New trees and shrubs add fresh interest to the mix

SPRING 2010 IS a-blossom with fresh, new plants. Despite the housing downturn and two tough winters in a row, the beleaguered nursery industry continues to turn out an enticing bevy of new plants.

Because not a single one of these freshly introduced trees and shrubs has had a chance to prove itself, you'd do best to approach their cultivation with a sense of inquiry and adventure. Start with a single specimen, see how strong and thrifty it is, then add to your collection if you and the plant get along.

Tracking them down may be best thought of as an opportunity for multiple nursery visits. While I've been assured that all will hit nurseries soon, that really means sooner or later. The latest plants can be expensive and scarce, which makes the quest just that much more exhilarating.

• Daphne odora 'Rebecca' is a flashier version of D. odora 'Aureo-marginata.' When compared side-by-side, the creamy-gold margins on the leaves of 'Rebecca' are wider and showier than the original. Both types have pretty little pink flowers prized for their strong, sweet scent, which wafts generously about the garden in late winter. Both have evergreen foliage and a tidy shape and size. With its bolder variegation, 'Rebecca' was a crowd pleaser at its Northwest Flower & Garden Show debut in February. If you're daunted by daphnes' deserved reputation for dying unexpectedly, be reassured that Daphne odora tends to be the most reliable species in this finicky genus.

• Barberries aren't at all finicky, but can grow large and awkward. A new dwarf cultivar from California grower Monrovia tops out at 2 feet tall and wide. Berberis thunbergii 'Goruzam,' a.k.a. 'Golden Ruby,' grows slowly into a dense mound of burgundy foliage trimmed in gold. The coloration is striking, and 'Golden Ruby' is small enough to mass as ground cover, grow as a petite hedge or tuck into a container.

• Now there's a fragrantly flowered magnolia for even the tiniest garden. Magnolia grandiflora var. 'STRgra,' also called 'Baby Grand,' is a dwarf evergreen that has a rounded form and grows just 8 to 10 feet high. But there's nothing dwarf about its summer flowers, which are large and creamy-white with the characteristic lemony scent. On a large property, you could grow an entire hedge of these beauties.

• Drift roses are a cross between full-size ground-cover roses and miniatures, so they hug the ground, sprawling widely and blooming like crazy. 'Apricot Drift' is disease-resistant, with double flowers that bloom continuously all summer long. Just picture those ruffled pastel flowers edging pathways or covering a sunny slope.

• Sasanqua camellias are evergreen shrubs with lovely, summery-looking flowers in the dead of winter. They have a lax growth habit ideal to espalier or stake and train into a tree form. The new 'Marge Miller' from Australia is the first fully prostrate camellia, meaning you can grow it as a ground cover, cascading over a wall, trained upright for a weeping effect, or even in a hanging basket. No matter how you grow the highly adaptable 'Marge Miller,' its soft-pink flowers show to perfection against the shiny, dark-green foliage.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and author of "The New Low-Maintenance Garden." Check out her blog at www.valeaston.com.