A Pacific Northwest native, Vine Maple heralds the arrival of autumn as its colors light up the forest. Best grown in clump form, it lends a pleasing accent to larger trees in a border planting and requires almost no care.
Our native yarrow is one of our most common prairie plants and can be found in both wet and dry prairies. It is quick to establish on restoration sites so is great to use for enhancement or on disturbed areas. This member of the carrot family attracts many different pollinators and beneficial insects making it an important habitat plant. It can have white to pink flowers, 1-2 ft.
Thriving on sunny, dry, low fertility soils, Needlegrass is valued for its soil stabilization and revegetating strengths. Named for its spike-like seeds. It could star in naturalized areas with little foot traffic or in a corner as a native ornamental grass. It is found on very dry, rocky sites in the west.
Large-flowered agoseris is found on thin-soiled upland prairies and rocky balds. It has a large rosette of cut-leaves and dandelion-type flowers that close by mid-morning. The flowers become a big white ball of fluff when in seed. As with our lawn dandelion, it will re-flower after it is cut. 1-2 ft.
It has bright rose to purple urn like flowers. Taper-tip onion grows on rocky outcrops and dry prairies with annuals such as blue-eyed Mary and rusty popcorn flower. Key nectar species for Fenders Blue Butterfly.
Native up and down the West Coast, with pale pink to white flowers this little onion is a cinch to grow. Native pollinators love the showy long lived flowers. Freely reseeding, large bunches of these flowers are colorful over 6 weeks. 8 in. tall. Key nectar species for Fenders Blue Butterfly.
Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia (Common Fiddleneck)
Common fiddleneck is found in both wet and dry prairies and has bristly hairs on the foliage. The large, elongating flower stems are bright orange and curl at the ends (like the head of a fiddle). The seed is a favorite food on our native goldfinches. It does best in disturbed habitats and areas of low competition.
Our columbine blooms from spring to early summer with intricate red and yellow flowers. Cut back for second bloom or leave chambered seed cups to attract seed-eating birds. A versatile landscape and garden plant - very attractive to pollinators. Sun to light shade.
Douglas's sagewort is a three-four foot perennial that forms a 3-4 foot wide patch and has the fragrance of sage. It is found on woodland edges, stream banks, ditch banks, road cuts or other disturbed areas. It also tolerates sand and seasonal flooding. The flowers are wind pollinated
Asarum caudatum f. album (White-flowered Western Ginger)
Forming dense evergreen mats, this super ground cover shines all year round in shade. Adaptable to some drought, it looks even better if given a little summer irrigation. Short, to only 4 in., tall.
Narrow-leaf milkweed attracts butterflies and bees and is smaller in stature than showy milkweed. It tolerates very dry conditions and is, typically, found in thin rocky soil areas in the Willamette Valley. It is a host plant for Monarch butterflies.
The Monarch butterfly host plant with great retail appeal, so it's easy to sell. It is unusual and showy with 3-in., globes of pink-tinged, star-shaped flowers. This increasingly rare plant is the only genus on which Monarch butterflies will deposit eggs. The nectar-filled flowers, opening late summer, exude a pleasing sweet fragrance and produce magnificent seed pods. 2-3 ft. tall.
Gorgeous sunflower! Multiple flowering stems provide spring blossoms. Found in upland prairies and rocky bald with our native Oregon White Oak. 2-3 ft tall. The seeds are a favorite of goldfinches returning from migration.
This native rocket is a biannual or perennial found in wetter meadow habitats and ditches in the Willamette Valley. It has small yellow flowers and clasping pinnately divided leaves.
Late-flowering lily with violet-purple, vase-shaped flowers in a loose umbel. Harvest brodiaea is found in wet prairies and vernal pools often with other members of the lily family such as camas, slim-leaved onion, and hyacinth brodiaea. 6-10" tall.
Sitka brome is a shade-tolerant native brome often found in the Willamette Valley in woodlands with Blue-Wildrye. It has long flowering stems and nodding flower stalks.
It has been very rewarding developing some of the lesser Willamette Valley forbs into commercial crops, like the Cat’s ear. In late spring and early summer foliage is followed by extremely fuzzy, white or pale pink flowers. Ample winter rainfall with sparse summer irrigation is best. Low growing to 4 in. Little blossoming size bulbs. Key nectar species for Fenders Blue Butterfly and Taylor's Checkerspot.
Camassia leichtlinii var. suksdorfii (Leichtlin's or Great Camas)
A robust spring-blooming perennial with bright blue flowers, our native camas once clothed Oregon valleys in waves of striking color. Settlement and agriculture over the past 150 years have pushed it to marginal small pockets in wetlands, roadsides, and areas unsuited to cropping. Two ft. tall in blossom. Occasional nectar species for Fenders Blue Butterfly.
With intensely blue, starry flowers in dense spikes in a carefree package the camas is a useful addition to gardens. It will gently reseed itself given light shade to full sun and some spring moisture. Dormancy starts in June so it is a great candidate for mixing with other perennials. 18 in. tall. Occasional nectar species for Fenders Blue Butterfly.
Chamisso sedge is natives to western North America and is found in many types of habitats. It can tolerate drier conditions than most of our native sedges. It grows in wet prairies but also on forest edges.
This sedge is commonly found in wet prairies and ditches. It is 12-30" tall, has yellowish-green foliage, is densely bunched, and has compact flower heads. It adds great texture to a garden when planted along a drainage.
This very showy annual blooms in late-summer and persists on restoration sites along side perennials. It has relatively large pink or magenta flowers with dark pink patterning, 3-4 ft tall.
Pretty annual with more delicate flowers than C. amoena with clawed petals. Found most often in dry, rocky habitat. A great addition to a rock garden. 2-3 ft tall.
Delicate blue "snapdragon" shaped flowers, 0.5-2 ft tall. A winner in the restoration world, persisting on sites as the perennials fill in. Found in dry rocky sites and upland prairies.
Among the largest of dogwoods, its best landscape merits are expressed in the Pacific Northwest. Excellent fall color, may repeat bloom. In mild winter areas, it is used as rootstock for exceptionally vigorous C. kousa hybrids.
Tolerates wet or dry conditions. Occasional pruning promotes best winter stem color. Exceptionally tough shrubs grown for their bright winter stems. Choose either color.
Our native Willamette Valley shooting star adorns our wetland prairies in the spring with a splash of hot pink. Combined with common camas, the landscape in April resembles an impressionist painting. There are multiple flowers on top of 15 inch stems. The brown seed pods also add early summer interest when used in landscape plantings.
This small, decumbent native annual is found in the vernal wet areas. It has bright blue flowers and blooms early-summer most often with other annuals such as popcorn flower and monkey flower.
This tall (up to 5 feet in flower) perennial grass is native to many western states and does well in a variety of habitats. The flowers are in spikes with long awns and turn golden brown in our mid-summer prairies looking impressive as they wave in the breeze. This is not a dominant grass of our Willamette Valley prairies but an important component to add diversity to a site
This native annual is found in wet prairies and ditches. It has tall spikes of magenta flowers that provide late summer color.. The small seeds are attractive to goldfinches during their breeding season. 2-4 ft tall
Eriophyllum lanatum var. leucophyllum (Oregon Sunshine)
Provides a very long-lived showing of golden daisies to the mid-spring and summer landscape. The wooly leaves form a dense, nearly evergreen mat 1-2' tall. It is excellent as a border perennial or a groundcover and is one of the matrix species in the Willamette Valley prairies. Nectar species for Fenders Blue Butterfly and Field Cresent.
The pale ivory flowers with elegantly recurved tips occur on tall stems. Showy mottled leaves. Plant deeply and grow in sun or shade. They will go dormant early in the season, so it is a great plant to mix into groundcover plantings.
Because this is the dominant native bunchgrass in the upland prairies west of the Cascades from southern British Columbia to central California it is an easy choice for mass plantings. With its fine thread-like leaves of steely blue-gray that form tussocks 10 in. height, it is very beautiful too, even planted individually in the landscape. No concern over ecological invasiveness. Drought and deer resistant.
A Pacific Northwest forest shrub, Salal's landscape potential is often overlooked. Shiny, long-lasting leaves, showy flowers and edible fruit. Low-maintenance landscape border. Prune low every 3-5 years.
The flowers seem to float above the greenery in the Willamette Valley, where it grows among taller grass. Our iridescent solitary bees are very common sight on the large purple-violet flowers that are presented over a long period; June through early July. 16" tall, 20" wide. Key nectar species for Fenders Blue Butterfly.