aroundthehouse: : Incorporating Native Plants Into Your Landscape (2009-04-01)

Adding plants that are native to the Pacific Northwest to your landscape is a way to increase its year-round beauty without increasing the amount of time and resources you use to maintain it. Native plants are already adapted to our wet winter/dry summer climate and acidic soils, and most do not require much fertilizer or supplemental water once established. Adding them to your landscape will also increase the number of birds and beneficial insects who live there and provide natural pest control for you.

Many of our native plants have very ornamental branch structure, flowers, leaves, and berries, which make them ideal for incorporating into an established landscape. Gardeners in other parts of the world have been importing Pacific Northwest native plants for decades because of their ornamental value, yet most of these same plants remain undervalued right here where they thrive the best!

Here are a few tips for determining how native plants will fit best in your landscape, and some recommended plant choices:

If you have large trees that are planted in small beds apart from one another, try linking some of these areas together into a larger, curved, island-like bed. In the open spaces between the trees, plant a few medium-sized, flowering native shrubs that can thrive in part shade, such as Ribes sanguineum (Red-flowering Currant), Amelachier alnifolia (Serviceberry) Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry), and Cornus sericea (Red-twig Dogwood). All of these shrubs will also thrive in full sun and each provides nectar, fruit, or seeds for native birds and other wildlife.

Many low-growing native shrubs, ferns, and native perennials will thrive in the shady areas underneath your shrubs and small trees. Planting large "swooshes" of these plants will have the most impact in your landscape beds: Mahonia nervosa (Low Oregon Grape), Vancouveria hexandra and planipetala (Inside-out Flower), Tiarella trifoliata (Foam Flower), Polystichum munitum (Sword Fern), and Tellima grandiflora (Fringecup). Each of these plants provides food or shelter for ground-feeding birds and beneficial insects.

If you have low spots in your landscape where the soil seems to stay saturated during much of the year, try planting some beautiful moisture-loving native shrubs, ferns, and perennials. Vibernum edule (Highbush Cranberry), Blechnum spicant (Deer Fern), Adiantum pedatum (Maidenhair Fern), and Sisyrinchium idahoense (Blue-eyed Grass) will all thrive in soils that are wet in the winter and dry out over the course of the summer.

Many native perennials that will thrive in sunny and dry landscapes also attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and beneficial insects. Aster subspicatus (Douglas Aster), Penstemon serrulatus (Coast Penstemon or Beardtongue), Achillea millefolium (Yarrow), and Anaphalis margaritacea (Pearly Everlasting) are colorful and long-blooming additions to any perennial border.

Last but not least, if you are thinking of adding trees to your garden, make sure to consider these two graceful and moderate-sized trees, perfect for many urban and suburban gardens: Acer circinnatum (Vine Maple) which provides shade and brilliant fall color, and Tsuga mertensiana (Mountain Hemlock) which provides a year-round windbreak, food and shelter for birds.

Whether you are in need of large or small plants for sun or shade, Pacific Northwest native plants are a treasure just waiting to be discovered!

Resources for more info: King Co. Native Plant Guidewww.green.kingcounty.gov/GoNative
Washington Native Plant Society /www.wnps.org
WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife Habitat Program www.wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/backyard
National Wildlife Federation Habitat Program www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife