Archive for pollinator plants

Portland Pollinator Friendly Garden Plants for the Ardenwald Neighborhood Front Yard part 2

A Mid Century Inspired Ardenwald Neighborhood Garden Includes Pollinator Friendly Plants

Pollinator friendly garden plants for Portland Mid Century design.

Pollinator Friendly Front Entry Design for Mid Century Modern in Ardenwald Neighborhood.

In the second part of our blog series about the Front Yard Makeover in the Ardenwald neighborhood of Portland, we’ll delve deeper into the selection and installation of the plants that brought the design to life.

Finding the Plants for the Landscape Design

When it came to sourcing plants, Val and Holli decided to take on the challenge themselves. While many of our clients opt to use our plant broker for convenience, they enjoyed the process of roaming local nurseries and even ordering plants online. For the most part they stayed true to their design only straying when a plant could not be found such as Crocosmia ‘Little Redhead’.

Designer Selected Plants

Portland pollinator friendly garden design desired with a Mid Century makeover.

Clients Val and Holli with their design prepare to start their installation of the new exciting front yard landscape design

One standout plant choice is Calluna vulgaris ‘Firefly’, a summer-flowering heather. Its orange ‘evergreen’  needled foliage becomes even more vibrant in cold weather, and its mounding shape adds texture and interest to the overall design. It pairs beautifully with the billowing ornamental grasses and pollinator friendly lavender chosen for the space.

Grasses & pollinator friendly garden plants were picked for this Portland client.

Fountain grass, Lavander, Summer Heather and Grama Grass add color and movement to the new welcoming front yard landscape design

Bird and Bee Friendly Plants

For bird-friendly native plants, Alana selected Myrica californica, also known as Pacific Wax Myrtle.  This evergreen shrub or small tree provides berries that attract birds and adds vertical interest to the landscape.  It is also a host plant to our native hairstreak butterfly and  provides food for other pollinators including many native bees.

Another native shrub, Gaultheria shallon or Salal, thrives in both sunny and shady areas and contributes to the lush greenery of the front yard. Native bees and insects feed from the flowers and birds eat the berries.  Or how’s about a  cocktail made with Salal Berry Liquor?

Fragaria chiloensis, a native strawberry plant, covers the ground with shiny evergreen leaves and provides an excellent food source for birds and is also a host plant for some pollinators.

Grasses Add Contrast

Grasses play a crucial role in adding movement and texture to any landscape. Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Little Bunny’ Fountain Grass and Bouteloua gracilis Grama Grass ‘Blonde Ambition‘ were selected for their ornamental value and ability to withstand hot summer weather conditions. Carex testacea, a beautiful copper-colored sedge, adds visual interest year round and provides contrast among the other plants.  By the way…these grasses don’t act as a host plant for natives.  There are grasses that are important as host plants and even as food but didn’t work for this design.

 

Portland front yard includes rain garden and pollinator friendly garden plants in this landscape design.

With the hardscape installed, (fence and modern concrete entry walk way) and the rain garden installed, it’s time for more plants.

Rain Garden Plants

A significant aspect of the design was the inclusion of a rain garden. Rain garden plants need to be able to tolerate wet conditions in the winter and many kinds of  plants will die in these conditions from root rot.  Experience counts when selecting rain garden plants.  Cornus sericea ‘Kelseyi’, a dwarf dogwood shrub, not only withstands wet winter areas but also displays white flowers and red twigs during winter.

Carex obnupta, a useful sedge, (grass like plant) is specifically suited to rain gardens and low-lying areas. While it spreads by roots, controlling it is easier than maintaining a traditional lawn so says our clients.  They don’t miss their lawn.  Tip:  t’s best to limit watering on this plant to slow down the spread. By the 2nd or 3rd year this plant should receive no water at all in summer.

Flowering Plants for Pollinators

Flowering plants were selected for pollinator food and most will only need water once a week to ten days when the roots are fully established. We specified a dwarf Crocosmia ‘Little Redhead’ but Val and Holli could not find it anywhere.  So they went with one of the common larger varieties.  An aside…we designers love the dwarf  Crocosmia (also called Montbretia) varieties because unlike the taller types, they spread slowly and continue to flower year after year even on the older stems.  See my blog called Crocosmia-Don’t Settle for Lucifer if you love Crocosmia and want to learn more.  Pollinators such as hummingbirds especially seem to enjoy the nectar from these flowers regardless of which variety you plant.

Lavender variety Hidecoat Blue was selected for this Portland garden because it is pollinator friendly.

Lavender pairs beautifully with Calluna vulgaris ‘Firefly’ and both provide food to bumble bees and a myriad of other pollinators.

The Penstemon pinifolius ‘Melon’ selected has such an incredible texture, with long flowering tube like petals, and tiny leaves.  The overall shape of the plant plays nicely with the grasses.  Again big with hummingbirds or smaller bees that can fit into the narrow flower tube for nectar.

Plant Varieties Matter-Get the Right Lavender for Your Pollinator Garden

Pay attention to the variety of plant your designer has selected.  The lavender variety ‘Hidecoat Blue’, a favorite of Alanas, can be 36″ wide unlike the variety ‘Hidcoat’ which is only 12″ to 18″ tall.  Most varieties of lavender plants will add fragrance and beauty and also food for bumble bees.  Obviously planting a lavender that will get 36″ wide only 10 inches off the front walk will be problematic in just a few years.

Plants were also selected to grow in the openings of the driveway.

Pollinator friendly plants were even chosen for the driveway of this Portland home. Including Prostrate thyme.

Prostrate thyme, Thymus praecox ‘Elfin Pink’, Delosperma (Ice Plant) and sedums thrive in the gravel and soil mix of the driveway strip. These plants, especially the thyme, feed many kinds of pollinators including bumble bees.

The Hardscape Installation

The entire installation process was taken on by Val and Holli who oversaw the concrete and fence work.  They installed their own watering system as well.

They sourced all the plants themselves, which proved challenging at times due to the scarcity of plants during the initial years of covid. However, their perseverance paid off, even though they ended up with slightly different versions of the ‘Little Bunny’ Fountain Grass’. They say the variations in size are not too distracting.

Arctostaphylos, shown here in a North Portland front garden during a snowy February day has flowers that provide food for overwintering hummingbirds and the early bumblebee queens.

Manzanita (probably Louis Edmunds) flowering in February is an important pollinator and  food source for overwintering hummingbirds in Portland.

Client Comments

“We sourced all the plants and did all of the planting ourselves, which proved a bit challenging (and tiring), also some plants were pretty difficult to find.”

One of the jewels of the design was a particular variety of Manzanita.  Val and Holli looked everywhere locally but could not find it.  They wanted to have the exact variety Alana had selected for them so it would be the right size and shape to fit into the design.

Val says it’s a crazy story…”so after being cooped up for so many months due to the pandemic, (2019), we made a road trip to the Monterey area in California.  Purely by serendipity we found a nursery that grew the correct variety, Louis Edmunds’ manzanita.  That plant is thriving and is a beauty!”

Val and Holli are overjoyed with their new front yard.

Client Testimonial

It was a terrific experience and the results are way beyond anything we could have ever designed ourselves.

Val and Holli

Ardenwald Neighborhood of Portland Oregon

Contact us

Do you want to have every aspect of your design installation handled by our trusted professionals, or take it all on yourselves? Either way, Landscape Design in a Day provides a design process that you can participate in and we do our best to make it easy and fun.  The results and our clients speak to our success in doing just that.  Contact Us.

Pollinator Friendly Garden Makeover in NE Portland

NE Portland Yard Gets a Pollinator Friendly Makeover

pollinator friendly garden makeover in Portland

I’m Hilary Hutler and I am thrilled to be joining Carol and Landscape Design in a Day! Carol asked me to introduce myself and share one of my pollinator friendly landscape designs here on our blog.

About me:  While this is my fifth year working full-time as a landscape designer, I’ve been interested in horticulture and plants for many years. My first job was working with edible gardening on an organic produce farm, next I trained as a Portland Master Gardener which gave me a solid foundation for understanding all things plant-related in the Pacific Northwest. I continued taking landscape design courses while working at Pomarius Nursery, one of Portland’s most unique retail plant nurseries.

Pollinator friendly Rock Rose used in Portland garden makeover

Helianthemum nummularium ‘Ben Hope’ (Rock Rose Ground Cover) in NE Portland Pollinator Garden Design for front yard. May photo.

They specialize in growing and selling a much wider range of plants than a garden center.  Working at a plant nursery is an incredible way to broaden your plant palette so within just a few years I learned the existence of more ornamental plants (and how to use them) than I could have ever dreamed of.  I worked as a landscape designer on the Oregon Coast for several years and while I loved it and learned so much I live in NE Portland – that’s a long commute.

 

NE Portland yard in need of a residential landscape makeover

Before Photo – North Portland landscape needs a landscape design to give the new homeowner  pollinator friendly plantings, lots of color and friendly curb appeal. Photo by Hilary Hutler

How I met Carol founder of Landscape Design in a Day, a Portland Oregon company.

While Carol and I had met a handful of times over the years, we decided to consider working together in 2022. Carol was a fabulous business mentor to my friend and fellow designer Alana Chau, and had a unique approach to landscape design services, so when she invited me to meet up for coffee to discuss working together I said yes.   I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn from her.  We collaborated on a few designs in the fall of 2022, and I gladly accepted her offer to join Landscape Design in a Day.

 

Hilary’s Favorite Front Yard Landscape Design in N.E Portland

One of my most cherished projects is a landscape design opportunity I fell into by luck. I was walking my regular neighborhood route in the University Park neighborhood when I stopped to chat with a woman who was placing boulders out in her driveway to give away.

Pollinator friendly Hens and Chicks used with some existing boulders in garden makeover.

The boulders are planted with lots of Hens and Chicks filling in nicely between boulders with a mound of dark burgundy leafed Sedum above. (Sempervivums and Sedum hylotelphium ‘Matrona’.)

Her front yard was devoid of beauty – it was over planted with  numerous (as in over ten) Japanese Maples placed too close together and no understory plantings to speak of. The previous owner had attempted to build a large pond, but the project had fallen into disrepair and there were way too many boulders. She wanted to change the existing landscape from bleak to wonderful.  On a whim, I gave her my telephone number.

Well, our meeting up that day turned out to be one of those wonderful gifts from serendipity, because not only did I create a total landscape redesign of her front yard, we’re also now good friends.  She loved making the focus of the planting plan about feeding pollinators and colorful plants.  I loved being part of such an amazing new front yard.

Pollinator bee friendly garden plantings used in Portland yard makeover.

These pollinator friendly plantings are also low water. Purple Salvia, Cistus – Rock Rose and in the back the very dark purple is a spanish lavander named ‘Otto Quast’.  Spanish lavander blooms earlier than most lavander and that helps feed bees and bumblebees. May photo.

Front Yard Pollinator Paradise Landscape Design

I love this no lawn front garden design for colorful plants, fragrance, interesting textures and a perfect pollinator paradise.  Here are just a few of the plants I used in our very collaborative design process.

(These are all super duper pollinator friendly)

Pollinator friendly plantings of English lavender and Elfin Pink Thyme used in garden makeover.

English lavander in bud underplanted with “Elfin Pink’ thyme is a study in textures in May but by mid June their flowers will come on strong and feed many kinds of bees.

Hellianthemum n. ‘Ben Hope’ – Sunrose

Sedum h. ‘Autumn Joy’ and also ‘Matrona’

Lavandula s. ‘Otto Quast’

Salvia n. ‘May Night’

Cistus Purpurea –  Rock Rose

Helictotrichon sempervirens – Blue Oat Grass

Senecio greyi (Brachyglottis) – Evergreen Daisy Bush

Sempervivum – Hen and Chicks

 

Contact Us for a Collaborative Design Experience

We prefer collaborating with our clients at their kitchen table to get a perfect fit landscape design.  Are you looking for a designer who wants to help you find your style?  Would you like to support bees and other pollinators?  We love city landscapes and bringing the color and vibrancy of nature to our clients.  Contact us today! 

 

 

 

 

Northeast Portland Test Garden for Drought Tolerant & Pollinator Friendly Plants

Tips for Tricky Native Plants in NE Portland Garden Design

Northeast Portland Landscape Designer Hilary Hutler with pollinator friendly Fox Tail Lilly Flowers Bouquet.

Hilary Hutler North Portland Landscape Designer with Fox Tail Lilly  (Eremurus) an excellent pollinator plant

Welcome to part 2 of my blog series on drought tolerant pollinator friendly plants for North Portland home landscapes.

My disclaimer: This is my experimental and play garden so while some of the plants listed here are easy to grow and meant for a typical homeowner , others are a bit tricky or cause skin irritation, are a bit toxic or are especially thorny.  They are very interesting and plant-nerd cool plants that are also pollinator friendly and drought tolerant. I love foliage but obviously flowers feed bees and who doesn’t love flowers?

Mixing PNW Natives with Mediterranean Plants

Northeast Portland drought tolerant Canary Clover

Dorycnium hirsutum or Canary Clover is drought tolerant in St Johns Front Yard Portland Oregon

First up is Dorycnium hirsutum*. This plant loves it dry and handles the heat beautifully. It has such a soft sea foam green foliage that the wonderful flowers and colorful small fruit capsules (captivating on their own merits) are just the dessert to my mind. Be aware that this plant can seed around a bit. If you are not the person who can pull out a plant that has seeded in the wrong place…walk on by. The web still says it’s evergreen but here in Portland it often dies back and +comes back strong once the heat of summer hits. Common name is Hairy Clover Canary or Canary Clover, but it does not look anything like typical clover…hmmm. It lasts for perhaps as long as ten years but will cast a few seeds so you have a new plant to take its place.

Drought tolerant pairing of Lewisia & Artemesia Northeast Portland plants.

Lewisia thrives in north portland front yard also called Cliff Maid or Siskiyou Lewisia. Background silver plant is Artemesia ‘Valerie Finnis’.

I’m surprised with how big and healthy my Lewisia (our southern Oregon native plant Lewisia cotyledon.) I didn’t expect it to do well because it is planted in compacted heavy soil, (it prefers loose open dry soils) but it has really taken off.  It’s twice the size I typically see in Portland gardens.  As you can see by the picture,  I’ve planted it in front of the Artemisia ‘Valerie Finnis’.

Some Aggressive Plants Can Be Tamed by Planting in My Worst Soil Area

‘Valerie Finnis’ Artemisia is a beautiful mounding silver green shrub. It can be an aggressive plant so use it’s tendencies to your favor by planting it in a heavier clay soil area, as it can take over in loose open soil.  In my garden it is planted in my worst soil and totally handles the heat and dry conditions once established. You can let the flowers come on for a few weeks and then cut the whole plant back. The flowers are a pale yellow, that will feed pollinators and are not unattractive. I prefer to cut my plant back in May to prevent flowers because I love the silvery green leaves but also to keep the plant full.  If you don’t cut it back it gets leggy.   Note this plant dies back to bare stems in the winter.

Pruning tip for Artemisia:  I employ The Chelsea Chop, a pruning technique which is usually done in May and involves removing 2/3rds of a summer or fall flowering perennial.  This term was coined by Tracy DiSabiato in her excellent book “The Well Tended Perennial Garden” I happen to have sitting right next to my computer.  It’s an older book so you can get a good deal on this book at our Powells Books in Portland.

Drought tolerant & pollinator friendly plants for northeast Portland.

Drought tolerant planting combination is a thriller, colorful and great for pollinators too.

Create a Drought Tolerant Planting Combination for Year Round Interest

I’ve also had success with a combination planting of Echium*, Phormium, a small blue leafed Agave and Sedum rupestre ‘Angeliana’. This plant quartet has something going on all year round. The Phormium gives us year round structure, while the Agave gives both foliage color, contrast and texture. The mass of low semi-evergreen Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ adds a soft textured low foliage element and the Echium is the total drama queen with a 30” flower spike. Although Echium is somewhat toxic to people, the bees love it! And be aware the Sedum ‘Angelina’ is no angel and will spread, so best to use it in heavy soils and rarely water it to keep it polite.  Summer flowering Echium  must be pruned down at the end of the season to keep it from seeding about too much.  It can cause skin irritation so wear heavy gloves when handling this plant.  Echium will seed so I typically cut the spent flower stalk and put it in the garbage rather than my compost.

More Summer Flowers for Bees in North Portland

California Fuchsia, drought tolerant plant for Northeast Portland gardens.

Flowering for four months straight in hot full sun with no irrigation is my idea of a drought tolerant plant for my north Portland garden.

Epilobium ‘Catalina’ – California Fuchsia loves the hot dry Mediterranean summers we have and flowers from August through November. I see the hummingbirds flock to this plant for months.  Once it was well established it has never been watered since. This plant gets trimmed back a few times a year to keep it looking great but it’s worth it.

It also looks great adjacent to this public sidewalk in northeast Portland planted in this boulder wall.

Pollinator, bee friendly northeast Portland Eryngium.

Eryngium ‘Big Blue’ pulls our native bumble bees in by the droves. Like the Sedum ‘Matrona’ the flower itself is made  of many tiny flowers so lots of food for pollinators in a single flower.

Here’s a perfect plant that is both pollinator friendly and drought tolerant.  Eryngium ‘Big Blue’ –  Sea Holly in addition to attracting and feeding lots of pollinators, it adds dramatic beauty through the summer landscape and well into fall. The seed heads dry and remain a part of the garden view long after the silvery blue flowers have faded. Unlike many plants that claim to have blue flowers only to disappoint, this flower is absolutely blue.  And don’t forget our native bumble bees-they adore feeding from my Eryngium Sea Holly.

Purple Flowers Pollinator Plant Combination

Monardia Bradburiana – Eastern Beebalm is best in heavy soil and some shade to slow it down.  It is an excellent pollinator food plant and is native to the Midwest.  It is planted with a poppy called ‘Lauren’s Grape’ and the deep purple of this poppy is simply amazing.

Honey bees are busy feeding and collecting pollen from this dark purple poppy flower.

Papaver somniferum ‘Lauren’s Grape’ is fully drought tolerant in Hilary Hutler garden north Portland

You can grow it from seed and here is a source, Renees Garden   For great contrast with the poppy flower and foliage, I used Sedum ‘Matrona’ for its large succulent leaf.  The big flat umbel flower head is made up of a host of tiny flowers and has hundreds of nectar sites for pollinators.  It’s mauve purple foliage is a dazzler with this planting combo.

Pollinator & bee friendly northeast Portland garden plants; Eastern Bee Balm, Dark Grape Poppy and Sedum Matrona.

Eastern Bee Balm on the left, amazing poppy (Lauren’s Dark Grape) in the very back and Sedum ‘Matrona’ on the right.

My landscape in north Portland is a perfect place to experiment with plants for a drought tolerant and pollinator friendly garden in the Pacific Northwest.  With a thoughtful selection of plants, I’ve created beautiful and relatively low maintenance plantings that provide for pollinators, and is very drought tolerant.

Contact us to work with experienced landscape designers who love to use plants that conserve water, feed bees without sacrificing beauty and color in our home landscape.  We can make a difference in global warming by conserving water and protecting bees by the plantings we use in our Portland residential landscapes.

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.

 

 

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.