By Elizabeth Curtis
Oregon is full of beautiful landscapes, farms and a rich diversity of life.
That is part of why we love living here. Oregon is a biological treasure chest and home to 800 varieties of endangered native bees, plus butterflies. We can support them by growing the native plants they’ve depended on for hundreds of years.
Our oaks support more species of life and more fascinating relationships and interactions than any other tree genus in North America. The nonnative Japanese ginkgo tree
supports just five species, whereas the native oaks support more than 436 species in the Pacific
Northwest, according to Doug Tallamy who has written “The Nature of Oaks, The Rich Ecology
of Our Most Essential Native Trees”
(Other helpful books he has authored are “Bringing Nature Home, How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants” and “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts with Our Back Yard.”
Farming Regeneratively
Regenerative farming is a natural approach to agriculture that also focuses on increasing
biodiversity of native life, improving soil health and supporting functioning ecosystems. This approach encourages farmers to work with nature rather than against it.
Understanding and managing four ecosystem processes of energy flow, water cycle, nutrient cycle, community dynamics keeps harmony in our ecosystem. Several of the techniques used in regenerative farming are no-till or reduced-till practices, cover-cropping and crop rotation. Reduction of harmful herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers assist in cultivating natural habitats by eliminating poisons and toxins to our health. Genetically modified (GMO) plants harm our livestock and our families by drastically lowering glutathione level, which is essential for our immune system to function.
The CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology is adding all kinds of snake, spider, snail, wasp venoms spliced into
the genes of our plants and injected into our livestock that we eat. Choosing regenerative
farming and organic food is very important for our health.
Why This Is Important
We must be good stewards of what has been given to us by God. Our good health and that of
our indigenous natural Oregon habitat go a long way towards a making this a better world for
us now and for the next generation of all life to follow.
So How Do We Do This?
Strategize: In planning a garden design, first, assess where the largest sun-loving plants can grow in your yard.
Second, plan space for the sun-loving shrubs and flowers.
Third, identify the partial-sun and shade-loving plants. Some plants like more moisture than others, so check where your water sources are.
Consider accent colors and garden features such as rocks, pools and benches.
Remember that we are in a forested region that is prone to fire. The Sweet Home fire station
has a free pamphlet and other information on fire-resistant plants for your landscape. It explains
where to place them to protect your home from fire. The fire station also holds free defensible
space classes and home assessments that can help you design your landscape free of fire
hazards. Tall trees overhanging your roof and shrubs too near the house should be avoided.
A larger recommended plant list is available at the library.
Biodiversity, in contrast to monoculture planting, allows for the greatest amount of life to flourish
in our landscapes. Keystone plants have been selected as assisting the greatest biodiversity for
our region. The top 10 recommended PNW keystone trees and shrubs listed below host the most beneficial insect species, based on National Wildlife Federations Gardening for Wildlife
Research. These are great for native plant gardens.
Trees
- Quercus garrana, Oregon White Oak hosts 436 beneficial insect species
- Prunus emarginata, Bitter Cherry hosts 340 beneficial insect species
- Populous trichocarpa, Black Cottonwood hosts 249 beneficial insect species
- Betula Papyrirera, Paper Birch hosts 283 beneficial insect species
- Acer circinaturm, Vine Maple hosts 238 beneficial insect species
- Malus fusca, Pacific crabapple hosts 237 beneficial insect species
- Pinus contorta, Shore Pine hosts 200 beneficial insect species
- Alnus ruba, Red Alder hosts 173 beneficial insect species
Shrubs
- Salix scoulerianna, Scouters willow hosts 303 beneficial insect species
10.Vaccinium ovatum, Evergreen Huckleberry hosts 231 beneficial insect species
Perennials
Helianthus annuus, Common Sunflower hosts 91 beneficial insect species
Solidago canadensis Canada Goldenrod hosts 91 beneficial insect species
Symphyotrichum Pacific Aster hosts 36 beneficial insect species
Grindelia integrifolia Willamette Valley Gumweed hosts 40 beneficial insect species
Rudbeckia occidentalis Western Cone Flower hosts 33 beneficial insect species
Good fire resistant native shrubs include kinnikinnick, Oregon grape, service berry, black
chokeberry, Blue mist spirea, California lilac, ocean spray, western sandberry, and Russian
sage. Some of the flowers native to this region are blue calmas lily, blue flax, lupine, bleeding
heart, creeping holly, Point Reys ceanothus and Douglas meadowfoam.
How To Find Them
Ask a nurseryman questions about the best conditions for each of your plants. The site oregonflora.org can also assist you finding the right plant for your site, identify Oregon native plants, find where their habitats are in Oregon and provide an opportunity to visit the OSU Herbarium.
In conclusion, over thousands of years there has been a close network of relationships within
our natural Oregon habitat. This network of plants, wildlife and insects have been the natural
sources of food, protection and places for organisms to raise their young. Without healthy native
plants habitats, wildlife cannot survive. Our special Oregon ecosystem has it own diverse
community and circle of life as the third most richest fertile valley in the world. Let’s protect it!
I want to give a big shout out to Sheryl Casteen, who teaches wonderful gardening classes, including a current series on Saturdays at 10 a.m. at the Lebanon Senior Citizen Center. She provided a major contribution to this article.