Regional Picks: Uncommon & Unfussy Plants – Northwest

Three-leaved bittercress

Name:Cardamine trifolia

USDA Hardiness Zones:5 to 8

Size:4 to 6 inches tall and 12 to 18 inch wide

Conditions : light source to mottled shade ; well - drained dirt

A workhorse for teetotal shade , this thick - lead timberland gem is one I often recommend for beneath mature trees or established rhododendrons . I all overlooked watering a small stand during last summer ’s draw out drouth , and it remain as fresh and as appealing as ever . Patience is ask for a season or two as three - leaved bittercress gains soil , but it is well worth the wait .

Himalayan huckleberry

Name:Vaccinium glaucoalbum

Zones:5 to 7

Size:2 to 3 feet tall and wide

shape : Full sun to partial shade ; well - drain grime

A subtle smoothie , Himalayan huckleberry has unusual evergreen foliage that ’s powder blue on its topside and silver on the reverse . ho-hum to suppurate , this thickset bush is a starring selection in minuscule urban gardens , where thoughtful excerpt and plant emplacement really count . As temperatures cool , it prove an even softer side as burgundy highlights grace the leaves and stem . Pendulous clusters of pink white flowers in May yield aristocratical - mordant huckleberries , which raspberry usually down quickly .

Maiden’s wreath

Name:Francoa sonchifolia

Zones:7 to 9

Size:3 foot tall and 12 to 18 inches wide

Conditions : Full Dominicus to partial shade ; moist , well - drained grime

I often forget about this mound evergreen Chilean aboriginal until the tripping sprays of orchidlike pink bloom make their appearance in midsummer and just keep on coming well into fall . The burgundy shade of its fall foliage are another bonus . If you combine maiden ’s wreath with the red stems of evergreen huckleberry and the silver - vein foliage of ‘ Blackthorn Strain ’ hellebore ( Helleborus×sternii‘Blackthorn Strain ’ , Zones 5–9 ) , you ’ve find yourself a broken - maintenance , year - troll sketch for partial spectre that ca n’t be beat .

Himalayan maidenhair fern

Name:Adiantum venustum

Zones:5 to 8

Size:3 to 6 inches marvelous and 3 feet across-the-board

Conditions : Dappled to full shade ; rich , moist , well - enfeeble soil

You ’ve got to love these black stem . This is my favorite dwarf evergreen fern . It ’s fantastic as a slow - unfold ground cover charge in highly seeable surface area . In 2010 , this fern easily weathered a week of temperatures below 20 ° F and start back with a vengeance afterward . It is not terribly heat tolerant , however , but occasional water in summer will keep it looking its full . Himalayan maidenhair fern is stunning with black mondo Mary Jane ( Ophiopogon planiscapus‘Nigrescens ’ , Zones 6–11 ) and motley London pride ( Saxifraga×urbium‘Variegata ’ , zona 6–7 ) .

Alex LaVillais a member of the Great Plant Picks Selection Committee of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle , Washington .

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Regional Picks: Uncommon & Unfussy Plants - Southwest

Regional Picks: Uncommon & Unfussy Plants - Southern Plains

Regional Picks: Uncommon & Unfussy Plants - Northeast

Regional Picks: Uncommon & Unfussy Plants - Midwest

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