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Jose's Garden Service

Field guide

Native plants for Portland gardens.

Planning new beds as part of a yard makeover? These locals evolved for wet winters and dry summers, so once established they need little water and less fuss.

Licorice ferns and moss on a tree trunk at Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge near Portland

Showing 13 of 13 plants

  • A western sword fern frond growing through low groundcover

    Specimen 01

    Western sword fern

    Polystichum munitum

    The evergreen backbone of a Portland shade garden, green all winter.

    Light
    Shade
    Water
    Low once established
  • Oregon grape in bloom with bright yellow flower clusters

    Specimen 02

    Oregon grape

    Berberis aquifolium

    Oregon's state flower. Yellow spring blooms, blue berries, holly-like leaves.

    Light
    Sun to shade
    Water
    Low
  • A rufous hummingbird feeding at red-flowering currant blossoms

    Specimen 03

    Red-flowering currant

    Ribes sanguineum

    Pink blooms in early spring, right when the first hummingbirds come looking.

    Light
    Sun to part shade
    Water
    Low
  • A spike of star-shaped blue camas flowers

    Specimen 04

    Common camas

    Camassia quamash

    Blue spring bulbs that handle soggy winter soil. A rain garden natural.

    Light
    Sun
    Water
    Wet winter, dry summer
  • Vine maple leaves with red winged seeds

    Specimen 05

    Vine maple

    Acer circinatum

    A small, graceful tree with blazing orange and red fall color.

    Light
    Part shade
    Water
    Moderate
  • Slough sedge with dark flower spikes in a woodland

    Specimen 06

    Slough sedge

    Carex obnupta

    Glossy, grassy clumps for the bottom of a rain garden where water sits longest.

    Light
    Sun to shade
    Water
    Wet
  • Salal branch with hanging pink and white urn-shaped flowers

    Specimen 07

    Salal

    Gaultheria shallon

    Leathery evergreen leaves and dark berries. Fills in dry shade under conifers.

    Light
    Part shade to shade
    Water
    Low once established
  • A bee visiting pink evergreen huckleberry flowers

    Specimen 08

    Evergreen huckleberry

    Vaccinium ovatum

    Fine-textured evergreen with edible late-summer berries. A tidy hedge option.

    Light
    Part shade
    Water
    Low to moderate
  • White Pacific ninebark flowers with a beetle on one bloom

    Specimen 09

    Pacific ninebark

    Physocarpus capitatus

    White spring flower clusters and peeling bark. Tolerates the wet edge of a rain garden.

    Light
    Sun to part shade
    Water
    Moist to wet
  • A pale lavender Douglas aster flower head

    Specimen 10

    Douglas aster

    Symphyotrichum subspicatum

    Lavender daisies in late summer and fall, when pollinators need food most.

    Light
    Sun
    Water
    Moist
  • Pink bell-shaped kinnikinnick flowers

    Specimen 11

    Kinnikinnick

    Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

    A low evergreen groundcover for sunny slopes and parking strips. Red winter berries.

    Light
    Sun
    Water
    Low
  • Pink heart-shaped Pacific bleeding heart flowers

    Specimen 12

    Pacific bleeding heart

    Dicentra formosa

    Ferny leaves and pink, heart-shaped spring flowers for woodland beds.

    Light
    Shade
    Water
    Moderate
  • Purple and pale lavender Oregon iris flowers

    Specimen 13

    Oregon iris

    Iris tenax

    Grassy clumps with purple spring flowers that shrug off a dry summer.

    Light
    Sun to part shade
    Water
    Low in summer
New planting beds with a complete yard makeover

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