The palette
Twelve plants, and what each one is doing there.
This is the whole list. We are not hiding a catalogue behind it — almost every job here is drawn from these twelve, in different numbers and different places, because a palette that works is worth more than a palette that is long.
| Plant | Spread | Height | Sun | Water, established |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NinebarkPhysocarpus opulifoliusThe shrub this business is named after. Peeling bark in winter, rust colour in October, and it will take the worst corner of a yard without complaint. | 7 ft | 5–8 ft | Full sun to part shade | Nothing after year three |
| Big sagebrushArtemisia tridentataSmells like the foothills after rain. Silver against basalt, and the single hardest-working plant in the palette. | 5 ft | 3–6 ft | Full sun | Nothing after year three |
| Rubber rabbitbrushEricameria nauseosaYellow in September when everything else has finished. Cut it back hard every third spring or it goes leggy. | 4 ft | 2–4 ft | Full sun | Nothing after year three |
| Firecracker penstemonPenstemon eatoniiHummingbirds. Three weeks of red in May and a tidy clump for the rest of the year. | 2 ft | 2–3 ft | Full sun | Nothing after year three |
| YarrowAchillea millefoliumFlat white heads that hold seed all winter. Will spread if you water it, which is a reason not to. | 2 ft | 1–2 ft | Full sun | Nothing after year three |
| Blue gramaBouteloua gracilisThe closest thing to a lawn we will plant, and the eyelash seed heads are the reason people stop asking for turf. | 1.5 ft | 8–15 in | Full sun | Deep soak monthly, July and August |
| Little bluestemSchizachyrium scopariumCopper from September to March. Plant it where the low sun gets behind it and it will do the rest. | 2 ft | 2–4 ft | Full sun | Deep soak monthly, July and August |
| ServiceberryAmelanchier alnifoliaThe small tree we use most. Flowers before the leaves, fruit the birds take in July, and it does not lift a driveway. | 12 ft | 10–15 ft | Sun to part shade | Deep soak monthly, July and August |
| Curl-leaf mountain mahoganyCercocarpus ledifoliusEvergreen, slow, and it will outlive the house. Plant it where you will not change your mind. | 10 ft | 10–20 ft | Full sun | Nothing after year three |
| LavenderNot nativeLavandula angustifoliaNot native and worth the exception. It takes this soil, it takes this sun, and it stops people missing the bedding plants. | 3 ft | 18–24 in | Full sun | Deep soak monthly, July and August |
| Blue mist spireaNot nativeCaryopteris × clandonensisLate blue, bees, and it cuts to the ground every March so nobody has to learn to prune it properly. | 3 ft | 2–3 ft | Full sun | Deep soak monthly, July and August |
| Bigtooth mapleAcer grandidentatumThe shade tree, where there is room. Red in October in a state most people think does not do autumn. | 25 ft | 20–30 ft | Sun to part shade | Every fortnight in high summer |
And the other list.
Six things we will not put in the ground, and why. If one of them is the reason you were ringing, we are the wrong firm and this page has saved us both an appointment.
Turf grass, as a design element
We will keep a lawn if you use it — children, dogs, a place to lie down. We will not install one as decoration. A front lawn in Boise is about twenty-five thousand gallons a year for something nobody walks on.
Hydrangea
It wants water and shade and an acid soil, and it has none of the three here. Every one we have ever been asked for was somebody remembering a garden in a wetter state.
Russian olive and tree of heaven
Both are on the state noxious list and both are still sold. Planting one is handing your neighbours a problem for thirty years.
Barberry
Invasive here, thorny enough that nobody prunes it, and it harbours ticks. There is no version of this plant that ends well.
Arborvitae hedging
Not on principle — it just dies in this climate about six years in, from the middle out, and then you own a wall of brown sticks that costs more to remove than it did to plant.
Anything we cannot source within a day's drive
A plant that has been on a truck for four days starts behind and stays behind. If it is not grown in the Treasure Valley or northern Utah, we will design around it.