Dozens of outstanding tree, shrub and perennial species are included in the recently-released 2006 ‘Great Plant Picks’ list, each chosen for their ability to thrive in Pacific Northwest gardens.

Now in its sixth year, the educational awards program was the brainchild of staff at the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle. Program members are committed to building a comprehensive palette of plant choices that are uniquely suitable for gardeners dealing with heavy winter rains, summer drought and maritime squalls.

This year’s plant list is 84 strong and includes a wide variety of species and cultivars. There’s only room to mention a few here, but a wealth of additional information, photographs and nursery links can be found online at www.greatplantpicks.org.

• Vaccinium Sunshine Blue: A failure as a commercial crop blueberry (its fruiting season is too spread out), Sunshine Blue shines as an ornamental edible. Foliage is sky blue, maturing to blue-gray. Self-pollinating bell-shaped pink flowers in spring are followed by delicious berries from late July through August.

It has terrific autumn color, with much of the foliage remaining as a colorful accent through the winter. Sunshine Blue is great in a mixed border alongside plants with bronze, ebony or reddish leaves.

Give this blueberry a well-drained site with decent sunlight and humus-rich soil. Regular summer watering is essential. Expect it to reach 3 to 4 feet in five years.

• Polystichum neolobatum (Asian saber fern): Although relatively new to the Pacific Northwest, this is a terrific fern with glossy green, leathery fronds held stiffly upright — very distinctive. It’s great alongside soft-textured groundcovers, lemon-tinged hostas and ice-green lungworts.

Asian saber fern is best in full shade, or morning sun and afternoon shade. Fertile, well-drained soil is best, as is regular water the first two years. Mature plants can withstand a fair amount of drought.

No need for annual shearing — only the most tattered fronds need removing on a periodic basis. Expect your saber fern to reach about 2 feet in height, with a spread of about 30 inches.

• Podocarpus nivalis (Alpine totara): This extraordinarily adaptable evergreen shrub is underused here in the maritime northwest. Its dark-green needles have a slight bluish cast and cover a dense, somewhat bushy and often cascading plant.

It’s a fun choice for the top of rockeries, where the branches can tumble down gracefully. Its relatively small size (2 feet tall and about 6 feet wide or more) and spreading capabilities make it ideal for weaving around taller plants.

Once established, it’s very drought tolerant, and easily grown in sun, part shade or shade. Keep it away from heavy clay and/or waterlogged sites.

• Parrotia persica Vanessa: This selection of the Persian ironwood tree has a more upright, columnar habit than the species.

It’s gorgeous in all seasons, with exceptional foliage (oval with slightly scalloped edges, emerging green-edged with burgundy), branch structure (irregular) and bark (exfoliating gray-and-tan). Tiny, spidery red flowers appear in late winter and early spring, before the leaves open.

Both durable and drought tolerant, this tree is best planted in well-drained soil in either full sun or part shade. It boasts gorgeous fall coloring, especially when grown in a sunny location.

Expect this cultivar to reach 10 to 15 feet in height after 10 years, with a 10-foot spread.

• Ilex crenata Mariesii: A very unique Japanese holly — quite slender, almost like an exclamation point in the landscape. Foliage is tiny, round and glossy, glossy green, with three tiny spines occasionally found on the outside leaf edge.

A great accent plant or focal point, and it also adapts well to container life. It’s easily grown in full sun to part shade, and very slow growing: Just 3 feet tall by 1 foot wide after a decade.

• Mahonia x media Winter Sun: This statuesque, evergreen shrub makes a dramatic late-season focal point with great sprays of fragrant, yellow flowers appearing atop the whorls of glossy green, frond-like foliage in late fall or early winter.

Plant it in partial shade, with protection from winter winds. An annual application each March of a balanced fertilizer results in more flowers and deeper green foliage. Nip out new leaf buds of young plants in early spring to encourage more basal branching.

Without pruning, this mahonia can eventually reach 7 feet in height. For a shorter, more compact shrub, prune to a lower whorl of branches immediately after flowering.

• Daphne x transatlantica Summer Ice: Finally, daphne fragrance later in the season! This cultivar produces its champagne-white-flushed-with-pink blooms over an extraordinarily long time. Flowering typically begins in April and can continue as late as November.

The gray-green leaves, edged with white, are typically deciduous in cold winters but often semi-evergreen during an average winter.

This daphne is best grown in a sunny site with well-drained soil. Although occasionally slow to establish, daphnes typically settle nicely after a year or two. This one eventually reaches a height of 4 feet, with a 5 to 6 foot spread, after about 10 years.

• Cornus controversa Variegata: This is a spectacular dogwood with none of the anthracnose disease issues that plague so many other dogwood species.

A bit gawky when young, this tree matures into a beauty as it ages. Tiered horizontal branches, brightly variegated foliage, lacy white flowers that open in May and glistening black berries in late summer make this a stunning addition to any garden.

Especially dramatic against a background of solid dark green (evergreen conifers or laurel work well), this tree grows most comfortably when it isn’t crowded. Ten-year-old plants are rarely over 15 feet in height, with an equal spread. Mature specimens top out at about 30 feet, with a slightly narrower spread.

• Athyrium otophorum (eared lady fern): The ghostly whitish-green fronds of this fern light up any shade garden, unfurling with a purplish cast that quickly changes to a pale, minty green.

The 18-inch fronds arch gracefully from the crown, creating an open habit that’s ideal for showing off their lovely structure and color. It’s a great contrast alongside darker green ferns, hostas, hellebores and purple heuchera foliage.

Best grown in bright shade, or a location with morning sun. Fertile, humus-rich soil keeps this fern lush and happy. Although deciduous, the fronds last well into winter and needn’t be cut back until late December.

Sarah Robertson can be reached via the Democrat-Herald, P.O. Box 130, Albany, OR 97321.