Alpine Snowbells is a lovely plant with an amazing flower! The delicate bell-shaped bloom pops out in very early spring, before any other plant I have in production. That is the sign that it’s time to get to work! This year’s crop will be read to ship in February and will be for sale at [...]
Sunbreak Nursery Company Blog
Looking for a Super Early Bloomer? Try Alpine Snowbells!!
The Incredible Dividing Fern!
Because we all live in the land of ferns, new and more interesting ferns are sought after and coveted by many gardeners and landscaper professionals. The common native ferns are well-known and already well-used. It seems that everyone has a Sword Fern in their landscape, whether it’s intentional or not. The main reason that Sword [...]
Living Astro-Turf: Azorella trifurcata ‘nana’ (Bolax)
Bolax is the ultimate low-maintenance, hearty ground cover. This plant is really remarkable in its simple beauty and indestructibility! Back in my youth, I often played football on astro-turf, everyone’s favorite fake grass. Bolax is a live plant that feels and looks like astro-turf. This plant is just as bullet proof as its plastic cousin, [...]
My favorite low-maintenance ground cover!
Out of all the ground cover that I grow (which is close to one hundred different varieties), this one is my favorites. I love this plant because of its efficiency and durability as a ground cover. Fragaria chiloensis (Sand Strawberry) is a Pacific Northwest native ground cover that will tolerate almost any conditions. I find [...]
Welcome 2 Evergreen Ferns: New to our production this year!
We put two new ferns into production this year in an attempt to expand the evergreen varieties we carry. This year we chose Dryopteris tokyoensis (Tokyo Wood Fern) and Dryopteris dilata ‘Jimmy Dyce’ (Jimmy Dyce Wood Fern). Trying to descibe them on paper is tough. They are both a green fern, but once up close [...]
Spacing Groundcovers
The nice thing about ground cover is that there are multiple applications for it in a garden: edging and borders, between stepping stones, or erosion control. After the location has been decided, the next questions are what type of groundcover to use and how many. Today we are going to address the “how many” question. [...]
Native Ferns
When thinking of the Pacific Northwest, rain is usually the first thing people think of. But, the image that pops into my brain is moss hanging off of trees in a dense jungle of moisture and green. I also immediately think of a book I read as a child, Where the Red Fern Grows. I [...]
Beauty or Beast??
My favorite question that I get from people when shopping for ground cover is “But is it invasive?” My response no matter what type of ground cover is “Why yes in fact it is.” Invasive is the definition of ground cover, it’s in the name; to cover the ground. While most ground covers are not [...]
The Death of the Fax Machine?? Technology Moves the Green Industry Forward
I started working from the ground up (kind of like a plant) in 2004 for my father-in-law, here at Sunbreak nursery. I was overwhelmed by the amount of product that was sent out the door from the small 2 acre nursery. What amazed me the most was, that in the 21st century, all this business [...]
Flower and Garden Show
On Thursday, February 24, I attended the Flower and Garden show at the Seattle Convention Center. I was a little hesitant to leave due to some snowy conditions, but I had committed to participating in the Flower Growers of Puget Sound display garden. One jackknifed semi truck, along I-5, slowed the trip a bit but it [...]
