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The Art of Gardening
Perennials
Trees and Shrubs

Naturally Native

Want a Northwest look for your garden along with low maintenance, good disease resistance, shelter and food for wildlife, all topped off with beauty and color? Go Native! Look out your window and you can probably already spot some rhododendrons, fir and cedar trees, maybe some salal or sword fern. But with some savvy planting, you could watch hummingbirds in late winter visiting your Oregon grape and red-flowering currant. Or enjoy fawn lily (Erythronium) nodding its delicate head, or the swept-back petals of shooting star (Dodecatheon). Your shady areas could be covered with the ferny foliage and pink flowers of the native bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa), while that problematic sunny dry spot is perfect for a covering of tough but pretty kinnikinnick.

	Trillium

When I first saw the woods I would inherit, I vowed to leave the property in a pristine state. But wait! I did want to plant a few native blueberries perhaps. And a vine maple would add so much color in the fall. And just a trillium or two on the way to the shed would be so inviting, as well as lovely twinflower (Linnaea borealis) and starflower (Trientalis).

So then I told myself that large-flowered lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus) would add my husband’s favorite blue to the open meadow, and that adding red columbines (Aquilegia formosa) would bring more butterflies. And wouldn’t woodland strawberries covering the base of that old stump be tasty?

Evergreen Huckleberry

	Red Huckleberry

Native penstemon could lend color to the slope leading to the cabin, while mock orange outside the window would add heavenly fragrance and a drift of snowy flowers. Evergreen huckleberry would make a beautiful screen plant, while the deciduous red huckleberry would furnish tart berries for muffins and pancakes. And then I felt emboldened to plant some brodiaea on a rocky spot by the rain barrel, hoping it would tolerate the gravel. Hmm — and then there are those native roses that tolerate some shade....

And so I was hooked! The property is still very natural, but my own enjoyment of it has increased ten-fold.

Oregon Grape

The reasons for using native plants are numerous. They are a treasured part of our local heritage. First Nations people used the native flora for food, medicine, clothing, baskets, implements, shelter, and more. These plants, moreover, thrive in our natural soil and climate, feed our wildlife, and bring us beauty. And there are many to choose from!

Come into Sky during late spring and early summer for the best selection of these wonderful additions to your garden.

By Heather Small, Photos By Caroline Jones
Skylights Spring 2010, Vol 25, No. 2

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