Native Plants
Introducing native plants into our garden was important for our goals. Not only are they more accustomed to our climate, but our local pollinators and critters very much enjoy them! We have devoted substantial energy to filling our garden with natives, and every day we learn more about them.
Below are photos of our native plants, organized by the 5 zones identified in Portland’s Backyard Habitat Certification Program. Our habitat is Platinum level certified! To the best of our ability, we have confirmed these plants are not only native to Oregon, but which are on the official Portland Plant List (PPL) and therefore native to our ecoregion of Willamette Valley.
Zone 1 - Ground Layer
Plants that stay under 1-2 feet tall
Oregon Stonecrop (Sedum oreganum)
Broadleaf Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium)
Oregon Iris (Iris tenax)
Oregon Iris (Iris tenax) - rare white!
Fringecup (Tellima grandiflora)
Oregon Avens (Geum macrophyllum)
Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana)
Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva–ursi)
Piggyback (Tolmiea menziesii)
Candy Flower (Claytonia sibirica)
Wallace’s Selaginella (Selaginella wallacei)
Small Camas (Camassia quamash)
Threeleaf Foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)
False Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum dilatatum)
Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum)
Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyear oblongifolia)
Oregon Giant White Fawn Lily (Erythronium oregonum)
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)
Yellow Water Lily (Nuphar lutea ssp. polysepala)
![Seep [or Yellow] Monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/680faa15a163e24569029a32/cb389e19-19eb-4658-bca3-57fa2cf72528/PXL_20210522_224815643.jpg)
Seep [or Yellow] Monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata)
Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca)
Meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii)
Douglas’ Iris (Iris douglasiana)
Lewisia Sunset (Lewisia cotyledon)
Trillium Purple (Trillium kurabayashii)
Glacier Lily (Erythronium grandiflorum)
Scarlet Monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis)
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
Lanceleaf Stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum)
Little Prickly Pear (Opuntia fragilis)
Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)
Zone 2 - Small / Medium Shrub Layer
Plants that generally stay under 5 feet tall
Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum aleuticum)
Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)
Deer Fern (Blechnum spicant)
Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza)
Western/Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
Big Leaf Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus)
Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)
Pacific Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum tenuipes)
Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)
Sawbeak Sedge (Carex stipata)
Horsetail (or Scouring-rush) (Equisetum hyemale v. robustum)
Wapato (Sagittaria latifolia)
Pretty Shooting Star (Dodecatheon pulchellum)
Blue Spreading Rush (Juncus patens)
Slender Rush (Juncus tenuis)
Soft Pacific Rush (Juncus effusus)
Small-flowered Wood Rush (Luzula parviflora)
Dense Sedge (Carex densa)
* Farewell to Spring (Clarkia amoena)
* Riverbank (or Stream) Lupine (Lupinus rivularis)
Rose Checker Mallow (Sidalcea virgata)
Tall Western Meadow Rue (Thalictrum polycarpum)
Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii)
Spiraea (Spiraea spelndens)
Hardstem Bullrush (Scirpus acutus)
Small-fruited Bulrush (Scirpus microcarpus)
Yellow-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium californicum)
Mountain Holly Fern (Polystichum lonchitis)
Dewy Sedge (Carex deweyana)
Zone 3 - Large Shrub Layer
Plants that reach approx. 5-20 feet tall
Red-flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
Tall Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
Great Northern Aster (Aster modestus)
Black Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata)
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Osoberry (Osmaronia cerasiformis)
Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa)
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
Mockorange (Philadelphus lewisii)
Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
Pacific Blackbery (Rubus ursinus)
Redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea)
Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus)
* Hairy Honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula)
Ceanothus Blueblossom (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus)
Mountain Huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum)
Pink Honeysuckle (Lonicera huspidula)
* Tree Lupine (Lupinus arboreus)
Zone 4 - Small Tree Understory Canopy
Trees that generally reach between 20-30 feet tall
Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)
Pacific Willow (Salix lasiandra)
Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana)
Zone 5 - Large Tree Overstory Canopy
Trees that generally grow over 30 feet tall
Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana)
Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Bitter Cherry (Prunus emarginata)
Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)