Native Plants of Spring

When I started this blog in 2013, its focus was native plants of my region due to my involvement with the Backyard Habitat Certification Program in Portland. I blogged about that program here. After I embarked on that program, I noticed a marked increase in songbirds, cool insects, and general diversity in the garden. I have continued to love and grow native plants, although I am outside of the program's boundaries, living 40 miles from Portland. I still garden for the chickadees, the butterflies, the mason bees and bumblebees. I garden for myself, for my husband and for the neighborhood. I love natives and incorporate them whenever I can. I thought it fun to see what some of these hardy, hard-working plants are doing mid-spring at Chickadee Gardens.

Limnanthes douglasii or Douglas' meadowfoam is a delightful native annual that can't be beat for cheerfulness. This mass was self-sown from last year's plants; it truly is a magnet for the tiniest of pollinators. I want it to fill in everywhere. Once it's done in a few weeks, it will die back completely and you won't know it was there. I have surrounding plants that will fill in when this drops off.

Here's a wider shot.

Camassia quamash or common camas. It is a long-lived bulb, once used for a food source for Native Americans. The cheerful blue blooms attract a lot of pollinator interest, the plants themselves prefer seasonally wet areas - where I see them in the wild are primarily vernal stream meadows.

Eriophyllum lanatum or 'Oregon sunshine' just started its show. This mostly evergreen groundcover (it's about 12" tall) loves full sun and excellent drainage. This was a 4" pot two years ago, it's easily 5' across now. I have a couple starts from this plant I tucked in around this area because when something works so well, it's worth repeating.

Ceanothus cuneatus 'Adair Village', purchased from Xera Plants. From their website:

This is a Willamette Valley native form of Buckbrush. Found throughout the southern half of the state well into California. A large, angular evergreen shrub with small deep green paddle shaped leaves. In April the whole shrub is swarmed with pure white flowers. Fast growing incredibly tough shrub for areas of intense drought and reflected heat. To 8′ x 8′ very quickly in any soil that does not become boggy. Excellent performance in tough urban situations. Irresistible to bees and butterflies. Extremely cold hardy to below 0ºF. No summer water. Moderate deer resistance.

They (I have two) are in really tough spots and get basically no supplemental water and are looking swell.

Same plant, a week or so later in a fuller bloom state.

Not the white flower, but the oxalis behind it - Oxalis oregana. I know, it's weedy to some people but for my situation, it's perfect. It will handle dry shade and carpets the floor of my shady garden with fresh green leaves topped with small white flowers in spring. It's easy, beautiful, beneficial and good for large areas. Which I have.

Sedum oreganum is in all kinds of places in my garden. Where I have stuck little stems of this succulent a year or so ago small colonies have formed. It handles shade just fine and in hotter sunnier locales it takes on reddish tones and is not as plump. It blooms with spikes of yellow flowers in summer which attract all manner of pollinators. It's another easy, beautiful, tidy green ground-cover (small scale) that performs outstandingly well for me.

 Native to much of the northern hemisphere, Antennaria rosea or pink pussy toes is a mat-forming fun plant. Give it full baking sun and excellent drainage and you can't go wrong. 

Blue flax or Linum douglasii has seeded around the garden, especially in gravelly areas with some sun. They have semi-woody bases and the flowers are held on long wiry stems that sway in the slightest breeze.

Armeria maritima or 'Victor Reiter' is always worth repeating. The little green mounds are evergreen and this time of year, mid to late spring, they are covered in soft pink flowers. Although this is a cultivar and not the straight species, I still consider it a close relative of native plants in my area.

Ribes odoratum (aureum), clove currant, is new to me this year. With a truly clove scent, I'm looking forward to having this around. I have one planted by our bee hive and another along the border between a sunny and shady area.

Speaking of Armeria maritima, here is the straight species with longer flower stalks and darker pink pom pom flowers. Both appreciate good drainage but are otherwise tough old plants. They are evergreen, too.

Eriogonum umbellatum is a kind of buckwheat native to the West Coast. It forms an evergreen mound, likes full sun and excellent drainage (again, think rock garden), will bloom profusely with lemon yellow flowers that, of course, the insects love. Buckwheats in general are just very cool plants if you have the right conditions for them.

Another one with a smaller leaf, Eriogonum compositum (form 2) has the same cultural requirements as the above plant.

Arctostaphylos species - this is A. x densiflora 'Sentinel'. There are so many different forms, all prefer well-drained soil, full sun and no summer water. These West Coast natives are evergreen and pollinators appreciate the early spring flowers.

Good ol' vine maple or Acer circinatum. This woodland multi-stemmed small tree or shrub is a great understory plant for shady areas. It sometimes has a horizontal habit, giving it a lot of character. It doesn't really enjoy hot sun, so shade is the best bet. It's also a good nesting plant for some birds.

A native iris, I believe to be Iris tenax that just showed up in my garden. We had several in the east field when we moved in. The land has been disturbed so those have not been seen around like they were a few years ago, however these are popping up a long distance from where I first spotted them. I now notice several in the gravel garden, mistaking their leaves for that of Sisyrinchium bellum or blue eyed grass.

Lewisia cotyledon is native to Oregon, Washington and parts of N. California. It prefers full sun, excellent drainage (think rock garden plant) and does not tolerate wet feet in winter. Give it those conditions and it will explode in color a couple times during the season. The colors vary from pinks to peaches to oranges and can vary on the same plant.

Lewisiopsis tweedyi, syn. Lewisia tweedyi. A rare and oh-so-fabulous lewisia found in the Wenatchee Mountains in Washington state and in some locales in British Columbia. This flower is a little spent, but it's a beautiful peach color. I have had and killed it before, I have a few tips how to grow this now, so am giving it loving care and great drainage under a bit of shade to hopefully help it along. Also it's planted near a rock so its roots can be shaded. Thank you Humble Roots Nursery for having this plant at our recent Hardy Plant Society of Oregon plant sale, Hortlandia.

 There you have it, a few natives on the property that I wanted to share. While I do firmly believe that there are many beneficial plants out there that are not natives, I also observe that these guys are garden superstars. I do think there is plenty of room for both natives and ornamental plants, it's just that natives are easy-care once established (and of course, right plant - right place) and I observe many more critters visiting these than most other ornamental plants. One really solid reason to plant natives to your area is that native plants attract native insects. Native insects attract native birds. Birds generally don't feed their young seeds from the feeder, rather they feed them insects. You will have a much more bird-friendly garden if they want to hang out and eat bugs in your garden.  As a steward of the garden world, I feel responsible to give back a little. This is one way I do so.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. Stay tuned for a bazillion posts all about my recent garden adventures in Austin, Texas, with about 95 other fabulous garden-bloggers for the 10th annual Garden Blogger's Fling. Thank you so much for reading and happy gardening!