Reported by MIKE IRVINE & JIM McCAUSLAND

Learn what to plant when with our year-round checklists: sunset.com/checklists.

“Use archways to

frame a favorite

moment.”

MIKE IRVINE, GARDEN EDITOR

PLANT
Among broadleaf ever-
green shrubs grown west of the
Cascades, prickly heath (Gaul-
theria mucronata) has the widest
color range in its berries, includ-
ing shades of pink, purple, red,
and white. Shop for these now,
keeping in mind that you’ll need
a male plant for pollination.

One of the Northwest’s best
native landscape trees is vine
maple. Most nurseries carry
it, but for a wider selection,
look to mail-order specialists
like Mendocino Maples Nursery
(mendocinomaples.com).

City Sprite zelkova is the perfect
sidewalk and parking strip
tree—it’s tough, tolerates pollu-
tion, and has roots that won’t
buckle concrete. Matures as
a 25-foot, compact oval with
yellow-orange fall leaves; add
them to those difficult spots now.

MAINTAIN
East of the Cascades, pull
and compost annuals after the
first killing frost. West of the
mountains, deadhead and con-
tinue to water annuals—they
should last into next month.

If you have finished compost

on hand, spread it over shrub

and perennial beds or dig it into

empty annual plots. To stockpile

for spring, cover your heap with

a tarp to keep winter rains from

washing out nutrients.

HARVEST

Two weeks before the

average date of your first fall

IDEA WE LOVE

Tunnel vision

Look to a supporting cast to pick up the slack as plants settle into dormancy. “As we transition into

colder months, the trellis becomes a piece of sculpture,” says artist Jennifer Asher , co-owner of

Los Angeles’ TerraTrellis. Here in the Sunset Test Garden, one of her steel arbors with a weather-

resistant finish becomes an elegant focal point sourrounded by the cloudlike seedheads of Muhlen-

bergia rigens and the vibrant fall foliage of ‘Navah o’ thornless blackberry. It’s autumn’s last call , but

the arbor will glisten with hints of morning frost and cast long shadows along the path throughout

the winter. Landscape by Homestead Design Collective; homesteaddesigncollective.com.

freeze, pick tomatoes that have

started to show color. Ripen

them on an indoor windowsill.

PROTECT

If you’ve kept houseplants

outside all summer, bring them

in to shield from chilly nights.

Check your lawn for frost as

soon as you wake up every

morning and note the date of

its earliest appearance. Over

the years, this tracking should

reveal the average date of first

frost, which helps calculate the

length of your growing season.

East of the mountains, cut back

fuchsias and overwinter them in

a protected, dark place. A cool

basement will do the trick.

42 OCTOBER 2018 ❖ SUNSET

Home & Garden

CHECKLIST

NORTHWEST

SAMANTHA BROWN