Bellingham photographer goes native when choosing plants

AMY BLACKWOOD

E-Mail

Text Size:

tool goes here

From composting to home solar panels, Mark Turner, 54, and his wife, Natalie McClendon, 53, "strive to live lightly on the Earth and within (their) modest means." And that includes planting vegetation that thrives in the Pacific Northwest.

"Growing natives can enhance our enjoyment of the natural environment and create habitat for wildlife," says Turner. "Natives generally require less input of water, fertilizer and maintenance once established. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors, adding to the beauty of the garden."

Originally from West Virginia, Turner lived in New York, Ohio and Nebraska before moving to Bellingham in 1990 for a position developing interactive videodiscs at Western Washington University. The job ended, but Turner stayed and developed his career as a nature photographer, specializing in local plant varieties.

| MAX BITTLE | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Try these native plants in Whatcom County gardens

"I've been interested in our native flora from childhood. I like to know the names of the plants I see along the trail and roadside," says Turner.

He is currently president of the Koma Kulshan chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society and a member of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, Birchwood Garden Club, Whatcom Horticultural Society and Northwest Perennial Alliance. One drawback to all this activity is finding time to stretch his own green thumb.

"We garden in fits and spurts. We'll rework a bed one year when we have time, and then it may not get much attention for a few years until it gets overgrown or we don't like the looks of it any more," Turner says.

Years in Whatcom County: 18.

Years in this particular garden: 18.

Picking up the spade: "My father gardened extensively, so I was exposed to gardening from the time I could walk. When I moved out of the dorms in college (1976), I got a community garden plot and planted vegetables, wanting to grow my own tasty fresh produce. I've had a garden of some sort ever since."

Outside the garden walls: Mark is a professional photographer specializing in gardens, native plants and northwest landscapes (www.turnerphotographics.com). His field guides include "Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest" (Timber Press, 2006, coauthor/photographer, www.pnwflowers.com) and "Bellingham Impressions" (Farcountry Press, 2007, author/photographer).

He is currently working on another book (due out in 2011 at the earliest) about gardening east of the Cascades (www.inlandnwgardening.com). When he can find time, Turner enjoys bicycling, sea kayaking, telemark skiing, backpacking and hiking.

Things learned the hard way: "We're still struggling with how much we need to water during the dry summer months. Part of our garden is in full sun with shallow soil. Most of what we plant there is quite drought-tolerant, but even so it gets very dry and plants suffer. Sometimes we don't notice until the plants are showing signs of stress, and then we'll water. It really comes down to plant choices and regular observation."

Favorite flowers: "Some of my favorite flowers are natives that I've never seen anyone grow in their garden, such as elephant's head lousewort (Pedicularis groenlandica) and other members of the genus. I've always liked trilliums, going back to my childhood in West Virginia."

Favorite edibles: "In the vegetable garden we grow a lot of tomatoes (and almost never buy them in the store). We also grow snap peas, broccoli, green beans, and lots of salad greens. We don't grow veggies we don't like."

Favorite resources: "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades: The Complete Guide to Natural Gardening" (Sasquatch Books, 2002) - "our guide to gardening here after moving from the very different climate in Nebraska"- and "Gardening With Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest" (University of Washington Press, 1997). Turner also appreciates the section of Washington Native Plant Society's Web site dedicated to gardening with natives, www.wnps.org/landscaping/herbarium/index.html.

"It includes downloadable booklets that include plant lists for various habitats and is an excellent regional resource."

Tools of the trade: Spading fork, CobraHead weeding tool and organic fertilizer.

Pestiest pest: "In our garden, European brown slugs are the biggest pest, although in reality they don't do as much damage as one might expect. They do like lily foliage and young vegetable seedlings as they're emerging so we use slug bait around those."

Enter Keyword(s):	Enter a City:
Select a State:	Select a Category:

POSTED: Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008

Bellingham photographer goes native when choosing plants

tool name