marvel requires perfect drainage to thrive in Pacific Northwest gardens.

Spicy sweet fragrant flowers in spring followed by red berries in summer and flamboyant fall foliage make the Korean spicebush a superlative shrub for Northwest gardens.

One of the Pacific crabapples growing at the Arboretum was recently declared a national champion for its impressive size. This native tree tolerates wet soil and has fragrant flowers in the spring. In late autumn the small crabapples add interest to the bare branches.

By September most shrubs are done blooming for the year, but not so with hardy fuchsias! Not only are they decked out with cheery blooms through the fall, they are also a magnet for native hummingbirds.
 Fuchsia magellanica ‘Alba’ (sometimes listed as F. magellanica var. molinae ‘Alba’) is my personal favorite with pendent pink flowers dangling against a background of dark green foliage. 

This unusual Hydrangea is native to Japan and Taiwan with delightfully big, round buds.