Native Plant Gardening for All Seasons
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This document provides guidance on using native plants in gardens to provide seasonal interest throughout the year. It discusses plants native to the Pacific Northwest that provide benefits such as flowers, foliage, berries, and wildlife habitat in each season. Examples are given for several seasons, including black twinberry and Oregon sunshine for summer, mock orange and Douglas aster for early summer, and vine maple and baneberry for spring. Overall, native plants offer subtle beauty, attract wildlife, and require less maintenance than non-native species.
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Native Plant Gardening for All Seasons
- 1. Native Plant Gardening for All Seasons Linda R McMahan, Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University August 6, 2016 Photos © by the author except as noted
- 2. Why and How to Cover all Seasons? • Have something to appreciate all year for a more satisfying garden • Plan in advance! – Look for plants with multiple seasonal interest – Know before you buy to get the best all-around coverage • Keep it local for best results, expand with experience to statewide, region-wide, or North American
- 3. Here’s an Example Black twinberry, Lonicera involucrata • Large (12-16ft) deciduous shrub native to many PNW habitats and provides cover for birds and other animals • Blooms spring and early summer • Summer berries in pairs • Wildlife use berries as food and nectar-hummingbirds love the yellow flowers • Occurs naturally throughout much of Oregon
- 4. Overall, What do We Experience and Expect from native plants? • Color and subtlety! • Visiting wildlife – birds, hummingbirds, bees, salamanders and so on • Deer resistant plants for fenceless areas if desired • Lower needs generally for fertilizer, garden chemicals, and water Red flowering currant for early color and hummingbirds, wild bleeding heart for groundcover and color in the shade and Oregon iris for color and deer resistance
- 5. Finding Native Plants that Grow Where You Live • Check websites for local recommendations from SWCD, cities, county governments, and so on • Connect with others through a Native Plant Society of Oregon near you • Check out species distribution on the online Oregon Flora Project housed at OSU Goatsbeard, mule’s ear, rabbitbrush
- 6. Let’s start with Summer! What natives are good right now? • Bright flowers of the sunflower family for visual interest and pollinators • Flowering shrubs • Berries and fruits for wildlife and sometimes the gardener • Groundcovers to support soil and hide fragile or small creatures Oregon sunshine, salal, wood sorrel
- 7. Oregon sunshine, wooly sunflower, Eriophyllum lanatum • Bright flowers provide nectar • Drought hardy • Native to Oregon’s east and west sides • Shorter stature and grayish leaves on eastside • Westside plants generally taller, greener • Great for general garden, rock garden, full sun
- 8. Douglas aster, Aster subspicatus • Sunflower family colorful perennial, 1-4 ft • Reliable, spreads slowly, • Will grow in many regions, native mostly west and in the Cascades • Blooms July/August • Attracts bees and other pollinators
- 9. Mock orange, Philadelphus lewsii • Medium high shrub best in part-shade • Native statewide but habitat may vary • Bright white fragrant flowers in early summer • Multi-stemmed • Good source of nectar
- 10. Oceanspray, Holodiscus discolor • Tall shrub for woodland edge, also full sun • Drought hardy • Blooms mid-summer • Deer resistant!
- 11. Baneberry, Actaea rubra • Delicate understory plant in western forests • Seeds spread by birds that eat the berries • Caution: OK for most birds but not for people. Don’t plant if you are concerned about pets or children eating the berries
- 12. Wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca • Of all native strawberries, this is the best one for shade • Delicious small berries for wildlife • Loosely covers ground, prefers shade, spreads by runners • Butterfly host plant
- 13. Wood sorrel, Oxalis oregana • Spreading groundcover for shade/part-shade • Look for white or pink- flowered forms. Pink flowered type spreads less slowly and has larger leaves • Shelter for salamanders, frogs, insects
- 14. Rosy spirea, Spiraea splendens (densiflora) • From Oregon’s higher mountain ranges but grows at lower elevations • Flowers July/August • Attractive pink clusters • Butterfly host plant • Small, usually 2-4 ft
- 15. Rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus • Native to Oregon’s eastside • Blooms late summer • Bright yellow flowers and drought tolerance make it a good shrub for desert or other dry areas
- 16. Skunkbrush sumac Rhus aromatica (R. trilobata), • Related to poison oak but is generally a fine garden plant • Native primarily SW Oregon but can grow statewide • Small to medium shrub with berries Photos Clint Shock, Malheur Experiment Station, Oregon State University
- 17. Autumn • Fall foliage of course • Nuts and seeds for wildlife • Late blooming summer flowers • Wildlife watching as squirrels and birds look for food, migration begins Oregon white oak, native hazelnut, vine maple
- 18. Oregon white oak, Quercus garryana • Large iconic tree of western Oregon • Shelters many kinds of wildlife • Acorns and insect galls provide winter interest
- 19. Vine maple, Acer circinatum • Tall multi-stemmed shrub with spring flowers and sometimes beautiful fall foliage • Smaller samaras are food for wildlife • Host for native butterflies
- 20. Big-leaf maple, Acer macrophyllum • Large tree valued for wildlife • Hosts mosses and ferns on the trunk and branches • Yellow fall color • Samara type fruits and a wildlife favorite
- 21. Winter: Time for subtlety • Focus on lingering berries and evergreen foliage • Lichen on trees swell and grow • If you are lucky you may see a slime mold! Snowberry and evergreen huckleberry
- 22. Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus • Small/medium shrub, shade or part sun • Tolerates drought well • White berries in winter help sustain birds until spring • Soft bluish foliage is a garden asset
- 23. Focus on foliage • Appreciate evergreen foliage of some native plants • Some good choices are evergreen huckleberry, blueblossom, manzanita, Oregon grape, myrtle Pictured: evergreen huckleberry, blueblossom, long-leaf Oregon grape, myrtle
- 24. Osoberry, Oemleria cerasiforis • Earliest native shrub to bloom! • Deciduous tall shrub/small tree for shade to part-shade • Native to western Oregon
- 25. Currants, Ribes species • Ribes sanguineum, native to westside • Ribes aureum, native to eastside • The westside Ribes sanguineum blooms late winter, and the golden ribes, Ribes aureum, blooms spring
- 26. Lichen and Mosses • With fall rains, lichens and ferns swell and begin to grow • When leaves have fallen, lichens and mosses are often at their best
- 27. Slime molds • Several kinds of these decomposers grow in late winter /early spring when the air and soil and moist and dead plant material is on the ground • Once found, watch them and catch the fruiting/spore production phase before they disappear for another year
- 28. Good Time to Practice ID from Twigs • Winter Twigs: A Wintertime Key to Deciduous Trees and Shrubs of Northwestern Oregon and Western Washington, Revised Edition • Helen M Gilkey and Patricia Packard • OSU Press
- 29. Spring! • Early delicate wildflowers and early shrubs • New leaves emerge on deciduous trees • Ferns emerge or break dormancy • Many groundcovers bloom or spread at this time • Local plant sales and nurseries may feature Oregon natives—they need not be blooming if you know what you want Silk tassel, sword fern, vine maple, inside-out flower
- 30. Vanilla leaf, Achlys triphylla • One of many delicate spring blooming groundcovers for shade • This one prefers moist soil
- 31. Spring queen, Synthyris reniformis • Small delicate woodland plant that blooms early in woodland settings • Prefers shade
- 32. California black oak, Quercus kellogii • Native to Southwestern part of the state and south • Deciduous but provides summer shade and shelter
- 33. Silk tassel, Garrya elliptica • Tall shrub with leathery leaves native to the south coast • Cascading inflorescences of male of female flowers • Provides shelter and early garden interest
- 34. Fremont silk tassel, Garrya fremontii • Medium shrub found inland in southwestern Oregon and in the mountains • Similar to the coastal silk tassel but shorter stature and smooth leaves
- 35. Oregon iris, Iris tenax • Most widely available of native iris • Shades of blue, occasionally white forms • Deer resistant as are most or all iris
- 36. Maidenhair fern, Adiantum aleuticum • Gracious fan-shape fronds with spores on backside near edge • Great ornamental near water or as a woodland accent
- 37. Umbrella plant, Darmera peltata • Grows near water in nature, needs moisture in a garden • Spreads slowly by rhizomes • Flowers emerge before foliage • Large leaves add garden interest
- 38. Inside-out flower, Vancouveria hexandra • Deciduous groundcover with yellow fall foliage and limey green leaves of emerging plants • Some other native species are evergreen
- 39. Pacific rhododendron, Rhododendron macrophyllum • Native to coast and mountains • Requires additional irrigation away from native habitat • Tall shrub to 30 ft in natural habitat
- 40. Learning More • Web searches. Look for .gov, .edu and .org sites - .com sites vary greatly • Connect with others- Native Plant Society of Oregon chapters, Soil and Water Conservation District sales Small native plant garden in Gleneden Beach
- 41. Online Information • Mid-Snake River Watershed Vegetation Databasehttp://www.malag.aes.oregonstate.edu/wildflowers/ Malheur Experiment Station • https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/proje ct/pdf/ec1577.pdf Gardening with Oregon Native Plants West of the Cascades. Written by Linda R McMahan • Gardening with native plants information page, Yamhill County Extension: includes fact sheets photos and other resources • http://extension.oregonstate.edu/yamhill/native-plant- gardening/feed Native Plants and Trees of Oregon: Low Maintenance Native Plants to Conserve Water, Help Pollinators, OR Department of Forestry https://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/AboutODF/NativeTreesP lants.pdf
- 42. More online information • Backyard habitat certification program information sheet and resources https://backyardhabitats.org/resources/native-plants/ • Plants of the Rogue Valley, North Mountain Park Nature Center, Ashland, Oregon http://www.ashland.or.us/Files/PlantsBookletWeb1-3-13.pdf • City of Beaverton, Native Plant Fact Sheets http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/1224/Native-Plant-of-the-Month • Plants for Pollinators in Oregon, Natural Resources Conservation Service http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_0 41919.pdf • Landscape Plants site at Oregon State University, Native and Naturalized Woody Plants of Oregon http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/native-or.htm
- 43. Yet more online information • Oregon Flora Project housed at Oregon State University. Plant identification, geographic distribution and photographs. http://www.oregonflora.org/ Interactive gardening guide at http://www.oregonflora.org/gardening.php • Native Plant Society Of Oregon. Using Native Plants for Gardening. http://www.npsoregon.org/landscaping1.html • Plant Native, Plants of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Eastern Washington. http://www.plantnative.org/rpl- imw.htm • Metro. Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards http://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/nativ e_plants_for_willamette_valley_yards_booklet.pdf