Aeonium

See under Succulents (if available).

Arbutus unedo - STRAWBERRY TREE

$9

This evergreen which in our climate "rarely unites tree form and stature" (Jacobson, Trees of Seattle, 2006) is a staple in any Mediterranean garden. You can use it as a backdrop for smaller plants or else as a stand-alone specimen tree pruned up to reveal its appealing reddish bark. In late winter it gives you clusters of white bell flowers which are followed by big round fruits in the fall which I guess someone thought look like strawberries. You can eat them but they don't taste all that great, unless you're a bird in which case you would find this plant to be very attractive. As far as the habit goes, I have seen it "unite tree form and stature" in quite a few places including downtown Winslow (Bainbridge Island) and Port Townsend. Perhaps it just needs to have full sun and lots of space to spread out. Chiefly from the western Mediterranean, this plant (some people think) may also be native to Ireland. That would be cool. Hardy to about 5°F.

Cistus x aguiliarii

$16 (1 gallon)

Rock your world; plant a rockrose! This hybrid delivers with excellent form, big white flowers and good garden tolerance of dry or moderately dry conditions. It is recommended both by the OSU Extension and Cistus specialist Olivier Filippi as one of the best and most trouble free of the rockroses. Rather large-growing, it may reach 4 - 5' tall and wider, and it is hardy to about 10°F.

Cistus argenteus 'Silver Pink' New Fall 2011!

$10

This low growing cultivar has perhaps the best flower color of any Cistus - a light pink that practically glows with silvery undertones. It only gets to about 2' tall by 3' wide and the pale silvery leaves are also nice. Compared to other Cistus it is slightly less tolerant of harsh conditions, appreciates being watered perhaps two or three times in a Northwest summer and doesn't like a lot of competition from surrounding plants. Hardy to about 12°F, it may need a sheltered spot in some Northwest gardens.

Cistus laurifolius New Fall 2011!

$10

Here's a tough-as-nails plant that thrives on utter neglect in the Pacific Northwest. Growing to perhaps 6' tall and wide, its forest green leaves provide a nice dark backdrop for the masses of bright white flowers that cover the plant in spring. It needs no water at all once established and will grow about anywhere though sun is preferred. It is tall enough to be used for a hedge (and a lot less boring than laurel) or visual barrier. Our seedlings are from a plant in Sequim that is utterly neglected and still looks great, and appears to have never been damaged by cold. Substantially hardier than many of the more common Cistus cultivars, it can handle temperatures to at least 0°F unharmed.

Cistus sp. aff. platysepalus

$9

OK, so we're not sure precisely what this Cistus is - probably one of the less common cultivars - but it sure is cute. Masses of white flowers appear over a relatively long bloom period in late spring on a low growing plant to 1 - 2' tall and perhaps 4' wide, with deep green leaves. This would be an excellent smaller scale groundcover or bank cover for a hot sunny area that needs some cheering up. It was not damaged in a hard winter that injured some other Cistus; I'm calling it hardy to somewhere in the 0 - 10°F range.

Cytisus sessilifolius

$9

Is your nitrogen broken? Time to call in this nitrogen-fixer! This unique, easily grown and drought tolerant deciduous shrub is native to the Mediterranean Basin and especially northern Italy. Soft textured trifoliate leaves on long stems are decorated with long terminal spikes of showy yellow pea-ish flowers that cover the plant in spring. If it's really happy it might get 6' tall or more but it is easily kept smaller and can even be cut back hard every year - grow it as you would Lespedeza. As a legume family member it also fixes nitrogen, but unlike certain invasive Cytisus species it appears never to set seed in Northwest cultivation. We had been offering this as Medicago arborea in the past, but we finally figured out that was incorrect, so, oops. Sometimes we are only as clever as our sources. It was quite a challenge to figure out its true identity, so yay for us. So far we haven't ever had cold damage on this plant: it's certainly hardy to 10°F, and perhaps to 0°F or even lower.

Dorycnium hirsutum - HAIRY CANARYFLOWER New Fall 2011!

$9

Easier to grow than it is to pronounce, this shrubby perennial with downy grey leaves is perfect for the dry garden. Soft pink-white flowers appear over a long period in summer, and are followed by prominent, interesting looking seed capsules. It stays nice and compact, for us growing about 12 - 16" tall and 2' wide. It should be planted in soil that is not too rich or moist, or its lifespan will be reduced. Native to Portugal; hardy to around 10°F.

Erica arborea var. alpina - TREE HEATH

$7

Too cool! There are a lot of tree heaths out there, but this one is special because it's actually totally hardy west of the Cascades. This species grows to 8' tall and eventually wider with soft green, plume-like evergreen foliage. In spring the plant is covered with beautiful white bell flowers. This plant is a must for any Mediterranean or xeric garden and is related to the truly treelike heaths of the highlands of tropical Africa. You might even be able to train it as a "standard" tree if you really wanted to. It's easily accommodated in partial to full sun and any reasonably well-drained soil, and hardy to at least 0°F, some sources say -10°F or even lower.

X Halmiocistus wintonensis

$9 (standard) $16 (1 gallon)

Why are Halmiocistus so rare? If you like easy care and bright colors, then this is the shrub for you. Among its grey green evergreen leaves appear in late spring cheery white flowers with a ring of brown in the middle surrounding a yellow center. A hybrid originating from the Mediterranean region, it only needs sun and well-drained soil to be happy, eventually reaching about 3' tall and wide. Hardy to about 5 - 10°F.

X Halmiocistus wintonensis 'Merrist Wood Cream' New Fall 2011!

$9

Quite similar overall to the usual form of H. wintonensis, it varies only in the flower color which is a nice creamy yellow. Other than that the evergreen foliage looks very similar, being greyish; and it too appreciates a sunny and well-drained aspect. It is a great sturdy plant for a rock wall or dry border. Will grow to about 2 1/2' tall and 4' wide. Hardy to 5 - 10°F.

Myrtus communis - MYRTLE New Fall 2011!

$9

Of all the world's fragrant plants, myrtle probably has my favorite scent. Olivier Filippi in The Dry Gardening Handbook accurately describes it as "both pungent and fruity." But just as importantly, it is a very "natural" scent and not something I could imagine getting an allergic reaction to! Myrtle has also been an important plant in medicine, cooking, and lore going all the way back to ancient times - for example, a concoction distilled from its leaves was said to have power to restore youth to the elderly. However, not being old enough to feel like we need to try this yet, we mostly appreciate it for its great ornamental qualities; as it is seen too infrequently in Pacific Northwest gardens. With deep green, evergreen leaves it always looks neat and tidy. In mid to late summer the plant is covered in showy white flowers, which are followed by dark berries! Myrtle is very easy to grow, and will tolerate sun or part shade. Being from the Mediterranean it is very drought tolerant, and useful in water-wise plantings. This "typical form" of the species may eventually reach 5 - 6' tall, but is easily kept smaller, and is hardy to about 10 - 12°F.

Myrtus communis 'Andy Van' - MYRTLE New Fall 2011!

$10

Of all the world's fragrant plants, myrtle probably has my favorite scent. Olivier Filippi in The Dry Gardening Handbook accurately describes it as "both pungent and fruity." But just as importantly, it is a very "natural" scent and not something I could imagine getting an allergic reaction to! Myrtle has also been an important plant in medicine, cooking, and lore going all the way back to ancient times - for example, a concoction distilled from its leaves was said to have power to restore youth to the elderly. However, not being old enough to feel like we need to try this yet, we mostly appreciate it for its great ornamental qualities; as it is seen too infrequently in Pacific Northwest gardens. With deep green, evergreen leaves it always looks neat and tidy. In mid to late summer the plant is covered in showy white flowers, which are followed by dark berries! Myrtle is very easy to grow, and will tolerate sun or part shade. Being from the Mediterranean it is very drought tolerant, and useful in water-wise plantings. This for was selected for its cold-hardiness in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (to at least 10°F), and has a slightly more compact growth habit, perhaps to 3 - 4' tall.

Myrtus communis 'Compacta' - DWARF MYRTLE

$9

Of all the world's fragrant plants, myrtle probably has my favorite scent. Olivier Filippi in The Dry Gardening Handbook accurately describes it as "both pungent and fruity." But just as importantly, it is a very "natural" scent and not something I could imagine getting an allergic reaction to! Myrtle has also been an important plant in medicine, cooking, and lore going all the way back to ancient times - for example, a concoction distilled from its leaves was said to have power to restore youth to the elderly. However, not being old enough to feel like we need to try this yet, we mostly appreciate it for its great ornamental qualities; as it is seen too infrequently in Pacific Northwest gardens. With deep green, evergreen leaves it always looks neat and tidy. In mid to late summer the plant is covered in showy white flowers, which are followed by dark berries! Myrtle is very easy to grow, and will tolerate sun or part shade. Being from the Mediterranean it is very drought tolerant, and useful in water-wise plantings. This low-growing form reaches only 12 - 18" tall and is great for borders and edging, or as a container specimen. Hardy to about 12°F.

Phlomis lanata New Fall 2011!

$10

This wonderful little sub-shrub makes a tidy, rounded cushion to about 2' tall and 3' across with little round woolly leaves. Cheery yellow flowers are produced over a long period from late spring through much of the summer. It prefers a mostly sunny to sunny site and tolerates coastal exposure and hot urban sites well. Native to Crete, it can easily handle Northwest drought, and is hardy to 12 - 15°F.

Prunus laurocerasus 'Castlewellan' - MARBLED WHITE CHERRY LAUREL

$7

All right, so we've resorted to growing cherry laurel. The thing about cherry laurel is that it's all the boring cultivars that are being widely produced (does the world really need another 'Otto Luyken' laurel?), while there are actually a handful of cool ones out there that remain quite rare. And this is but one of them. Instead of the usual mind-numbing green, the leaves are variegated with white and really do look something like green marble. Thankfully, it is a less vigorous grower than the species, though it may still eventually reach 12' tall after a long time. I'm curious to find out how this would look trained as a standard. By golly, I may just have to try that myself. Hardy to at least 0°F.

Prunus lusitanica 'Variegata' - VARIEGATED PORTUGESE LAUREL

$9

Portugese Laurel is rather common, but we still think of it as a useful and (when not pruned into a square) appealing plant. It's drought tolerant, evergreen, and well adapted to the Northwest. Eventually it grows into a tree. The only thing we're not so thrilled with is how its dark, glossy leaves really look somber under the cloudy skies of winter. So here we have a variegated form, which ought to make a splendid small evergreen tree to brighten up your garden year-round. Although it grows well in sun, for some reason the leaves often look better in partial shade. Hardy to at least 0°F.

Tamarix parviflora - SPRING-FLOWERED TAMARIX

$14

Perfect for the dry bed, this irregularly shaped deciduous shrub or small tree graces the garden with its extremely fine sprays of green cypress-like foliage throughout summer and fall, highlighted by pink flowers which appear in late spring for us. Ultimate dimensions of 15 x 15' are possible but it needs some help to achieve tree stature; otherwise, it can be cut back at regular intervals to maintain a smaller plant that will still flower. No, this is not the "invasive" one although sometimes I wonder if native plant conservationists can really tell the difference (There's really 10 acres of T. ramossisima escaped in Clallam County? Where? I sure haven't managed to find it!). Hardy to at least -20°F.

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