This video is a walk-n-talk through my personal garden. In it, I show you six shrubs that are looking particularly good and that have done very well for me in my Portland, Oregon, USDA zone 8 garden. It is by no means a comprehensive account of what I’m growing—more a set of informal and impromptu comments on a few plants in my back garden that seemed to raise their hand to say “pick me” as I strolled my garden that morning.  ..

I love flowers as much as the next gardener—I find the riot of spring blooms pure delight. But I’m a greedy gardener and I want more! At home, and in most of my client gardens, space is at a premium so I try to select plants that will provide enjoyment for multiple seasons—and the larger the plant, the more I expect.  ..

Small gardens seem to be the norm these days. And that means that planting space is at a premium. So when selecting plants for my garden and the gardens I make with my clients, I’m always on the lookout for plants that are attractive for multiple seasons. If they look good year-round, all the better! ..

Unsung heroes of the garden, these evergreens are the sturdy yeomen upon which many a garden scene is built. Their contributions are often quite subtle, providing much-needed but easy-to-overlook year-round structure and an all-important frame for other, often more engaging, plant partners that come to the fore during the growing season, with a flurry of color and blooms. ..

Ubiquitous in Northwest gardens, the traditionally grown Rhododendrons are evergreen shrubs best known for their spring bloom, but I’d like to take a moment to extol the virtues of varieties selected for their attractive foliage.  ..