Meadow deathcamas may have a bad rap for due to its toxicity to mammals but as a habitat plant for pollinators it is incredibly important. It grows in many habitats though out the west from dry sage-brush steppe to upland prairies. It has abundant star-like, cream-colored flowers bloom in late-spring and attract many species of bees. Death camas is unrelated to Camassia species which were an important food plant for Native Americans
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.
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.
Another really great summer blooming umbel for the garden. A slender 2' perennial with delicate, grass-like leaves and several compound umbels of minute white flowers. Similar to the invasive Queen Anne's Lace but much more elegant. Best planted in tight clumps.
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.
Rosy plectritis is an outstanding annual for restorations. Its bright pink flowers are attractive to numerous pollinators including spring butterflies. It grows best on thin soils of upland sites or in wet prairies with low competition from perennials. Key nectar species for Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly.
We offer a mix of two key annual species of wet prairies and vernal pools. Fragrant popcorn flower and Scouler's popcornflower are often found together in these habitats. The growth habit of Scouler's popcorn is more prostrate that fragrant popcorn flower and has smaller flowers.
This summer charmer was selected for its masses of brilliant pink flowers that are presented with great aplomb for many months. Excellent as a bedding plant or great candidate for containers. It is surprisingly hardy and easy to grow. Great summer and autumn appeal.
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.
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.
Blue-eyed grass is a key component of our wet prairies. The deep-blue flowers attract bees early in the day but close by mid-morning making them hard to spot in the landscape. The dark, clustered seed heads and slender, iris-like leaves make it reappear when the prairie turns a golden-tan in mid-summer.
This early-blooming species has deep yellow flowers and soft, fuzzy leaves. In a wildlife garden, the long-bloom period makes it a great bedding plant. It grows in moist to dry open woodlands and prairie where it attracts a variety of early pollinators. It does best on upland restoration sites where competition from invasive plants and grassy thatch are kept to a minimum. 8-10 inches tall.
A Heronswood Nursery selection with bamboo-like stems that emerge dark purple rather than green, sheathed at each node with golden-tan papery bracts. Makes a 4-5 ft. tall evergreen clump (hardy in Zone 6, but deciduous) with small white flowers followed by many shiny black berries. Enjoys rich, moist soil. Easy.
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.
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.
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
This low-growing pea has striking yellow flowers with white tips and is an integral part of our wet prairies. It is found mostly in vernal wet areas with other perennials such as Allium amplectens and Triteleia hyacinthina, and Dodecatheon pulchellum and annuals such as Plagiobothrys figuratus, and Mimulus guttatus.
Soft, hairy leaves, pink-white flowers, long bloom time, 2 ft tall. This annual does very well in both wet and dry prairie restorations even in areas with perennial competition.
Common monkey flower has bright yellow, snapdragon flowers that attract many types of bees. It is often found in the wettest portions of prairies and meadows as well as roadside ditches.
This native wetland buttercup grows in a variety of habitats throughout the west. Large, bright yellow flowers that turn red on the back as they age. 1-2 ft tall.
This small-flowered native buttercup is known by the common names woodland buttercup and little buttercup. It is native to many parts of the west where it grows in wet prairies or wet, wooded habitat such as oak/ash woodland and forested streambanks. It often grows as a biennial.
Solidago lepida var. salebrosa (Western Goldenrod)
For both wildlife gardens and restorations, Western goldenroad provides late-summer sprays of yellow flowers with soft foliage that are important resources for butterflies and bees. It is rhizomatous often forming colonies so makes a good bedding plant (rhizomatous), 2-3 ft tall. Provides nectar for Black Hairstreak butterflies along willow riparian areas.
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.
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.
This clump forming rush grows between 12 and 24 inches tall in flower depending on the amount of moisture. It is native to most of the United States and grows in mesic to wet prairies conditions.
Robust and showy lupine with dark blue/purple flowers and deep green leaves. Does well in poor soil. 3-4 ft tall. Often found on disturbed, gravelly sites.
This small tufted annual is found in both wet and dry prairies where there is little competition from other vegetation. It has both white and pink flowers and needle-like leaves.
Although the flowers are not showy, this plant is a must for a restoration site due to attracting many, many species of native bumblebees. The slender flower stems produce flowers for weeks; increasing its value for pollinators. It is found in upland prairies and mixed woodlands.
This perennial lupine has deep-lavender flowers and widely lobed leaves that are tinged with purple. It grows a variety of habitats in the west. In the Willamette Valley it can be found in dry prairies and foothills. It will tolerate some woodland edge shade.
Rusty popcorn flower is most often found in dry grasslands and open woodlands. In western Oregon, it can be found growing in rock outcrops with Oregon white oak and madrone and other annuals such as blue-eyed Mary and rosy plectritis creating quite a beautiful natural rock garden.
Thalictrum fendleri var. polycarpum (Mountain Meadow-rue)
Tall meadowrue is found it mixed forests, oak woodlands, and along streams in shaded moist forests. It is a striking plant growing over 6 feet tall with bluish columbine-like leaves that stay green until late-summer then turn yellow in autumn. The plants have separate male and female flowering stalks.
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 tall perennial wildflower (up to 4 ft tall) of wetland prairies has clusters of bright yellow flowers in August that attract a host of late-season wet prairie butterflies and bees.
Oregon saxifrage grows in bogs, marshes, wet meadows and prairies throughout the west. It has fleshy roots that divide by off-sets and flowers that bloom April-May. Nectar species for Mylitta Cresent Butterfly.
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
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.
This small annual has a variety of forms from tufted to slender and erect. It has pink, tubular flowers that are self-pollinated. It grows in moist or dry soils at all elevations typically in areas without much competing vegetation.
Curvpod yellowcress is found throughout the west in a variety of wet habitats. In our prairie habitats, it is found with other annuals in areas with low cover of other vegetation such as vernal pools. In mild winters, it can act as a biennial.
Western sweetroot is an erect woodland perennial in the carrot family. It has dark-green, divided leaves all the way up the stem topped with a delicate, flat-topped flower heads with many small, yellowish flowers. The seeds ripen into black, needle-shaped seeds while the leaves are still green and full, making it an outstanding plant for a woodland garden.