Ribes aureum
Golden currant (Ribes aureum) is a small to medium-sized deciduous shrub named for its golden flowers and golden red fall foliage. It is common in Oregon and Washington east of the Cascades and into the Great Basin.
Golden currant grows in full sun and partial shade, in dry to moist conditions, and is drought tolerant. The leaves are deciduous, lobed, and vaguely maple-like, ½ – 1½ inches. Charming clusters of yellow flowers bloom from mid- to late-spring. Golden currant grows to approximately 6 feet tall by 6 feet wide.
It attracts hummingbirds and butterflies such as the spring azure and mourning cloak, and the fruit is eaten by birds and other wildlife. Combine this in a sunny spot with its cousin, red-flowering currant, and drought-tolerant groundcovers like alliums and camas, for a beautiful native display!
- Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
- Water Requirements: Dry, Moist
- Ease of Growing:
- Growth Rate: Moderate
- Spreads: No
- Wildlife Support: Hummingbirds, Birds or Mammals
- Fire-resistant: No
- Edible: Yes
- Mature Height: 6ft
- Mature Width:6ft
Goat’s Beard
Aruncus dioicus
Goat’s Beard has decorative finely-cut foliage and will create a bold, showy effect for a moist or partly-shaded spot all season. Dense, feathery plumes of tight white flowers rise well above the foliage spring to summer.
Goat’s Beard is an excellent background plant or grouped in a woodland setting. It dies back to the ground in winter, only to return gloriously in the spring. Goat’s Beard spreads slowly by rhizomes to form attractive patches, and can be planted in more sunny areas provided there is good moisture. It’s a “host” plant to the Dusky Azure Butterfly.
- Light Requirements: Part Shade, Full Shade
- Water Requirements: Moist, Perennially Wet
- Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
- Growth Rate: Fast
- Spreads: Yes
- Wildlife Support: Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals, Pollinators
- Fire-resistant: No
- Edible: No
- Mature Height: 5-15ft
- Mature Width:3-5ft
Western Redcedar
Thuja plicata
Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) is a large evergreen conifer treasured not only for its beauty, but also its wildlife value and cultural significance going back to time immemorial.
Mature Western redcedars can get 115 – 230 feet tall. The flat, elegant sprays of foliage makes the tree look like it is draped with lace, especially when dusted with frost or snow. The cones are slender with overlapping scales. This tree is actually part of the cypress family, and not a true cedar (just like Douglas-fir is not a true fir).
Western redcedars make excellent wildlife habitat, providing food and shelter for many species. Rosners hairstreak butterflies are only found in association with this tree, as they depend on it for reproduction and food for their young. Large and small mammals feed on the leaves and inner bark for most of the year; squirrels and other rodents use its shredded bark for winter nests; and many birds and small mammals find shelter and nest sites in red cedar cavities.
Western redcedar is a iconic tree of the Pacific Northwest. If you have a shady, moist spot large enough for it to thrive, this is a beautiful and valuable addition to any forested landscape.
- Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade
- Water Requirements: Moist, Seasonally Wet
- Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
- Growth Rate: Moderate
- Spreads: No
- Wildlife Support: Birds or Mammals
- Fire-resistant: No
- Edible: No
- Mature Height: 100-200ft
- Mature Width:30ft
Oregon White Oak
Quercus garryana
The iconic Quercus garryana, also known as Garry oak and Oregon white oak, is a drought tolerant tree that can also tolerate prolonged seasonal flooding. It can often grow on sites that are too dry for other tree species. These slow-growing trees are smaller at maturity than many Pacific Northwest trees, growing eventually to a maximum size of 65-80 ft tall and wide. They have deep tap roots and widely spreading roots, making them resistant to wind-throw. Mature trees growing in open areas develop broad oval crowns, making them excellent shade trees.
The leaves are deciduous, 3-6″ long and 2-5″ broad, with 7-9 deep lobes on each side. The flowers are catkins, and the fruits are small acorns about 1″ long with shallow, scaly cups.
Over 200 species of wildlife benefit from Oregon white oaks, including pollinators such as Fender’s blue, Taylor’s checkerspot, Mardon skipper, Islad marble, and the Oregon silverspot. The Oregon white oak is also the only known food for the caterpillars of Propertius duskywing butterflies and a leaf-mining moth. Deer, bear, raccoons, squirrels, and many small mammals eat the acorns, as do wild turkeys, band-tailed pigeons, woodpeckers, jays, and others.
Oregon white oaks also have significant cultural value for many Native tribes. For all these reasons, Oregon white oaks and their associated prairie habitats are the focus of many regional conservation efforts.
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- Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) has thick, fire-resistant bark. Younger trees are more vulnerable.
- Light Requirements: Full Sun
- Water Requirements: Dry, Moist
- Ease of Growing: Moderate
- Growth Rate: Slow
- Spreads: No
- Wildlife Support: Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
- Fire-resistant: Yes
- Edible: No
- Mature Height: 25-70ft
- Mature Width:30-60ft
Blue Elderberry
Sambucus cerulea
Blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) is a large, fast-growing deciduous shrub or small tree featuring showy clusters of creamy-white flowers that mature into large clusters of blue-black berries.
This shrub is a great addition to your wildlife garden. Many birds eat the berries, and butterflies visit the flowers for nectar. The plant provides food for the young of spring azure butterflies and various moths. Native solitary bees shelter and lay their eggs in the hollow twigs. Dead elder wood is also the preferred habitat of the mushroom Auricularia auricula-judae, also known as Judas’ ear fungus or wood ear fungus.
Blue elderberry can get quite tall, reaching up to 15 feet in height. Plant it in sun to part shade in well drained soils.
- Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
- Water Requirements: Dry, Moist
- Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
- Growth Rate: Fast
- Spreads: No
- Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
- Fire-resistant: Yes
- Edible: Yes, but parts of the plant toxic
- Mature Height: 10-25ft
- Mature Width:18ft
False lily-of-the-valley
Maianthemum dilatatum
The plant produces an erect, unbranched stem up to about 40 centimeters tall. A non-flowering shoot bears one smooth, waxy, shiny leaf up to 10 centimeters long and 5 to 8 broad, hence its scientific name (dilatatum means ‘broad’). On plants that are flowering, 2 or 3 leaves are produced oppositely on the stems. The leaf is oval in shape with a heart-shaped base. This attractive groundcover can spread vigorously when in planted in favorable conditions.
The inflorescence is an erect raceme with star-shaped white flowers. They each have four petals and four stamens. After fertilization the fruit produced is a berry 6 millimeters in diameter. The berry is speckled red when immature and solid red when ripe. Each has 1 to 4 seeds.
- Light Requirements: Part Shade, Full Shade
- Water Requirements: Moist
- Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
- Growth Rate: Moderate
- Spreads: Yes
- Wildlife Support: Birds or Mammals
- Fire-resistant: Yes
- Edible:
- Mature Height: 1ft
- Mature Width:2-3ft
Thimbleberry
Rubus parviflorus
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorusis) is a dense, spreading deciduous shrub that grows 4-6 feet tall and wide. It is a friendly plant with large, soft, fuzzy leaves and no thorns or prickles. The white flowers have five petals and a pale yellow center. The delicious fruits are like large, soft, velvety raspberries.
Thimbleberries are used by many kinds of wildlife year round. They are important sources of nectar, nest material, and winter shelter for native bees. Yellow-banded sphinx moths eat the leaves when young, and the berries are eaten by dozens of species.
These thicket-forming plants typically grow along roadsides, railroad tracks, and in forest clearings, commonly appearing soon after clear cuts and forest fire areas. In urban areas, thimbleberries can form a natural hedge at the back of the garden or provide cover on sunny, dry hillsides.
- Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade
- Water Requirements: Dry, Moist
- Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
- Growth Rate: Moderate
- Spreads: Yes
- Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Hummingbirds, Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
- Fire-resistant: No
- Edible: Yes
- Mature Height: 4-6ft
- Mature Width:3-6ft
Kinnikinnick
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Kinnikinnick is a species of Arctostaphylos, one of several related species referred to as bearberry or kinnikinnick. The distribution is circumpolar, widespread in northern latitudes, confined to high altitudes further south. In North America, it ranges from arctic Alaska, Canada and Greenland south to California.
It is a small, spreading procumbent woody shrub 5-30 cm high. The leaves are evergreen, remaining green for 1-3 years before falling. The fruit is a red berry. The leaves are shiny, small, and feel thick and stiff. In spring, kinnikinnick produces white or pink flowers. They are a common plant on Jack pine sites. They grow well in dry, sunny gardens.
Uses
Kinnikinnick has historically been used for medicinal purposes. It contains the glycoside arbutin, which has antimicrobial properties and acts as a mild diuretic. It has been used for urinary tract complaints, including cystitis and urolithiasis.
- Light Requirements: Full Sun
- Water Requirements: Dry, Moist
- Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
- Growth Rate: Fast
- Spreads: Yes
- Wildlife Support: Pollinators, Hummingbirds, Pest-eating Insects, Birds or Mammals
- Fire-resistant: Yes
- Edible: No
- Mature Height: 5-8in.
- Mature Width:2-15ft