Growing native plants in the willamette valley

Growing Native Plants in the Willamette Valley
Linda R McMahan
Oregon State University Extension Service
Deer fern at Connie Hanson Garden, Lincoln City

What is so different about gardening here in Oregon?
Dry summers and wet winters
Extreme variability of soils – clay to rock
Mild temperatures generally
Maidenhair fern at a public garden

Why grow native plants?
Easy to care for
Natural beauty
Nurture wildlife
Fit into our existing gardens
Are not invasive plants—it’s their home!
Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllumlanatum) with nasturtium-private garden

Examples of Gardens with Native Plants
Lady fern at the Connie Hanson Garden, Lincoln City
Athyriumfilix-femina is delicate, can grow tall in ideal conditions, but is deciduous and requires wet habitat

Native plants at Shore Acres State Park near Coos Bay
Sword fern and salal outside of the more formal entrance to the gardens

B&B native plant garden in the Cascade Mountains
Native sedums in whimsical pots-at least 4 sedums are native to Oregon

B&B, Cascade Mountains
Sword fern, rock, and an old tree trunk

B&B, Cascade Mountains
Oxalis oreganaand Piggy-back plant (Tolmiea menziesii) mixed groundcover

Private garden, Portland Oregon
Stream plant, Darmerapeltatum used in a garden setting

Private Garden, Portland, OR
Emerging false hellebore (Veratrumcalifornicum) growing through decomposing ash leaves

Private Garden, Portland, Oregon
Salal (Gaultheria shallon) and sword fern on a decaying stump

Public Library, McMinnville OR
Red flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum

Native Plant Garden, McMinnville Library
Coltsfoot, Petasitesfrigidus, in early spring

Waterfront park, Corvallis Oregon
Oregon iris, Iris tenaxwith blue fescue

Private Garden, Corvallis, OR
Hedged red flowering currant next to a magnolia

Private Garden, Beaverton Oregon
Sword fern (Polystichummunitum) and groundcover oxalis (Oxalis oregana) in a side garden path

Ask yourself: Why do we garden the way we do?
We copy what we see and remember: family, friends, neighbors
Our gardening traditions are from England
Today, we are seeing new ways to garden (restoration for example)and we copy that too,
Connie Hanson Garden, Lincoln City, Oregon

History Lesson on Native Plant Gardening
The Victorian Era in the British Isles
Formal gardens of London’s Crystal Palace and the informal lines of a William Robinson landscape Photos: Wikipedia

The Wild Gardening Tradition
In the 1890’s, Scottish gardener William Robinson reacted to Victorian “excess” by promoting Wild Gardening—note this was gardening in a naturalistic style, not necessarily with native plants
Robinson’s house and garden: Wikipedia

One of Robinson’s colleagues promoted new styles that led to border gardens
Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932 popularized the idea of the informal border in many publications and garden designs. The “natural” style caught on and remains popular today.
A modern “border garden”

Experimented widely with southeast native plants, including Osage orange as a hedge, at his Monticello home
Sponsored Lewis and Clark Expedition
Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826)
Photos: Wikipedia

“Father of American Horticulture”
Professor, Cornell
Created first US horticulture compendia
Plantsman & naturalist
Began program for nature study in NY schools, forerunners of native plant societies
Liberty Hyde Bailey
(1858-1954)
Photo: Wikipedia

Essentially, two styles of gardening with native plants have evolved side by side
Substituting natives for traditional plants and developing “garden-worthy” cultivars
Gardening with native plants for their own sake in naturalistic landscapes
VS
Photos: left azalea and sword fern (Polystichummunitum);
right coltsfoot (Petasitesfrigidus)

Another thing -- growing native plants in Oregon is very recent!
Only in the past 15 to 20 years in Oregon and perhaps 30 or more years in the US, have we explicitly created native plant gardens
Mixed succulents in a private garden, including Sedum spathulifolium, center

Adding Native to Existing Garden – An easy way begin
Match conditions of the plants to those of your garden—sun/shade, water use, soil characteristics
Start first with well-known natives, such as sword fern and red flowering currant, or established cultivars
Choose colorful flowers or foliage, complementing features, and a “tame” habit before you explore other species
Look for wildlife value—birds, bees, food and shelter

Some Favorite Plants
Sedum spathlufolium
Vancouveriahexandra

Oregon grape, our state flower
Berberis (Mahonia) aquifolium, likes full sun, can be easily pruned, attracts pollinators and birds, easy to find

Sedum spathulifolium
Best native sedum, easy for containers or well-drained soil, available at many retail nurseries

Heuchera‘Palace Purple’
A cultivar of Heucheramicrantha, readily available, moist, rich, and well-drained soil

Mock orange
Philadelphuslewesii, available at native plant nurseries and SWCD sales. Fragrant and easy—sun to part shade, moderate water

Camas (Camassia)
Available as a bulb in better garden centers, needs wet winters and dry summers—no problem for us!

Wild Strawberry
Fragariachiloensis, coast or dune strawberry, and other species--vigorous ground-cover, sun/part shade, bees and birds, easily available

Epilobiumcanum(Zauschneriacalifornicum)
California fuchsia, full-sun, spreads slowly, attracts hummingbirds, fall bloomer

Vancouveriahexandra
Shade-loving deciduous groundcover, duck-foot plant

Vine Maple
Acer circinatum, best in part shade, some have good fall color, bird-friendly

Stream Violet
Viola glabella, accent or groundcover, drought tolerant, butterfly host plant

Red Twig Dogwood
Cornussericia, wet or dry, large, prune from the base, berries attract birds

Red Flowering Currant
Ribes sanguineum, February/March bloomer attracts hummingbirds, also bees. Blue/black berries are edible and a bird favorite, many cultivars available

Check out the recommended requirements for each species
Provide water to establish, even if the species is drought-hardy
Refrain from too much fertilizer-plants are usually adapted to our typical soils
Cultural Requirements
Douglas iris and Viola adunca

Leave enough space—some natives may grow larger than anticipated
Many can be hedged, but some gardeners prefer the natural forms
Prune multi-stemmed shrubs from the base
Desert Parsely and snowberry

Don’t assume plants are “deer-proof”
If you want plants to self-seed or provide berries for wildlife, don’t dead-head the flowers
Ocean spray and osoberry

For More Information!
Kruckeberg, Arthur R. 1966. Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd edition, University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA
Yamhill County, OSU Extension Ecogardening at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/yamhill/eco-gardening
Selecting native plants for home landscapes in Central Oregon at: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/19858/ec1623-e.pdf
Oregon Flora Project (interactive maps and photos) at: http://www.oregonflora.org/

Thank You!
Linda R McMahan
Oregon State University Extension Service, Yamhill County
linda.mcmahan@oregonstate.edu
Unless noted, photographs are by the author. This presentation is copyrighted by Oregon State University. Material may be used freely for educational purposes. For other uses, please contact the author.
Rosa sp. – wild rose

Growing native plants in the willamette valley

by Oregon State University

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Growing native plants in the willamette valley Presentation Transcript