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Rebeeca Sams and Buell Steelman of the innovation - build firm Mosaic Gardens ( site in the Pacific Northwest ) favor thick plant with a meadowy texture and color that immix well with others for create natural - looking gardens that do n’t overwhelm smaller suburban lots . Here are some of their recommendations .
pic by : Claire Takacs .
Salvia guaranitica‘Black and Blue’
This salvia grow indigo prime with well-nigh black calyces on upright staunch all season . “ It ’s almost scary to walk through a mass of it , ” Sams says , “ because amped - up hummingbirds desire those flowers . ” Western Oregon ’s cool , damp climate sometimes makes overwintering a challenge , but plants can resprout from tubers or be grown as annuals .
Agastache‘Summer Glow’
‘ Summer Glow ’ has luminescent apricot - coloured bloom on foresighted root word that attract pollinators and trip up the Light Within . “ It has a harsh , meadowy tone , ” Sams says , “ and does n’t look like one of those flora that ’s been breed to death . ” Marginally wintertime - hardy in western Oregon .
Helictotrichon sempervirens
This evergreen — or everblue — summer blooper , commonly screw as blue oat gage , has tan flower spike on bristly tufts of steel blue foliage about 2 to 3 feet improbable and wide .
Asarum splendens
Chinese wild ginger is a hardy groundcover for shadowed area . Silvery splatter diversification “ look like clean playing on the parting , ” Sams sound out , and lighten up dispirited - igniter garden .
Vacciniumspp.
blueberry bush George Bush need slews of sun — something urban lots often lack . Plant well forth from trees and structure that cast shade , and piss on a regular basis in juiceless summers .
Polystichum munitum
This durable aboriginal fern is accommodate for slopes . Cut back in spring just before the lustrous green fiddles ( coiled immature leaves ) emerge , and relish their unfurling . “ The seasonal quality of ferns is undersold , ” Sams says .
Adiantum venustum
Himalayan maidenhair fern fern is a well - behaved groundcover about 6 to 12 inch tall with stringy bootleg stalk and rounded , brilliant green parting . In western Oregon , it tolerates infrequent watering ( but not entire drought ) in shade and decent stain .
Parahebe catarractae
A tidy evergreen suffrutex that blooms prolifically all season . little glossy leaves contrast nicely with grasses and expectant - leaf perennials . appreciate full sun or part shade .
Hydrangea quercifolia
bombastic , rough - textured depart bloom burgundy in fall and often apply on all wintertime , have oakleaf hydrangea a coloured backcloth for smaller industrial plant . Snowy snowy flower clusters flower from other summertime to June 21 . Grows to 7 groundwork but assume pruning well .
This bonus content companion “ The Oasis Builders”—an article showing how Mosaic Gardens create exuberant gardens on modest , suburban lots — in the Summer 2017 issue ofGarden Designmagazine .
