Grow For It! -- See Unusual Plants And Gardens At These Small Specialty Nurseries

On an old dairy farm near Woodinville there are planters and pots of rare dwarf conifers, eye-catching steel sculptures and a kiwi-covered barn. A tiny West Seattle yard is filled with alliums, colorful cousins of the common onion. Atop two rooftops in Madrona are pots and pony packs of woodland and native perennials. And tucked between warehouses near Georgetown are ponds of glittery koi and waterlilies.

These small and sometimes hard-to-find specialty nurseries don't have the big staffs or large selections of garden centers. Most are home gardens-turned-businesses that offer peeks into some beautiful private spaces. At each you'll find people eager to share their knowledge and often quite unusual array of plants and gardens.

Here's a look at the aforementioned specialty nurseries and a few more nearby. Call ahead if you're going far to visit them. Some have limited days or hours or seasons, but are happy to welcome you by appointment:

-- In Woodinville is Bassetti's Crooked Arbor Gardens (18512 N.E. 165th St., Woodinville, 788-6767, Saturdays only). Leanette Bassetti's father once raised dairy cattle in the meadows near Cottage Lake Creek. Today Bassetti raises and sells dwarf conifers and diminutive alpine rockery plants next to the barn. Her three-acre garden has a 70-foot clematis arbor, an old calving shed-turned-workroom for garden classes and carefully pruned English and Italian "garden rooms."

You can explore the lavish perennial garden and raised vegetable beds, marvel at her trellised apple and pear trees, and meander the garden rooms. There are cattails and lilies in the duck pond, several large metal sculptures by Arnie Garborg in the fields, and, in the forest near the road, Spirit House, a Native American installation by artist John Zylstra.

-- South of Bassetti's are Cottage Creek Nursery (13300 Avondale Road N.E., Redmond, 883-8252, open daily), specializing in roses and perennials, and Enchanted Lily Garden (12827 164th Ave. N.E., Redmond, 883-7318, Wednesdays-Sundays), with its lush display garden and pots of hardy garden lilies, day lilies and hostas.

Bamboo Gardens of Washington (5016 196th Ave. N.E., Redmond, 868-5166, open daily) has three exotic forests of towering bamboos, a bamboo-framed greenhouse, fencing, ornaments and classes.

-- Harder to find, but not far away via East Lake Sammamish Parkway, is Stone Hollow Farm (21302 S.E. First St., Redmond, 391-2218, Thursdays-Fridays, and after 3 p.m., Saturdays). Elaine Keehn's gardens are a salute to drought-tolerant perennials, herbs and her friendly bulldogs (who do double duty scaring away hungry deer). Her trellised home overlooks a rock-rimmed pond and gazebo, an acre of terraced beds, and a tiny solar greenhouse packed with plant starts.

A trio of West Seattle homeowners have gardens-turned-nurseries:

-- The "seed" for A Thousand Alliums (3915 S.W. Willow St., 935-7506, Fridays-Saturdays through June) was planted as Jessie Attri walked through the Paris flower markets two years ago. The retired teacher fell in love with the colorful flower balls atop the many cousins of the common onion. She brought back hundreds of their seeds, and spent more than a year growing and cultivating 140 varieties. Now pots fill her driveway, patio and every inch of her yards and shed.

-- Teresa Romedo's Village Green Perennial Nursery (10223 26th Ave. S.W., 767-7735, Tuesdays-Sundays) is a fragrant English Cottage garden tucked into a shy acre that rambles unexpectedly below a busy arterial. Amidst the hardy geraniums and many perennials are a picturesque bridge, a gazebo and a towering pair of kiwis. Romedo has a tiny gift shop of garden art in her outdoor shed, and she often hosts high teas and weddings.

-- You can learn about medicinal and culinary herbs, worm composting and organic gardening at Janice Peltier's Herban Renewal (10437 19th Ave. S.W., 243-8821, Wednesdays-Saturdays). What was once a "weedy front lawn" now has winding paths through deep beds of herbs, vegetables and perennials. Starts and larger plants are available in her three small greenhouses.

-- In Central Seattle there are hardy geraniums, astrantias and hellebores growing on two rooftops and in the rambling, shady garden Ann Bucher calls Madrona Nursery (815 38th Ave., 323-8325, Fridays-Saturdays through June). Bucher specializes in native woodland plants, and knows just which perennials do best in what parts of the garden.

In an industrial neighborhood a few blocks south of the South Seattle Costco store, you can visit Oasis Water Gardens (404 S. Brandon St., 767-9776, Tuesdays-Sundays), where Dianne and Bob Torgerson have dug eight ponds and installed a dozen tubs of koi and other water creatures. There's a stand of bamboo in one corner, tropical and hardy waterlilies, lotus and other aquatic plants. Don't miss Stella the bullfrog, who hides under a tiny babbling rock fountain next to a tropical greenhouse.

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Finding those verdant spots

If you'd like to go nursery touring, or find some specific plants, three free guides and a wonderful set of books will help.

The "Specialty Nursery Guide 1996" lists 49 nurseries in King and Snohomish counties; the "North Sound Nursery Guide" has 43 between Everett and Canada; and the "Peninsula & South Sound Nursery Guide" has 41 in Kitsap County, Clallam, Pierce and other counties.

The guides are at listed nurseries, some libraries or by mail. Send a self-addressed business envelope with a separate 32-cent stamp for each guide ordered to: Specialty Nursery Association, 4321 Silvana Terrace Road, Stanwood, WA 98292.

Specialty and other nurseries, and hundreds of garden places, are in "The Northwest Gardeners' Resource Directory" by Stephanie Feeney (Cedarcroft Press). The 1995 edition is $13.95. The 1996 addendum is $9. Both are at bookstores.

You'll also need a good map. Some specialty nurseries have convenient locations; more are in out-of-the-way neighborhoods. Says author Feeney, whose own tiny Cedarcroft Nursery (59 Strawberry Point, Bellingham, 360-733-4461) specializes in unusual vines: "People start out gardening. They start sharing their plants, and pretty soon their home becomes their nursery."

Pick a destination or several. Then, as you travel the winding back roads and city streets, you'll often find more new or unlisted nurseries to explore.

Do call ahead if you are driving far. Many small nurseries have limited days or hours, or are open only by appointment. Some close when the season for their specialty is over. Some welcome picnickers. Many rent their grounds, display gardens or gazebos for weddings, receptions or other events.