May 2012 Plant Profile: Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’
Dependable, vigorous and low maintenance Geum is one of the best performing new plants growing in the Soest Garde...
May 2011 Plant Profile: Daphne x transatlantica ‘Summer Ice’
Daphne 'Summer Ice' is becoming a widely recognized small shrub for the Pacific Northwest. It's dependable, easy to care for, once established, and possesses fine qualities as such persistent leaves (for the most part) and wonderfully sweet fragrance that's present almost year round...
May 2010 Plant Profile: Lupinus ‘The Governor’
Lupines have long been staples in the perennial border. With their elegant line, exquisite colors and fine-textured foliage, they create accents, punctuation, and almost a wave of movement when used as a group in both the garden and in cut flower arrangements. We have just one lupine in the Soest Garden and it is a seedling strain known as ‘The Governor’. ...
May 2009 Plant Profile: Beschorneria septentrionalis
Dubbed as the “False Red Agave”, this Mexican native is slowly making a presence as a architectural, hardy perennial plant for the Pacific Northwest. We received this as a donation from Far Reaches Farms (www.farreachesfarm.com) and decided to grow it in a container. Fearing that it didn’t survive our exceptionally cold and wet winter, it came through just fine in a sheltered location. ...
May 2008 Plant Profile: Allium schubertii
Ornamental tumbleweed onion One of Ciscoe Morris’s picks is this early summer sparkler that’s starting to bloom as we speak.Bed 6 is home to several flowering onions that begin to open in late may, but this species is the most impressive of all with it’s huge “beach ball” size inflorescence composed of over 200 florets. What’s striking of all is the fact that when the entire seedhead dries, it is still highly ornamental in the garden and, yes, looks like a starry tumbleweed, but far more decorative. ...
May 2007 Plant Profile: Romneya coulteri
Matilija Poppy Probably the most asked about plant at this time of year with it’s crepe like white petals and bright yellow stamens, it almost a resembles a profusion of fried eggs sunny-side up! With grey green foliage to set off the blooms, it makes a dramatic statement in the perennial bed as it towers up to 8 feet in height and continuously blooms for several weeks. ...
July 2023 Plant Profile: Hummingbird Fuchsia
Hardy Fuchsia love sun and do fine in part shade. Once established they tend to be drought hardy plants – I have one in my yard that I never water in summer and it has thrived over the past 15 years. They are the hardiest species of the Fuchsia genus and are rated for USDA Zones 6 & 7...
June 2023 Plant Profile: Japanese Nutmeg Tree
In Japan, the seeds of the nutmeg yew are desirable to be roasted and eaten or used to produce a cooking oil with a subtle nutty flavor highly prized in some circles for tempura. The ‘nuts’ are rich in vitamin E as well as sciadonic acid, known to reduce cholesterol...
April 2023 Plant Profile: Western Leatherwood
As Spring arrives, we here in the Pacific Northwest are gifted the opportunity to observe a wide variety of plant species we may not have noticed before. This month, we are focusing in on a beautiful, rare, San Francisco Bay-area endemic shrub. Dirca occidentalis can be found in the Washington Park Arboretum, but wait... what is it doing here...
February 2023 Plant Profile: Baker Cypress
The Baker cypress, the most northern and hardiest cypress in North America is a tree with a challenging future ahead of it. Within its native range of southern Oregon and northern California there are several populations, many a long distance separate from other...