Native plants are a great option in your yard and garden. In addition to promoting a return to the natural state of your area, native plants tend to thrive with a minimal amount of care. Many species can be used for food, shade, ground restoration etc.
If you live near Yamhill County check out the upcoming native plant sale. I'll be there on the 13th so I can pick up some blue camas in addition to a few others I've ordered. For roughly 10,000 years natives burned local fields to encourage the growth of camas quamash and reduce weeds and douglas fir; at the same time it helped encourage the supremacy of oaks that provided acorns for food. Now we put out fires, I guess we know more in 200 years than they did in 10,000 - go figure. Sorry, I stepped up on the soapbox and that's not my intent for this forum.
Evergreen huckleberries, salal, elderberry, and Oregon grape are tasty additions to your yard, all can be eaten fresh, made into jams/jellies or used for wine. Kinnikinnick makes a great ground cover and the berries can be mixed with other berries for jams, and yes, it's been smoked by Native Americans as well as being used as a tea for urinary problems.
Pacific Yew is a great option too, though it likes to be under a canopy; such as doug fir and potentially oak; it will do well on the northern side of your house where it can get some shade. It makes a great self-bow if you're into that sort of thing but expect 8-10 years to get a 6" stick out of it. It's burned as waste during commercial lumber harvest, but it's bark is used as a cancer treatment after some serious lab work. I mention it here because it is disappearing from the environment and it's medical use make it worth preserving as a species that, and I like archery.
Wild ginger root is tasty too, if you want to plant it on the north side of your house as an herb. Bleeding heart is just beautiful, you should have some just for variety.
Last and most important, native plants are a perfect choice for guerrilla gardens if you're into such a thing. I appreciate the food aspect and the flowers are nice, but they should be responsible enough to only plant native plants.
Rick
Saturday, January 31, 2009
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4 comments:
I'm gonna send over a friend from central oregon to follow your blog. Maybe see if he wants to help contribute if your looking for someone to add to your team.
Awesome post, and bless you for your hard work!
Jump up on that soap box anytime. Love to hear what's really on peoples mind. I've read about the Indians burning off their garden spots to kill any weed seeds. Done it myself many times and it sure seems to help. Wish we could get a sale on any kind of plants or seeds here, not happening. Good post and great job, your site looks real good.
AP: I'd love to have help here and I think it's important to include people from several parts of the state as we really are very diverse.
Mayberry: Thanks for your comments, This is something I feel rather strongly about, natural flora and fauna belong in our environment, and more importantly around our homes.
Bullseye: I'm not a preacher, though I have been known to lead a few services for various reasons. I can't help you much for native plants, but I would like to try some of yours or knapp some of your chert someday. You have some beautiful native wildflowers in your area, I wish I knew more about them.
Rick
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