GARDEN BEDS

Plant fragrant, flowering herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano and basil in patio pots. Keep them near the grill or kitchen for easy access to fresh flavor. Sage and rosemary may outgrow their pots but they will survive some serious pruning.

LAWN AND GRASSES

Grass diseases such as fungi and blight can ruin a lawn’s appearance. Avoid diseases by selecting a grass variety adapted to our region, water and fertilize sufficiently, mow at the recommended height and maintain good soil aeration and drainage.

TREES AND SHRUBS

Many native evergreen shrubs such as evergreen huckleberry, Pacific wax myrtle and salal make for easy home landscaping because they are adapted to the climate. You can also use Western sword, deer and American maidenhair ferns for a more forest-like setting.

PLANT PROFILE: EVERGREEN HUCKLEBERRY

The evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum) is a fruit-bearing, flowering shrub native to the West Coast. The huckleberry shrub can provide a rot-tolerant, deer-resistant evergreen foundation to the lawn or garden that can be spiced up each year with blooming annuals. The shrub blooms with pale pink and white bell-shaped flowers followed by dark berries that are used in jams, jellies, pies and syrups. It grows 2 to 3 feet high and wide when grown in direct sun but can get to be 8 to 10 feet tall and wide when in the shade. The shrub can be trimmed as a hedge or grown in containers but either way, it prefers nutrient-rich soil and regular watering.

Sources: North Dakota State University Extension Service Web site www.ag.ndsu.edu,Washington State University Extension Web site gardening. wsu.edu, Sunset Western Garden Book; Gardens

source : www.bellinghamherald.com