Disporum hookerii

Lovely, outwards-flaring flowers of greenish-white to cream over deep green leathery foliage, with characteristic long, drip-tips to the leaves.

Dodecatheon hendersonii

This bulb-producing perennial begins in late winter with thick spoon shaped leaves at the base of the plant. Showy flowers appear in early spring on top of a tall 12 in (30 cm) leafless flower stalk. Flowers are inside out with petals magenta to deep lavender to white, with a white strip before the black fertile part. It blooms February to May and is summer deciduous, dying back to the ground after the rains cease.

Fragaria vesca ssp. bracteata

After flowering, rounded, egg-shaped, red edible berries appear in the late summer and early autumn. These appear to be smooth coated but are in fact covered in very short hairs, visible only at close range.

Iris tenax

Iris tenax is a semi-evergreen species of Iris native to southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon. It is known as the tough-leaved iris or Oregon iris. It occurs along roadsides and in grasslands and forest openings at low to middle elevations. One subspecies is also known from northern California.

Like most irises, it has large and showy flowers. The flowers bloom in mid to late spring and are usually lavender-blue to purple, but blooms in white, yellow, pink, and orchid shades are known to sometimes occur.

In the native garden, Oregon iris can grow large and reproduces easily, especially in favorable conditions. It tolerates winter pruning to refresh old leaves, and benefits from an occasional spring cleaning out of old vegetation.

Juncus ensifolius

This rhizomatous rush grows in large upright clumps. The green dagger shaped leaves fold over along the mid-vein towards the stem, similar to iris leaves.

In favorable garden conditions, this rush can grow large and spread thickly. The accumulation of previous years’ dead stems provide shelter for wildlife in winter, but an occasional spring cleaning out of dead material helps keep rushes looking fresh, too.

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.

Maianthemum racemosum

False Solomon’s seal is a clump-forming perennial which typically grows 2-3′ tall and slowly spreads by thick rhizomes, often forming large colonies in the wild. Features unbranched, gracefully arching stems of alternate, oval, pointed, light green leaves with conspicuously parallel veins. Tiny, fragrant, creamy white flowers appear at the stem ends in terminal, plumy, spirea-like racemes (hence the species name) in spring.

Flowers are followed by greenish berries which turn an attractive ruby red in summer, often persisting into fall unless earlier consumed by wildlife. Foliage turns yellow in fall. Foliage resembles that of the true Solomon’s seals (Polygonatum spp.), but the latter have distinctly different flowers (i.e., bell-shaped flowers which droop from the leaf axils all along the stems).

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.