Planting Plan for a Landscape with Challenging Conditions

Living and working in northwestern Oregon, garden designer Wesley Younie is no stranger to dealing with challenging environments. When presented with this garden’s elevation changes, drainage management, and extreme climate conditions, he devised a plan that addresses it all—along with a specific functional wish list from the homeowners. Want to know which plants he used? Here are the plant IDs for this beautiful, sustainable landscape.

To learn more about this garden, see Wesley Younie’s article A Landscape Design for a Challenging Area and Conditions from issue #213 of Fine Gardening magazine.

1. ‘Sussex Silver’ ozothamnus (Ozothamnus ‘Sussex Silver’, Zones 7-9)

2. ‘Halfway to Arkansas’ blue star (Amsonia ciliata ‘Halfway to Arkansas’, Zones 5-9)

3. ‘Blue Boa’ giant hyssop (Agastache ‘Blue Boa’ Zones 5-10)

4. ‘Standing Ovation’ little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Standing Ovation’, Zones 3-9)

5. Pheasant’s tail grass (Anemanthele lessoniana cvs., syn. Stipa arundinacea cvs., Zones 8-10)

6. ‘Hameln’ fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’, Zones 5-9)

7. Dense sedge (Carex densa, Zones 6-10)

8. ‘Silver Carpet’ lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’, Zones 4-8)

9. ‘Sea Foam’ artemisia (Artemisia ‘Sea Foam’, Zones 4-10)

10. ‘Chocolate’ snakeroot (Ageratina altissima ‘Chocolate’, syn. Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’, Zones 3-9)

11. ‘September Ruby’ aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘September Ruby’, Zones 4-8)

12. Vine maple (Acer circinatum cvs., Zones 5-9)