Natives in June

To be perfectly honest, my heart has strayed from blogging. I even considered calling it a wrap, which I will do at some point in life. The world stands at a difficult juncture; it feels much more important than gardening. But, and here's the but (you knew it was coming), as we all know gardening is good for the world. So if I can take a few hours of my week and take photos and i.d. plants and create a blog post and somebody out there finds honest value, I shall blog.

This week is about native plants because integrating them into the landscape does so much towards healing. They attract native specialist insects that may not go for ornamental plants (that is, non-native plants). Those native insects provide food for foraging birds and they also pollinate. The native birds have food for their offspring by feeding them insects and, hopefully, will stick around and find a home in your garden. At the very least a few native plants help to create a wildlife corridor in urban settings - it all counts, especially if everyone plants at least one.

Here are just a few beauties in my garden this week:

SUN LOVERS

 Aquilegia formosa, our native columbine. These were on the property, having recently sprung up out of reclaimed areas.

Eriophyllum lanatum, Oregon sunshine is one I planted from a 4" pot, I now have several large clumps taking over the edge of the labyrinth garden as it has reseeded a little. I cut it back hard after it blooms as it has a tendency to open up from the center, I prefer a tidier plant that doesn't sprawl as much. The bonus of having this in the garden is that it's super easy in full sun and dry soil and the tiny native pollinators really go for it.

 Eschscholzia californica 'Alba'. I notice there are many shades of "alba" in the garden - I think they are crossing with others so I have a range from white to yellow and many subtle shades in between.

 Eschscholzia californica, California poppy, has happily made itself at home in the garden. In the old garden I could not get even one to germinate. I guess they like a bit of neglect.

Gilia captiata or globe gilia, an annual wildflower that attracts many pollinators. I let it come up where it will in the meadow garden.

Armeria maritima, sea thrift, has evergreen basal fine foliage and bright pink flowers. This is great for rock gardens, sea spray, tough spots in general with sun.

I realized all the plants in these containers are native sedums and lewisia. Sedum oreganum, S. divergens, somewhere in there is S. spathulifolium 'Cape Blanco' as well (hidden).

 Festuca rubra 'Patrick's Point' is a spreading blue green grass from Xera Plants.

Limnanthes douglasii, Douglas meadowfoam that I have let seed in many areas. It's an annual, so once they are done blooming and the seeds have ripened, I take the whole lot out (it comes out easily) and put the dead foliage with seeds somewhere where I want them to bloom next year.

Penstemon davidsonii, an evergreen penstemon, very low-growing at only an inch or so high. But check out the size of the flowers compared to the foliage. These grow from Washington state to California on either side of the Cascade mountain range.

Another evergreen penstemon is P. cardwelii on the left, a small evergreen sub-shrub that blooms May - June and is covered in purple flowers.

Lewisia cotyledon 'Rainbow' (it is either that or 'Kanab'), a succulent-like plant native to Oregon. If you can give it excellent drainage (think rock garden) it is relatively easy to grow.

 Eriogonum heracleoides, creamy Eriogonum, purchased from Humble Roots Nursery a few years ago. This is the first year it has bloomed.

 Sidalcea campestris, checkermallow. I also have Sidalcea hirtipes that blooms later. I think I prefer this one if I had to choose. 

Iris tenax, I believe. These were on the property when we moved here and continue to surprise me by popping up in unlikely spots throughout the garden. Once these are established in the garden, they seem to seed around and also tolerate drought. They only reach about 1 - 2' high, so are ideal for smaller gardens.

SHADE LOVERS

Vaccinium ovatum, evergreen huckleberry, the quintessential evergreen native shrub for shade. They do tolerate sun but I find do better with at least partial shade. They are painfully slow-growing, but the new growth make them worthy garden plants. Yes, the fruit are edible, I think the birds get to them first, however.

 Physocarpus capitatus, Pacific ninebark, a large shrub with exfoliating bark and sweet white flowers in May. It's a good one for pollinators and has a lovely upright-then-drooping habit, giving it a look of a fountain.

Gaultheria shallon, salal, an evergreen spreading shrub I have seen 8' tall at the coast and 4" tall in some woodland areas. It is ubiquitous here in the Willamette Valley and an attractive shrub for shade or sun. It's also used in the floral industry.

Cornus sericea 'Hedgerow's Gold' is a gold variegated version of our native redtwig dogwood. It can be a multi-stemmed suckering shrub, you can cut it back hard every few years for fresh new growth. The mature specimen we have in the garden at work are allowed to grow into the size of a small tree.

Tiarella trifoliata, purchased from Bosky Dell Farms several years ago. Also known as foamflower, it has seeded around a tiny bit in my garden, I am hoping for more seedlings and denser colonies in time.

Maianthemum stellatum, syn. Smilacina stellata, starry false solomon's seal is a spreading herbaceous perennial found in forests throughout much of North America.

Vancouveria hexandra is a spreading perennial groundcover with small white inside out flowers in spring.

Tellima grandiflora, another woodland perennial that I let take over certain areas that would otherwise be filled with blackberry.

Acer circinatum, our lovely vine maple, a small multi-branched tree that floats its way through the middle of the forest canopy.

Maianthemum dilatatum is a weird hosta look alike that I kept noticing on the property here and there. I finally looked it up and it turns out it's a somewhat aggressive spreader native to the West Coast. It is also known as false lily of the valley.

Vancouveria planipetela, an evergreen inside out flower native to the southern regions of the state. It is also called redwood inside out flower, likely for its association with redwood trees.

Heuchera cylindrica or green alum root, purchased this year at Xera Plants. I have had this before in the old garden. It is a lovely, small heuchera with rather tall stems.

Circaea alpina, commonly known an enchanter's nightshade, a little annual that was already in the soil. I let it go where it will, it doesn't stick around all summer.

Juncus patens or Juncus effusus. I am unsure which of the two native rushes these are, but they show up from time to time in the garden and I had them in the old garden. They are evergreen and good for soil erosion, like boggy conditions but can tolerate our summer dry spells.

Western maidenhair fern, Adiantum aleuticum, a very cool and airy fern sporting black stems. Just about my favorite fern.

Polystichum munitum, our ubiquitous sword fern. This is a great solution for dry shade, for once established, they are tough plants. They also tolerate sun if given water in summer.

Polypodium scouleri, leatherleaf fern is an evergreen small fern.

Juncus, Oxalis oregana and Polystichum munitum in the shade garden.

While I have many more native plants in the gardens than what is shown, this is what I was drawn to this week. It always changes and is a pleasure to watch it do so. I also have a bazillion non-native plants that provide some value to wildlife, that is shelter, food (I see the birds gorging on the cherries right now), garden canopy in many layers, pollen, hiding places. I am not an exclusively natives gardener, I find value in many ornamental plants so long as they are not truly invasive species for my region.

On a side note: The nursery is still very busy but it has slowed as people begin to go back to work and the county has opened up. People are very good about social distancing and wearing masks, even outside, and we appreciate that because, really, you never know. I would hate to get someone's grandmother sick if I'm carrying it, you know? So for all of you still considering others' well-being, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, we really love connecting with gardeners from around the world.