Archive for native plants

A Stylish Mid Century Inspired Front Yard Landscape in Portland’s Ardenwald Neighborhood part 1

A Mid Century hardscape front yard landscaping in Portland.

An amazing transformation after the design process with Landscape Design in a Day and a whole lot of work from the DIY homeowners.  New hardscaping and brilliant planting scheme completely transforms this front landscape.

Hardscape Landscaping Design Leads the Way for the Perfect Mid Century Welcoming Front Yard.

Are you tired of your front yard lacking curb appeal? Is it downright unattractive?  Do you want a space that is not only beautiful but also eco-friendly but can’t imagine how to do that on your own?  Look no further than our friendly Portland based landscape Design in a Day.

Our clients wanted a great landscape design for this mid century home in SE Portland.  They decided they didn’t have what it took to envision a front yard landscape worthy of the house.  They knew there was a fabulous design just waiting out there but needed a designer even though they are typically all DIY.

This blog is fun to write because I get to brag about both the  Landscape Design in a Day designer, Alana Chau and the talented clients, Val and Holli who hired us.  With their DIY spirit and skills and our expertise as landscape designers, we were able to create a front yard that well exceeded their expectations.

Ardenwald neighborhood clients wanted a Mid Century landscape design. (Before Photo)

This Portland front yard needs a landscape design that will open up access to the front door and a whole new planting scheme that is low water, pollinator friendly and matches the modern style of the home.

Hardscaping Landscaping Style was Modern but Informal

When Val and Holli reached out to us, they had a clear vision for their front yard.  A real front walk was a must have.  No more walking up the driveway to get to the front door.

Plant Preferences were Natives and Drought Resistant Plantings

They wanted to incorporate native plants to attract birds and pollinators, create a rain garden, and improve the approach to their house. They were ready to tackle the installation themselves, but they needed help with the design aspect. That’s where we came in.  After talking with them I selected Alana Chau to be their designer.  She has an affinity for modern style design and a love for mixing our native plants with low water Mediterranean plants like lavender and ornamental grasses.  And she creates magical designs that fit her clients and make them happy.

Mid Century hardscape landscaping in Portland with colorful plantings.

Billowing colorful plants create exciting entryway. These plantings are also low water and pollinator friendly.

Hardscape Design

One of the first changes Alana suggested was reimagining how to approach the front door from both the street and driveway. By creating a new entry path from the public sidewalk using poured concrete slabs in rectangular shapes, we were able to give the house a mid-century modern look while connecting it to the neighborhood.  The spaces between the large slabs add an informal touch which was very important to the success of the design. Our clients didn’t want formal.  She also added pavers on the side of the driveway for attractive and easy to use, dry-foot access out of the car.

Mid Century inspired hardscape landscaping in Portland's Ardenwald neighborhood.

Low fencing works well with Mid Century House landscape design because the house has a strongly horizontal and low line.

Layout of the New Welcoming Front Walk

Working closely with Val and Holli, she presented several different layout options that would transform their front yard. We wanted to give their house a welcoming entry walk while incorporating their wish list items. After much discussion and collaboration, they all chose their favorite layout, which included a sitting area for two, designated planting spaces and a fence.  The low fence integrated the house and the land and also highlighted the new entry walkway beautifully.

Mid Century hardscape design in Portland Ardenwald neighborhood.

The path for the larger portion of the yard creates attractive structure and also give us places to stand to care for the plants. A front yard chockful of plants with no paths is very awkward to maintain.

Drought Resistant Colorful Plantings

As for the plants, we selected a variety of drought-resistant colorful plantings, including some native plants to bring their vision to life.

See our next blog where we will share about the exciting plants selected for Val and Holli’s design and a peek into their DIY experience.

Client Testimonial

Thanks to you and Alana for making the transformation of our front yard possible!  It was a terrific experience and the results are way beyond anything we could have ever designed ourselves.

Val and Holli – Ardenwald Neighborhood in SE Portland

 

Contact Us

We love to work with clients who want something special for their front yard.  Let’s do this together using our Landscape Design in a Day Process and discover the best design for you and your home and our community.  We prefer to create a design that fits your need for lower maintenance and also supports our environment in these times of climate change.  Contact us.

 

Landscaping for Privacy in Portland Small Front Yard

Portland front yard landscape design with Magnolia grandiflora and white flowering dogwood

Small city front yard with new Magnolia grandiflora ‘Teddy Bear’ and existing magnificent Cornus x ‘Venus’, a white flowering dogwood cross between our PNW dogwood and a disease resistant Korean dogwood.

Privacy Landscape Design for Gardener’s Yard

This small city front yard was fun because my clients Sam and Austin love plants and Sam in particular was itching to get his hands in the soil.  They wanted to see year round plants in the front yard from inside the house and sit on the front porch without looking into the neighbor’s windows across the street.  We had good success with our design and a lot of fun and joy….but I acknowledge that as they settled into their new city home, they wanted even more screening.

Before photos for Portland landscape design

Before hardscape landscape design in N Portland.

Flowering dogwood gives front yard privacy in landscape design.

Here is the view from the living room picture window in May. Cornus x ‘Venus’ has 5″ across white flowers and wonderful fall color. We designed around this existing treasure, a dogwood cross between our PNW dogwood and a disease resistant Korean dogwood.

Now most of my clients don’t want experiments with plant selection.  They want my tried and true plants placed to my spacing requirements.  I stick to my spacing requirements especially for trees and the spacing is part of the value of a landscape design that will fit your property.  Most of us don’t want our plants to overwhelm the space and each other or want to referee with lots of pruning. But Sam is a gardener and loves a little trial and error.

Before and after photos of Portland front yard landscape design for privacy.

After photo of this N.E. Portland ‘No Lawn’ Landscape Design on Planting Day.

More Privacy Plantings for Small City Front Yard

He has added  more Magnolia to the parking strip to greatly increase blocking the view of the city street and apartment building.  Me, I look into the future 10 years or less and see the landscape too crowded but Sam unlike most of my clients, is prepared to prune and shape.  He has got that whole no fear gardening thing going for him so I’m excited to see how it works.  City living requires creative and different approaches for privacy, maybe even breaking the rules.

Sam, Austin and I worked closely with Donna Burdick (D & J Landscape Contractors) for the landscape installation.

Plants for this N.E. Portland Front Yard

The most important specification was creating a screen of plants to see from inside the house without burying the charm and curb appeal of the home’s front entry porch. Our plantings need to work with and enhance the existing fabulous Dogwood tree.  The style was a mix of NW Natural and Cottage Garden.  We had other specifications such as low water, pollinator friendly, fragrance.

Clients Favorite Plants in Front Yard

Acer palmatum is a dramatic focal point for Portland yard.

Acer palmatum ‘Shaina’ at a client’s large woodland garden – also used as the dramatic focal point.

The Shaina Japanese Red Maple (Acer palmatum ‘Shaina’)  is the favorite plant.  I selected it for it’s dramatic orange red spring color and also the shape.  It’s a little boxy; most Japanese maple are either weeping or have tall upright branching structures .  Shaina’s ‘boxy’ shape fits in my smaller city landscapes and provides more screening than a weeping form.  My clients just love how vibrant the red foliage is both in spring and fall.

We had played around with a pear tree for the entry walk but this was discarded for a narrow evergreen Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’.  This tree was selected by Sam for screening the street and cars as seen from the front porch and the angled view from the living room window.  The back yard has the fruit trees.

Spring Flowering Heather in privacy landscaping design in Portland.

Summer Flowering Heather and Fragrant Summer Flowering Daphne. Calluna vulgaris ‘Mrs Ron Green’ and Daphne t. ‘Summer Ice’

Three fragrant plants, all evergreens starts with Daphne odora,  Mexican Orange (Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’), and semi evergreen Daphne t. ‘Eternal Fragrance’.

These fragrant plants all bloom at different times of the year.  They are planted for my clients to enjoy the fragrances as they come and go from the front door.

Japanese anemone planted in Portland privacy landscaping.

Japanese Anemone

 

Plantings for a Small City Front Yard

Less flashy but excellent lower maintenance plants include spring flowering heather (February, March April), Iris x pacifica Rio Dorada (April and May), an evergreen Iris,  the hardy geranium groundcover Geranium x cantabrigense ‘Karmina’ flowers in May, June and July under the mature dogwood.  Japanese anemone, Anemone huphensis late summer flower add flower power at different times of the year and provide good groundcover and attractive foliage when not in flower.

Smaller Hydrangeas to Fit Small City Front Yard

The clients love mop head flowered hydrangea so we have 3 in the front.  Again size is an important consideration.  There is not enough room for the typical  6′ x 6′ hydrangea so I specified the dwarf Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Pia’ and 2 of the newer semi dwarf varieties called the City Line Series ‘Rio’ .  Rio should be only 4′ x 4′ or less and will give my client the more traditional blue and purple flower heads.  Pia is so reliably smaller than most, (and an excellent plant) at less than 3′ x 3′ but she will stay a pink mop head flower for many years and eventually go to a purple pink.  Many people like the traditional blue flower.

Pacific Northwest Native Plants

We also have a section of pure Pacific Northwest native plants on the far side of the Dogwood tree.  These are Vaccinium ovatum, native huckleberry, great for native bees and birds, Mahonia aqufolium, Tall Oregon grape for pollinators including Anna hummingbirds.  We have used PNW sword fern to good effect and it integrates much of the front yard plantings.  We want to get Oregon phacelia, a ground cover, going with the other natives but so far seeds have not been successful.  Oregon phacelia can leave small burrs in a dogs fur so not best with long furred dogs btw. My seeding efforts at my property has also failed so clearly there is a trick to it I do not have yet.  Sam has a good crop of the Tellima grandiflora (fringe cup) and that pollinator plant is working very well so if the Oregon phacelia doesn’t happen,  we still have great native plants for pollinators.

 

Portland privacy landscaping.

Before Landscape Design in a Day this family had no backyard for kids play area, and no privacy just lawn and a white picket fence.

 

Contact us

Do you love city living but want more privacy and charm to your front yard?  Going lawn less?  We love to create landscape designs with our city clients.  Contact us!

My next blog is about a family with 3 kids living in the city with no backyard, no place to play and no privacy for dining and hanging out.  Their new home, (a wonderful Portland Old House) is on a corner which is always challenging.  What to do?  Read on.

Drought Tolerant Plantings for St Johns North Portland Landscape Designs

Photo from St Johns North Portland of Cedar Wax Wings in a Mahonia 'Charity' large shrub.

Cedar Way Wings feast on fruit from Mahonia ‘Charity’ Photo by Hilary Hutler

Testing Xera Plants for Wildlife in North Portland

Welcome to Part 1 of a 2 part blog series on drought tolerant plants for North Portland front yards. As a Portland landscape designer, I understand how important it is to choose drought tolerant plants to help conserve water and beautify your landscape.

Record breaking plant sales for both Xera Plants in Portland and Cistus Designs,  a nursery on Sauvie Island, are just one indicator of the way Portlanders are embracing low water plants. 90% of prospective clients who contact me for Portland Landscape Designs ask for plantings plans that take into account our climate change and are planning for a much lower water usage in their landscape.

Test Landscape for Drought Tolerant Plants in St Johns Portland

Portland associate garden designer.

Hilary Hutler Landscape Designer in North Portland St. Johns Neighborhood

Our  associate garden designer, Hilary Hutler, uses her hot, west facing front yard in St. Johns neighborhood to test and explore the new wave of low water plants. She has a personal interest going back many years and has become well versed with drought tolerant plantings to include Pacific Northwest Native Plants and cold hardy Mediterranean plantings.

Today I’m sharing five of her current favorite low water plants that are drought tolerant, pollinator and bird food and have year-round interest.

 5 of Hilary’s Favorite Drought Tolerant Plants

Oregon Grape in Flower at Cistus Designs Nursery. North Portland

Oregon Grape, Mahonia ‘Charity’

Oregon Grape, Mahonia ‘Charity’- Hummingbird show and food source puts on a dramatic show in early winter.

Mahonia Gracilipes an evergreen shrub sports red stems from spent flowers and berries for birds. North Portland.

Mahonia Gracilipes sports red stems from spent flowers and berries for birds. Photo Hilary Hutler

Mahonia Gracilipes- This evergreen shrub has leathery, glossy dark green foliage and clusters of fragrant, yellow flowers in late winter or early spring.

Flower close up of Arctostaphylos 'John Dourley a compact and smaller shrub than most Manzanita (Arctostaphylos). North Portland

Arctostaphylos ‘John Dourley’ flower close up. Photo by Hilary Hutler

Manzanita ‘John Dourley’- is a great smaller shrub and is favored for it’s more manageable size and overall good looks and yes the flowers.

Griffiths Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) in Spring North Portland.

My photo of Hilary’s Austin Griffiths Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) just prior to flowering.

Griffith Manzanita flowers in St Johns neighborhood of North Portland

Hilary’s Austin Griffith Manzanita flowers in St Johns neighborhood of North Portland and is a fully drought tolerant plant. Photo by Hilary Hutler

Manzanita ‘Austin Griffiths’- for it’s beautiful and sinuous multi stem shape, attractive bark and late winter flowers.

Drought Tolerant Grevillea shrub in North Portland

Drought Tolerant Grevillea shrub flowering in Hilary’s garden in St. Johns neighborhood of North Portland

Grevillea- This small tree/shrub is best known for the hummingbird show it puts on along with bright tropical looking flowers.

These are just a few of the many drought tolerant plants that can help you create an attractive and visually exciting, low-water landscape.

Special Care for Drought Tolerant Plantings in Portland, Oregon

Most drought tolerant plants must be planted in soil that is well draining.  You can still plant them in our native clay soils but not in a low spot.  Some of the drought tolerant evergreens like Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) and Grevillea need special neglect in order to thrive.  Never fertilize these plants even when you are planting them.  Add no composts or mulches to the soil at planting.  Plant them in the native soil whenever possible. To read more about how to care for Arctostaphylos and Grevillea at the Xera Website.

In Part 2 of this blog series, I will share more of our favorite drought tolerant plants and give you tips on how to properly care for them. Stay tuned for more!

Contact us

Do you want to have a landscape that uses less water and embraces plantings that support pollinators and gives your landscape a new up to date style?  We are uber practical but also will release our plant nerd side when that is a benefit to our clients who enjoy plants and want to have an interesting and successful drought tolerant landscape.

Contact us.  We would love to work with your landscape wish list and give you a landscape to enjoy throughout the upcoming years which are probably going to be hotter and dryer than we would all prefer.

 

 

Native Plants In An Ecological Garden

Sustainable Native Garden Design

Front Yard Meadow Garden

Dawson approached us at wanting a garden that is as good for the land as it is for him. He was on the cusp of retirement and had never tended a garden before, so part of our project plan included follow-up visits to teach plants, pests and maintenance. I just enjoyed one such visit at this truly sustainable garden.

An ecological native meadow garden in Portland

Spring in a Pollinator Paradise

An ecological garden is full of pollinators and little critters. It has only been 6 months since the garden was installed by Autumn Leaf Landscaping and even I am astounded by the ecosystem that has already developed in the garden. Today, the California Lilac, Ceanothus ‘Victoria’, and Lewisia cotyledon are delighting the bees. Last month it was Lupine and Western Azalea. Next month it will be Echinacea and Milkweed. In fact, this garden has pollinator plants for every month of the year. I wouldn’t design it any other way.

Native California lilac for a Portland ecological garden.

California Lilac, Ceanothus ‘Victoria’ with busy bees.

Lewisia Cotyledon native garden plant in Portland.

Lewisia cotyledon in the boulder garden.

Maintenance in a Native Plant Garden

Maintenance is different in a garden with wild native plants. The Bigleaf Lupine, Lupinus polyphyllus, is past it’s bloom when we visit in June. Last month the butterflies and hummingbirds enjoyed this robust plant. Now the blue racemes have faded to beige seedpods. A traditional landscaper would have cut the plant back to make a tidy mound. But here in this ecological garden, we want the seeds. Not only do they have a beauty all their own, we actually want to encourage a bit of seeding in this wildlife garden. The more the merrier. The entire planting plan allows for light self-seeding.

Plant diversity in Portland native garden.

When you let native plants go to seed, you actually create plant diversity within your garden. This native iris, Iris douglasiana, is seedling-grown and therefore blooms in a variety of colors.

Seedling grown Portland native iris. Portland iris is seedling grown for this native garden.

Not only that, but seedling-grown plants have great resilience. In a winter-wet, summer-dry garden like we have in Portland, only the seedlings that can handle these specific conditions (sun, soil, water) will survive. Over time the plants in this garden will be better adapted to this site than a plant from a nursery.

Pest Control in a Natural Garden

Many of the questions from a new gardener revolve around pest control. In an ecological garden, we avoid pesticides at all cost. Instead, we employ what is called Integrated Pest Management.  The most important difference between this method and traditional pest control is that the first step is to observe the “pest”.  What is it? Is it causing harm? Take this California Coffeeberry, Fragula californica ‘Eve Case’. Dawson asked how to get rid of the aphids.

Native California Coffeeberry in native ecological Portland garden.

California Coffeeberry, Fragula californica ‘Eve Case’ with minor aphid population.

Natural pest control in Portland native garden.

Same California Coffeeberry, Fragula californica ‘Eve Case’ with Ladybug feasting on aphid population.

Aphids can be a real problem, no doubt. If your situation has gotten out of control, check out this great article. In this garden, as we are standing there observing the number of aphids and noticing that the plant is otherwise healthy, we see a ladybug – the natural aphid enemy. Too good to be true? Not at all, it’s more common than you think in a diverse landscape. The most difficult part about gardening naturally is gaining the knowledge about when to intervene and when to let nature find her own equilibrium. Today, we don’t need to intervene.

There was also some root weevil damage, but we’ve already covered that one on this blog post.

Natural Materials

In a truly eco garden, the materials used should be natural as well. Here we use cedar chips for paths, wood risers for steps, and natural stone.

Cedar chips for Portland native garden design.

Cedar chips are a great path material. When applied 4″ thick, it is very good at suppressing weeds.

Natural river rock in Portland native rain garden.

Rain Garden using some on-site boulders plus natural river rock of various sizes. The native wetland grasses here are Carex obnupta and Juncus patens ‘Elk Blue’.

Wood risers used in Portland native garden design.

Wood risers used for steps in a natural garden. Two evergreen native plants flank the stairs: Sword Fern, Polystichum munitum, and Salal, Gaultheria shallon.

Stepping stones through Flowering meadow eco-turf in this Portland native garden design.

Stepping stones create a distinct path among the wild backyard eco-turf. Portland company PT Lawn Seed sells this Flowering Meadow mix under the name PT710.

Of course, I love creating a garden that is good to the land. But for me, the reason this garden is a home run is because the homeowner is absolutely loving it. The year-round blooms. The hummingbirds and ladybugs.

Are you interested in a sustainable garden that is good for the land and good for the soul? Contact us and get the process started!

Tips to Create Larry’s Native Oregon Forest Landscape

Adding Native Oregon Plants to the Trees

Adding landscape plants to Oregon native forest

Larry’s new back yard needs a landscape design in Portland, Oregon

My friend Larry bought a property with huge Douglas Fir trees and he wants to create landscape for wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.  He wants a back yard forest.  He sent me a photo of his new property’s back yard after I offered to give him a few tips.

Landscape Designer and Certified Arborist Collaboration

So Larry here’s my advice for your first step;  you will get your back yard forest better, faster and easier with a landscape designer who works with arborists.  Because of all those huge 60′ tall fir trees your next step is to have an arborist evaluate the trees, talk with you and give us a report on the health of your trees.

Why work with an arborist before we create your design?  We don’t want to design your back yard forest landscape around a large existing tree that will need to be removed later.  Such a waste.

Existing Trees Need Evaluating

Native Oregon Douglas Fir

Majestic Douglas Fir trees in a Portland landscape

Get an arborist who will consult and evaluate your trees – not just come by for a sales call.  If you have to pay for this service, you will know for sure it is not a sales call.  Some arborists only want to assess whether they can remove or prune any of your trees. It’s true that we want to know if they think any of the trees should be removed or need restorative pruning but we want to know so much more.

Arborist Site Evaluation

Here are a few questions I would ask just from looking at your photo:  I see there is a double gate for vehicles near the trees.  I would wonder if the soil is compacted under your trees because people parked trucks under your trees?

Has excess soil been added over your trees root zone?  Adding soil (or even too much bark chips) over the roots of mature trees could be a problem. Did someone trench near your trees to add a septic or an irrigation system? Do you plan to add a garage or outbuilding near the trees in the future? An arborist can see the problems and advise you on how to mitigate some of the damage done.

General tree care:  get their recommendation on how much to water your Doug firs, and other native trees.  Find out how often and how much water needed, when to start watering each year and when to stop.  Looking on line you will read conflicting information about watering native conifer trees so get your information directly from the arborist.

Stress on Native Trees Due to Climate Change

Tips on watering for native cedar trees in Oregon

Dying cedar trees near Portland, Oregon

Ten years ago we never ever summer watered Douglas fir trees.   Due to climate change we have had multiple years of too dry in the spring and even some odd winters where it did not rain enough for our trees.  This has severely stressed many of our native trees. New recommendations I have heard are to give regular but not too frequent deep watering.  Homeowners need a precise watering plan so they know what to do and when to do it.  We want slowly applied water so it gets down deep into the soil rather than run off into a low spot somewhere.  That’s why I favor the drilled emitter tube or a homeowner soaker/ooze type of hose and why I do not recommend using overhead sprinklers for watering anything except lawn.  Ask the arborist how you should water your trees and write it down.  Here’s a money saving tip:  A written report from a certified arborist costs a lot of money and a verbal report is much more affordable.

Fir Tree Compatible Landscape Design

Hey Larry, did you think I would say hire a designer who knows about landscaping with native plants and knows what kind of plants are compatible with Douglas Fir?   I’m a residential landscape designer with 20 plus years in Portland.   I am accustomed to creating designs that are compatible with big trees and that is why I know so many arborists as well.  We create designs that surprise our clients with our downright clever use of space, the way we add functional areas, and create paths that beautifully integrate the entire property.  We take your ideas and make them useable and  brilliant and the plants we suggest will meet your criteria for forest community and low maintenance.

Best Timing for Planting Natives

Native Oregon flowering witch hazel

Field of flowering witch hazel near Portland, Oregon

Don’t Let Your “Do it Now!!!” Energy Add Pressure

And it’s hard to wait. I know you just moved in last fall Larry and now spring is on its way.  You are wanting to get it going right?  If you are not ready to start now say early February with your design and decisions made….. consider getting everything else ready and wait ’til fall for most or all of your plantings.  You will not lose valuable growing time by planting in the fall. Your new trees planted this late spring or (worse in summer) will be stressed by summer heat (even if we do not have a heat dome June 2021) and they won’t grow much. Success will be keeping the leaves or the needles on the tree. Or you could plant the same tree this fall say in October and next spring the fall planted tree will be bigger even though you planted it 5 months later and be less stressed by summer because it has an established root system that grew over winter. So don’t feel you are losing your opportunity for a faster growing tree if you wait ’til fall.

 

Landscape with native Oregon plants under existing trees

New landscape in St. Johns North Portland highlights existing Vine Maple

Creating Larry’s Shady Forest One Plant Layer at a Time

Here are some of the plants I’d consider (organized by the layer, tallest, 25′, then 15′, then 7′, then 3′ and under).

So Larry since your existing trees are limbed up (no branches for the first 20’) it’s going to be awhile before you have your shady forest. This means your initial plantings need to be plants that can handle quite a bit of sun now but later on will thrive in dappled shade.

I would design your  hardscape and layout plant first so you know where paths and planting areas will be.  Next up is your planting plan starting with 20′ to 25′ tall under story trees. These trees  will make shade for your forest floor plants.  Cascara frangula purshiana-Cascara buckthorn, Malus fusca-Pacific crabapple, and Amelanchier alnifolia-Pacific Serviceberry are also great bird and pollinator plants.  Native vine maple works too but will have scorched leaves for a few years in this kind of sun.  It will  become accustomed to more sun and then later also thrive in the shade of the big trees.  Situate vine maple so it gets some afternoon shade from those “way up in the air” Doug Fir branches.

Native Oaks are the New Cool Climate Change Trees

Landscaper with native oregon White Oak

Carol Lindsay, Landscape Designer, with Native Oregon White Oak in SE Portland

Our beloved Oregon White Oak grows quickly to 15-20 feet and then slows down as it grows to over 100′ tall.  (Which Larry you and I will not be around to see).   I also love to use  a smaller oak tree, our native evergreen Canyon Live Oak (Q. chrysolepis). While it’s native to southern Oregon it does well in Portland and it is much faster than this southern California small oak called ‘La Siberia’.  Quercus greggi ‘La Siberia’ is very very attractive and tough and available locally at Treephoria.com.  Yes I promised not to go into such detail but I am a sucker for oak trees.

The Next Understory Layer Includes Native Rhododendron

The next layer can be shrubs that grow 10′ to 15’ tall. I tend to call these plants “shrees” as they mature into small trees.

Native Plant Rhododendron Macrophyllum-Pacific Coast Rhododendron

Larry, I know you especially like our native rhododendron which is what started this conversation. So our evergreen Pacific Coast Rhododendron can get 10′-15′ in improved soil.  It can take quite a bit of sun but no boggy wet soil.  When it is older it will also tolerate more shade.

Our very fragrant smaller Rhododendron occidentale-Western Azalea, is listed for sun and loses it’s leaves in winter so not evergreen. The sweet fragrance can waft quite a distance in early spring. I’d plant it on the edge of your forest area where it will always get more sun.  Clients often say its their favorite fragrance.

Native Oregon plants Flowering Currant

March: Flowering Currant-Ribes sanguineum

Wildlife Garden Design – Provide for Birds and Pollinators with these Plants

Here are just a few native plants (in the 10′ to 15′ height)  to help you garden for birds:  Ribes sanguineum, Pacific Current, Holodiscus Discolor-Ocean Spray,  and Vaccinium parvifolium-Red Huckleberry.  And you will want  Oemlaria cerasiformis-OsoBerry or Indian plum (which can scorch in full sun so doesn’t look so great in late summer) because it is such an important wildlife plant.  Don’t let its mid summer rough appearance keep it from your landscape.  It’s worth it.  Even this east coast native, Cornus Mas-Cornelian Cherry has very early flowers, low water needs and is so great for pollinators and later in summer has fruit for birds.

Consider one of the many varieties of Arctostaphylos-manzanita or Ceanothus. These plants should be placed where they will get lots of sun and should not be watered in the summer or fall.  They are great for wildlife providing food for birds including over wintering hummingbirds and important insects.

The Next Layer 5′ to 7′ Native Shrubs

Native Oregon Thimble Berry is great for pollinators

Rubus Parvifolia-Thimble Berry, great for Portland bumble bees

Native Oregon evergreen Huckleberry

Vaccineum ovatum-Evergreen Huckleberry at a very special garden on Sauvie Island

Native Vaccinium ovatum-evergreen huckleberry is one of my favorites.  It’s shorter in lots of sun and taller in shade so it’s perfect for you. Next on my list would be various native Rubus plants. Rubus spectabilis-Salmon Berry is taller and the flowers are a shocking hot pink in early spring and is beloved by our native bees. Rubus parviflorus – Thimble berry is early season bumble bee food and makes a great 3′ to 4′ high hedge if you want one somewhere.  Both of these plants have short thorns. They take a lot of sun so plant on the edges.  My mom grew up on the Oregon Coast and she loves Thimble Berry to eat fresh.  It’s a little surprise tart-ish flavored berry.

Our native salal at 3’ to 5’ can be hard to get established. But don’t get discouraged.  Several of your plants may croak for no reason you can discern but the ones that survive will spread. They will be shorter in the sun and taller in shade, sometimes 5′ tall in shade.  I have a client who makes a gimlet and always adds Salal berry.

Ground Layer Native Plants 1′ to 3’ Tall

Native Oregon sword fern

Portland native plants: Sword fern with a skirt of dicentra exima-Native Bleeding Heart

Sword fern is a low maintenance native plant for sun or shade and fills planting beds fast

You could plant a bazillion sword ferns and some Gaultheria Shallon-Salal under fir trees and call it done. Polystichum munitum-Sword Fern is good to go in sun or even fairly deep shade. It’s the primary fern in the Willamette Valley so it’s the one I grew up with.  Unlike other native plants (who can be fussy about soil), Sword Fern will grow in horrid clay sub soil as well as the good stuff! They handle fir needle debris as well as leaf load in the fall so you don’t have to spend your time removing every leaf to keep the ferns thriving.  Don’t you want a garden where you can leave the rake in the garage?  Plants that work well with sword fern are numerous but here’s an idea you may not have thought of; let’s use easy to germinate native plant seeds.

Seeds are Perfect for Filling in a New Planting Area Quickly

Native Oregon ground cover Phacelia Nemoralis

Native bees rely on this ground cover Phacelia Nemoralis

I love using these native self seeding annuals and perennials to fill in my ground level while waiting for the larger plants to grow. I sow these native plants by seed in fall, in late winter, and in the spring to get them going strong. These are my favs:  Oregon native phacelia nemorosa  for both sun and shade. The California native phacelia  flower is more attractive but is for the sunniest areas along with an Oregon native called Gillia capitata.   After your shade deepens you will have fewer of these last two.  These self seeding native plants provide abundantly for pollinators and they will do a lovely short and long term job of covering your ground. After your larger trees and shrubs get planted these self sowers will fill the spaces left available.

Another plant is Tellima grandiflora-Fringe Cup (which you will recognize Larry from living in Oregon most of your life) and it takes a lot of sun but will settle into shade nicely. It is a perennial and you can buy it as a plant or go for seeds too.

Spread Multi Species Wood Chips To Put Life Into Your Soil

Larry, here’s a cool thing you can do now. Get a load of diverse species wood chips from a tree service. Ask for a mix of different kinds of trees. You want diversity. Spread them at no more than 2” above your existing grade in future planting areas or everywhere for now if your yard is a blank slate.  As the chips break down they will start putting life back into your soil that the trees need. By life I am talking about fungi and making a place for diverse micro organisms. These good bacteria are an important investment in the health of your plants.  Tip:   Only  add  2” of any kind of chip over tree root areas. It has to do with oxygen ratios in the soil and your trees tiny root hairs. Not enough oxygen and the little tiny roots which process most of the water for the tree die off…not good.  When in doubt-check with your arborist about how deep to apply chips around trees.  Many gardeners replenish these chips every few years around their native plants.

The only thing I don’t like about these arborist multi species wood chips is that they are often so chunky that they are hard for some dogs to run on (ankles and knees).  I wouldn’t want these chips to be the only place where dogs can play and run around.

Dog Friendly Landscape puppy on cedar chips Portland, Oregon

Luna naps on playground cedar chip path.

For a dog friendly surface I prefer playground cedar chips (Northwest Play Fiber or similar) for attractive woodsy looking paths that last and are easy to walk on.

Wildlife Garden Design or Landscaping with Native Plants – Contact us

So Larry, thanks for inspiring me…. I wanted to give you some tips for how to achieve your back yard forest and for anyone interested in landscaping for wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.  I’m an Oregon native and love our natural flora and fauna.  Let’s evaluate the potential of your property and create a design that fits for you and supports wildlife.

Contact us: Carol Lindsay with our contact form or call us at 503-223-2426.