Tumwater Tropical

A long mixed border in the back yard is a colorful tapestry of smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria), Japanese banana (Musa basjoo), and other foliage-forward plantings, skirted by clumps golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’) with accents of bright red geraniums. Photo: Deb Caulderon

When Judy Montoure and Dorian Sanchez moved into their Tumwater, Washington, home in 1997, they had no idea that they were beginning a horticultural adventure that was to become a passion. Back then, in Judy’s words, she “didn’t know an annual from a perennial.” The three-quarter acre lot had the standard suburban lawn in front and back. It also had some mature Douglas-firs, Western redcedars, and a couple of flowering trees in the front yard. Across the back of the lot, the property had an overgrown hedge of English laurel. The landscape was disheveled, but they liked the house.

The initial joy with their new purchase was short-lived when they discovered that part of the house was settling. Large trees buried beneath the foundation had begun to decay, causing uneven support. To remedy the problem, they had to r...