Some old garden favorites, as well as a bevy of exciting new plants, have made the cut in the 2005 Great Plant Picks list.

Great Plant Picks, a nonprofit education program to identify the best plants for Pacific Northwest gardeners, released its new choices just in time for the annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle. A group of volunteer horticulturists from Oregon, Washington and British Columbia choose the plants, while the staff at the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle administer the Great Plant Picks program. It is funded by the Pendleton and Elisabeth Miller Charitable Foundation.

The program is targeted at gardeners in the maritime Pacific Northwest. This includes gardens north of Eugene, south of Vancouver, British Columbia and west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. Plants must be hardy in USDA zones 7 and 8, be long lived and vigorous and easy to grow by a gardener of average means and experience. Also, the plants must be reasonably disease- or pest-resistant and at least two retail sources in Canada and the United States must stock them, since there’s nothing like seeing a great plant that you can’t find. The chosen plants adapt to a variety of soil and fertility conditions and do not require excessive moisture, unless they are aquatic plants. Finally, the picks are not invasive or overly vigorous. Perennials don’t need staking, deadheading or frequent division. Trees and shrubs require little pruning and minimal training. Bulbs persist for at least three years, before you have to lift them or you’ve lost them. Finally, variegated plants stay variegated.

The horticulturists who evaluated and chose the plants also created five rhododendron collections, with the best pink, purple, red, yellow and bicolor rhodies for the home gardener. For instance, the pink hybrid rhododendron collection suggests ‘Janet Blair,’ a frilled, light pink flowered cultivar that blooms mid- to late-season and grows to six feet, as well as ‘Verry Berry,’ with showy, red-rose flowers that bloom mid- to late season. Piqued your interest? There are eight others on the list.

Then, the purple hybrids promise cultivars that aren’t as bothered by pesky weevils as other purple rhododendrons. The choices include ‘Blue Boy,’ a plant with vivid violet flowers that blooms mid- to late season. ‘Edith Bosley,’ a rhododendron with dark purple flowers that blooms midseason, will grow to four feet.

Along with the rhododendron suggestions, the Great Plant Picks list recommends other GPPs to harmonize with each color group. For instance, put a goldleaf bleeding heart with ‘Lemon Dream,’ a soft, lemon-yellow flowered rhodie that blooms midseason and has that lush brownish fuzz on the underside of the leaves. Add a ‘Royal Purple’ smokebush. Stunning.

For more information on all Great Plant Picks, visit the www.greatplantpicks.org Web site. There you will find fact sheets on almost 300 Great Plant Picks, notes on current plant evaluations and the GPP photo library. For questions about the program or to get a copy of the 2005 list, call the Miller Garden at (206) 362-8612, e-mail gpp@millergarden.org or write GPP, P.O. Box 77377, Seattle WA 98177.

Also, Great Plant Picks staff have collaborated with the Saving Water Partnership at Seattle Public Utilities to produce a new resource for Pacific Northwest gardeners, “The Plant List.” The source identifies useful garden plants in four categories – plants that thrive in winter wet, summer dry locations; moisture-loving plants; favorite Pacific Northwest natives; and drought-tolerant plants. The list is a companion to “Choosing the Right Plants Natural Lawn & Garden Guide.” To get free copies of both, phone the Natural Lawn & Garden Hotline, (206) 633-0224, or go online to www.savingwater.org

Cathy Peterson belongs to the Clatsop County Master Gardener Association. “In the Garden” runs weekly in Coast Weekend. Please send comments and gardening news to “In the Garden,” The Daily Astorian, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 or online to peterson@pacifier.com