New Native Plant Resources!

On August 25, 2025, professional native landscape designers Jessica Wright and Izzy Mason led a workshop at Indy Commons to give an overview of native plant landscaping and some tips and techniques for which native plants thrive in different types of environments - sun, shade, wet or dry. Click here to view the presentation on our website (or here to view it on YouTube).

View Presentation Slides

​Still looking for more info? Check out these additional native plant resources:

• Google Drive folder with downloadable native plant guides
• Polk SWCD Native Plant resources webpage
• Luckiamute Watershed Council's October 8 Backyard Conservation event page

Native Plant Gardening Resources

NEW native gardening resource available! This fantastically detailed webpage, Gardening with Oregon Native Plants West of the Cascades, was just created by OSU Extension and has a wide variety of information, including:

• Selecting plants
• Establishment and care
• Plant combinations
• Species lists
• and more!

Together with our partners, we have compiled a great list of resources to help you get started with planting native plants in your own yard or garden! If you would like to view a full recording of the February 9, 2021 virtual workshop, Planning & Planting Your Native Garden, please click here to view on our website (or here to watch it on YouTube).

Workshop Presentations

• Evaluating your site for native plants (Jeanie Taylor) - view/download pdf here
• Species-specific native plant information (Amy Bartow) - view/download pdf here

Do you have more questions for our presenters? Email Jeanie Taylor at [email protected] and Amy Bartow at [email protected] 

Bilingual Native Plant Resources / Recursos plantas nativas bilingües

Instructions for Planting Oregon Native Plants / Instrucciones para plantar plantas nativas de Oregon: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nck2vXUEWk

Native Plant Species Guides

• GardenSmart Oregon: a Guide to Non-Invasive Plants - view/download pdf here
• Low Water Use Native Plants for the Willamette Valley - view/download pdf here
• Native Plants for Willamette Valley Yards - view/download pdf here
• Guide for Using Willamette Valley Native Plants Along Your Stream - view/download pdf here​

Edible Plants/Foraging

• Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, by Pojar & Mackinnon, is a widely available and great resource for native plant identification, including medicinal and edible properties!
• ​Edible Wild Plants Volume 1, by John Kallas: http://wildfoodadventures.com/edible-wild-plants-volume-1/

Native Plant Site Conditions:  

• OregonFlora tool to find the best native plants suited to your site conditions and goals: https://oregonflora.org/garden/index.php
• More info on site evaluation (Jeanie Taylor) - view/download slides here
• DIY Soil Drainage Perk Test for Your Yard - view/download pdf here
• How to Understand Your Yard's Sunlight So You Know What to Plant Where - view/download pdf here
• Right plants for the right place - https://www.bentonswcd.org/choose-the-right-plants-for-your-site-conditions​​

Native Plant bloom time and color: 

• Blooming Timetable of Native Plants in the Middle Willamette Valley - view/download pdf here
• Bloom timetable for native pollinator plants - click here to view on Benton SWCD's website

Gardening for Birds: 

• Supporting wild bird populations - https://www.bentonswcd.org/how-to-support-birds

Gardening for Pollinators: 

• Gardening and Landscaping Practices for Nesting Native Bees - view/download pdf here
• Plants for Pollinators in Oregon (includes information about which plants host specific pollinator types) - view/download pdf here
• Helping native pollinators - https://www.bentonswcd.org/help-native-pollinators

Insect Identification:

• Oregon Bee Atlas: https://www.oregonbeeproject.org/bee-atlas
• Bugguide.net: bugguide.net/node/view/15740
• Caterpillar ID: https://www.caterpillaridentification.org/caterpillars-by-state-listing.php?reach=Oregon
• Butterflies and Moths of the PNW Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1529362950616437/?multi_permalinks=2934369836782401

Native Plant Garden Design Ideas: 

• Pollinator Garden Designs - view/download pdf here
• Garden designs for shade, sun, rain gardens, and more - https://www.bentonswcd.org/garden-plans

​​Where to Buy Native Plants:

• Local Soil & Water Conservation District Plant Sale information:
  • ​Polk SWCD
  • Benton SWCD
  • Marion SWCD
  • Yamhill SWCD​

• Local Native Plant Nurseries
  • Dancing Oaks Nursery and Gardens (retail)
  • Rocky Mountain Nursery, Inc. (wholesale)
  • Bosky Dell Natives (retail, wholesale)
  • Sevenoaks Native Nursery (wholesale)
  • Scholls Valley Native Nursery, LLC (wholesale)
• Marion County native plant nursery list - view/download pdf here