Rhododendrons and stuff like that (Seattle, SeaTac: maintenance, food, land)

[MechAndy]

I am a plant and flower lover.
We have a couple acres here with a bunch of native rhododendrons and imported fruit trees.
I love the rhododendrons and the fruit trees.

Heck we even have a couple pair-apple trees and the local deer just love them.
I dig watching the deer, so that is a bonus round.

I also love the hybrid rhododendrons with fancy colors that we have in CA.
Do those work here ?
Bet they do.

Fancy colors and great plant fumes just do it for me.
What are you all doing for this?

I’d like to get a bunch of flashy colors,fruit trees and good smells though out our acerage .

What do you guys and gals do?

I want an area of just spear mint and lemon mint plants that spread the smell right after a rain with a wind.
We have this in California and want it up north.

So what are the low maintenance plants that you like best?
Thank you.
Andy.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, if you want to see colorful rhodies, and see which survive here, check out the UW grounds. There are clusters of rhodies all over campus. Some azaleas, too. While you're there, you can also check out the Sequoia tree, on the east side of Smith Hall, I think it is. You have enough land to be able to support a couple of Sequoias.

[Diana Holbrook]

I love our native ferns. They will grow in shade or sun, and if you dig them up, you can divide them and create a few from each big one. They stay green all winter, but each spring it will send up new shoots and the existing ones will die, so if you want to keep them tidy, cut them off at the ground before spring. Or, let them be for a more natural look.





Evergreen huckleberries are also a nice native shrub with a nice blue green color with rust colored highlights and good edible berries (the deer love these also )

[MechAndy]

Thank you both Ruth and Diana ,
I have a bunch ferns and love them.
I also want to make the area a bit different

[Diana Holbrook]

Crab apple and Rainier cherry trees are also great color, and good food for birds.... I hardly ever actually get cherries myself.


Dogwood - pink if you want fancy

[MechAndy]

Our spot is only 2 acres.
Most of it is forest, maybe at least an acre or so.
Half acre of it is cleared land with our house.
This is where we really want our plants and color.
The other half acre is what it is.
Thanks again.
Andy.

[Diana Holbrook]

For smell pretty and color - Lilacs

[MechAndy]

Thank you Diana,
I do appreciate it.
I think on my cleared land area I have enough room to comfortably encircle the cleared area with a good dozen or so good fruit trees and large color plants
I know that sounds like a lot but if I even cut that number by a bit it would work.
Thanks again to the both of you.
Andy.

[Ruth4Truth]

Well, you might be able to put a sequoia on the "it is what it is" patch of land, if it's not too close to the house.

That's me; trying to Californicate WA State, tree by tree.

[MechAndy]

Hi Ruth,
Thank you for all your advice on things.
I really do appreciate it.

Isn’t the UW on the mainland?
I only do the Olympic Peninsula and have no interest in ever seeing Seattle or any large metro-traffic area.
The most I can handle is driving south from SeaTac .

San Francisco and the Bay Area burnt me out to areas like that.
I just like the country areas.

The wife and I have been coming up here for a good 35 years for family’s visits and such and I’ve never seen the big city up here.
Don’t want to.
So I kinda wanna see how long I can last with out ever going to Seattle.
Yup, I’m a weirdo .
Ha.

All the best.
Andy.