Nursery Tales -- Local Plant Retailers Have Become Savvy To Budding Gardening Revolution

When I moved to the area 11 years ago it was largely for the gardening climate, which even in drought years allows for more species than any other region in North America.

I remember my first tentative visits to the local nurseries. What a shock. The budding revolution in gardening had obviously not made its way to the retailers. When I asked for such-and-such a plant, the usual response was "What's that?" accompanied by a blank stare. Attempts at special ordering met with casual indifference. Beyond rhododendrons, azaleas and the usual mundane annuals for bedding, nobody in the retail business seemed to know much, and cared less. The demand-supply circle of the nursery trade is a particularly vicious one since first of all, the wholesaler-growers have to believe that there will be a market for something new. Then the retailers have to convince the public, usually with a combination of education and hyperbolic fast talk. And back then, the public seemed blissfully happy to make annual investments of cash and labor for the same old stuff.

Then, around 1984, for whatever reasons, the investment began to include knowledge. New gardening books, many from England, were snapped up as soon as the ink was dry. Membership in garden-related organizations skyrocketed. Instead of merely "planting flowers in the yard," people began making gardens. A colorful array of blooming plants is relatively easy to achieve; a garden requires personal involvement and heart.

At some point in the life of every gardener comes an epiphany, that road-to-Damascus experience when the veil is lifted and one begins to glimpse the boundless wealth of beautiful possibilities that exists. This usually results in a phase of intense acquisitiveness. Although this sickness may diminish from acute to chronic, it never really goes away. The only treatment is periodic forays in search of Something New.

Room will always be found for a new treasure, but as available dirt space dwindles, editing takes over. No longer content with the commonest varieties of plants, things once considered desire-worthy, the gardener now plants the finest forms available.

For example, plain old lamb's ears (Stachys lanata) becomes unacceptable; the flowers are judged gawky, and the non-flowering variety `Silver Carpet' is planted.

Even five years ago, a lust for such plants required a trip to Britain; they were simply unavailable here. Mail order from abroad was prohibitively expensive and slow, so that very little of what was sent for survived. But the keenest gardeners, in a true spirit of benevolence, began to furnish specialty growers (usually low of profit but large of spirit) with propagation material.

Now we find ourselves with a banquet of delights, an embarrassment of riches. There are still plenty of establishments that sell the same old Same Old. But if you're after quality and diversity, you don't have to look too far. The Seattle area now has some of the finest retail nurseries in the country.

(To learn how some of them are responding to this year's need to conserve water, see Page XX.)

Quality in a nursery goes beyond offering a wide array of plants for sale. The sales staff should be knowledgeable, helpful, service-oriented. Plants should be affordable. The condition of the plants is also important. I don't want some mashed thing, gasping out its last from a root-bound pot.

Any special focus in a nursery creates added worthiness. Some may feature only herbaceous perennials or ferns, but do an especially good job with them.

So here's what I think of some of our local retailers (I am not talking about the nursery-as-adjunct-to-building-supply store). My opinions are based on at least a hundred trips to various nurseries every year.

-- Of the larger, full-range retailers, I think Wells Medina Nursery is at the top of the heap. Consistently the widest selection of everything, especially conifers, perennials and collectors' items. The informed, pleasant staff is a real asset.

-- Hot on Wells' heels is good old Swanson's, in Ballard. You sense a real conscientiousness in the merchandise and the intelligent and personable staff. Great perennials and trees, with a small but valuable display garden. And if you special-order something, you stand a good chance of actually getting it.

-- Next in quality is Furney's in Bellevue. Recent structural improvements demonstrate their desire for increased quality. A cut above the norm, with a pleasant, if not completely knowledgeable crew. This does not apply to the Furney's by the airport, which in my opinion showed some signs of life a couple of years ago, then slipped back into the miasma of the ordinary.

-- In the North End, on limited space, Sky Nursery is making a showing. This is a good stop for the standard plants, and just a bit more.

-- And then there's Molbak's, the Disneyland of nurseries. Piped music, caged birds, latte and biscotti, furniture, florist, and, oh yes, plants. You'll find an adequate to good selection of trees, shade plants, annuals and roses. The perennials and annuals are ordinary, but the indoor plants and seed racks are remarkable. A good place for a family outing if not for the most serious of gardeners.

-- Then there are the smaller neighborhood nurseries that do a remarkable job in cramped quarters. City People's, in Madison Valley, has a tasty gift shop, as well as some good plants. Tiny West Seattle Nursery has a few real treasures among the necessary basics. Seattle Garden Center, a Molbak's acquisition in the Pike Place Market, continues to maintain the best seed racks in town, plus bulk amendments and creaky wooden floors. Also good for bulbs and garden tchotchkes.

-- The best of the specialty nurseries includes the Herbfarm in Fall City, which offers gourmet dining and informative classes, as well as interesting plants and pretty gardens.

-- Truly gorgeous gardens can be found at Pat's Perennials, near Woodinville. Extensive woodland, rockery and foliage gardens furnish ideas for purchasing some of the 30,000 plants Pat and her supportive husband annually pot up. Not a stratospheric selection, but much better than most, and of high quality. A minor caution: There are a few errors of identity.

-- Not far away is A&D Peonies, with day lilies and other things in a supporting role. See, and drool, before you buy. Also, check out Cottage Creek Nursery for perennials and the absolute best selection of roses hereabouts.

-- In north Bothell Barfod's Hardy Ferns, a nursery devoted to ferns, will make your head spin with its amazing diversity of form and texture. With so much conifer-induced shade, we should all make a pilgrimage to fall under the spell of Torbin Barfod and his ferns. And please remember that many ferns need no supplemental water when established.

-- Across the sound, near Kingston, you'll find Heronswood Nursery. This is heady stuff. Dan Hinkley produces a catalog (for mail-order) for $3 that will amaze and confound you. Not just one species of a little-known genus, like Boehmeria, but six. Wonderful perennials, with a special focus on woody plants. But not for the lookie-loo; you had better know what you're doing before you go. Spending an hour educating a neophyte who buys one plant is hardly cost-effective. Having done your undergraduate studies in the basics, this is your reward, your doctoral thesis as a gardener. For the rest, seek out Heronswood labels on plants at the best of the retailers.

-- And here mention must be made of Puget Garden Resources, a grower and wholesaler of like stature on Vashon Island. Pete Ray (abetted by artist Jean Emmons) puts his label on some of the most wonderful plants ever to grace a retailer's shelves. Should you hear of the nursery being open to the general public, drop everything and go.

Armed with all this source information, no excuses for further perpetrations of seas of salvia, pools of petunias and masses of marigolds will be tolerated. Go to it.

Jerry Sedenko is a garden designer, author and freelance writer whose work has appeared in most national gardening magazines. --------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION ABOUT NURSERIES

Here's how to contact the nurseries that aren't listed in the Seattle area Yellow Pages under nurseries:

Barfod's Hardy Ferns

23622 Bothell Way SE

Bothell 98021

483-0205

The Herbfarm

32804 Issaquah-Fall

City Road

Fall City 98024

784-2222

1-800-866-HERB

Heronswood Nursery

7530 288th St. N.E.

Kingston 98346

Catalog $3

Open weekends

by appointment

1-206-297-4172

Pat's Perennials

7531 224th St. S.E.

Woodinville 98072

483-6634

Open Wednesday-Saturday 10 to 5