USE OUR NATIVE FERNS FOR YOUR COVERED PORCH OR PATIO

PNW native Wood Fern (Dryopteris Expansa) in a hanging moss ball/kokedama

I am so excited to share with you that Poppy & Finch is featured in Redfin blog on Biophilia: Experts Reveal 11 of Their Favorite Plants For Your Home . I am always grateful and feeling hopeful when I have the opportunity to introduce the beauty and purpose of native plants for our wildlife to a broader audience who cares about our environment. Thank you Redfin for this opportunity and being part of the change we want to see for our habitat by having me share the beauty, versatility and importance of native plants for our habitat.

As you all know, Poppy & Finch mission is to advocate and empower people to use native plants for their outdoor spaces to help our wildlife. I help design and come up with creative botanical solutions using native plants for apartment/townhouse owners to transform their balconies, porch or outdoor spaces into mini-habitat corridors to help our wildlife in the city. I am passionate about my work because there’s only 4% pristine wild habitat left in the US, consequently, we're losing thousands of insect/bird species every year. With that said, our city and what we plant in our garden or space matter and play a big role in stopping the decline of our wildlife. Small spaces collectively create a big impact for our habitat.

There are so many native plant species to choose from for easy, versatile and low maintenance while helping our wildlife. If you don’t get a lot of sun, Pacific Northwest ferns like Western Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum Aleuticum), Deer Fern (Blechnum Spicant), and Wood Fern (Dryopteris Expansa) are perfect for your space. Besides, they create visual interest with their architectural leaf structure. (Shown in picture is PNW native Wood Fern in a hanging moss ball/kokedama, a perfect example of the beauty and versatility of our PNW ferns).

Enjoy the benefit of gardening with native plants for your outdoor space while becoming a steward for our habitat in the city.

Please let me know if I can help you create a mini-habitat in your outdoor space that resonates with your decor aesthetic/style. Native Plants: Beauty with Purpose.

Live in an Apartment? You Can Save Wildlife Too!

You don’t need a lot of space to attract wildlife to your apartment-living!

Who says you have to own a large space to garden to create a habitat for wildlife? I’ve seen it happen over and over that when you provide it, they will find it. The main reason bird and insect populations have declined is loss of habitats required for them to survive. Every small patch of habitat, even that of an apartment, can become part of a joint effort to support and sustain the livelihood of birds and other animals. 

The Loss of Wildlife Habitats. 

Here are some of the cause of habitat loss:
Urban development and residentials Planting lawns with exotic, ornamental plants from other countries takes away the opportunities we have to help replace habitat that’s already been lost. Not to mention they don’t serve any ecological benefits to our habitat. So, we need to do as much as possible; small spaces matter!

The loss of open spaces Our birds need large open spaces to protect their nests. “There is no substitute for wild open prairie when it comes to supporting birds like this upland sandpiper. Like other prairie birds, upland sandpipers require large expanses of unfragmented prairies. This is partly because prairie birds use the needle-in-a- haystack strategy for nesting—placing a ground nest amongst the prairie grasses in an expanse so large it would be unlikely for predators to stumble upon it. As the prairie shrinks, the search area becomes smaller and nesting success decreases.” — Dr. Tyler Moore, a biology professor.

Invasive species Plants like ivy and vinca or periwinkle are native to Europe and brought to different parts of the world by humans. They’re called invasive because many thrive in disturbed soil and have dense root systems that smother the root systems of surrounding vegetation such as our native plants.

Your Small Space Can Have a Big Impact. 

Whether you’re an apartment dweller, homeowner, landscape designer, or a local policy maker, we can all help birds and other wildlife by simply choosing native plants when deciding what to plant for landscaping decisions in your garden or containers on your patio or porch. Here is what native plants are and why they are important from the Audubon Society. 

“Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. They are the ecological basis upon which life depends, including birds and people. Without them and the insects that co-evolved with them, local birds cannot survive. For example, research by the entomologist Doug Tallamy has shown that native oak trees support over 500 species of caterpillars whereas ginkgos, a commonly planted landscape tree from Asia, host only 5 species of caterpillars. When it takes over 6,000 caterpillars to raise one brood of chickadees, that is a significant difference”.

You can re-purpose a vintage tin and other objects for your container gardening. Bring nature outside your apartment by adding branches, rocks, logs, moss, etc.

How to Create a Wildlife Habitat in Your Apartment

You can be creative with small spaces to create a mini-habitat while keeping your aesthetic. The beauty of gardening with native plants is that they are so beautiful & versatile. There are so many different ways to create mini-habitats in a small space:

Using Horizontal/Floor space. 

1. Frame your space by using different heights, shapes, sizes, textures, materials, etc. For example, you can use a plant stand to give an airy or lifted feeling or cinder blocks to create dimensions and layering effects.

2. You can have a table-top mini-habitat centerpiece to replace flower arrangements for your outdoor table. Click here to see your choices.

Vertical/Wall space: 

1. Wall or railing: Don’t forget about your wall or any vertical surface! You can create a vertical mini-habitat using pallets, hanging pockets like shoes storage, or some kind of frame with chicken wire to hold your native plants.

2. Hang it: You can always use hooks either from your ceiling or wall to hang baskets/containers and moss balls or free-standing ones.

You can have fun with it! Who said you need containers to connect with nature and attract wildlife? You can create moss balls or kokedama either on your patio table or hang them to save some space for more plants ;)

What to plant in your habitat. 

For information on the best native plants to choose to lure wildlife to your mini-habitat, check out the blog here

Want a free guide on how to create your own mini-habitat garden? Join my mailing list

Lure wildlife to your apartment patio with these native plants.

Create mini-habitat in your container to mimic nature by choosing companion plants

When you provide the right habitat, wildlife will come! You can lure them to your outside apartment by creating a mini-habitat for them. What is a mini-habitat? It is basically mimicking or re-creating nature on a smaller scale using native plants to help our habitat in an urban setting. Every small patch of habitat becomes part of a joined effort to support and sustain the livelihood of birds and other animals. 

Native plants are plants that have been originally here and have been co-evolving with our insects for hundreds of years. When you go for a hike, you’d see different habitats consisting of native plants. You will reap the rewards of seeing wildlife and healthy gardens when you use native plants for your container gardening. Not only are they easy to maintain because they’re acclimated to our environment, but also they’re versatile to fit different styles of garden.

THE BEST PLANTS FOR YOUR MINI-HABITAT

Choosing plants that share the same needs in terms of light, soil, and moisture where you can find them together in nature (called “associate species or plant associate'') but also give them space so they can be better container-mates.

P: Perennial

E: Evergreen

EP: Evergreen Perennial

D: Deciduous

FULL-SUN:

• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis) — P

• Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum or S. idahoense) — P

• Nodding onion (Allium cernuum) — P

• Monkeyflower (Mimulus spp.) — P

• Sedum (Sedum spp.) — EP

• Camas (Camassia spp.) — P

• Bitterroot (Lewisia columbiana) — P

• Seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus) — EP

• Pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) — P

• Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) — P

• Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum) — P

• Pacific rush (Juncus effusus) — P

PART-SHADE:

• Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana) — P

• Tiger lily (Lilium columbianum) — P

• leopard lily (Lilium pardalinum subsp. vollmeri), 

• western columbine (Aquilegia formosa) — P

• Alumroot (Heuchera spp.) — EP

• penstemons that like some shade and moisture (Penstemon serrulatus or P. ovatus)

• Coastal strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) — EP

• California fescue (Festuca californica) — P

• Early blue violet (Viola adunca) — P

• Meadow checkerbloom (Sidalcea campestris) — P

• In very large containers, consider shrubs such as mock orange (Philadelphus lewisii) — D or oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor) —D

SHADE:

• Piggyback plant (Tolmiea menziesii) — P

• Oregon redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) — P

• Woodland strawberry ( Fragaria vesca) — P 

• Foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata) — P

• Maidenhair fern (Adiantum spp.) — D

• Deer fern (Blechnum spicant) — E 

• Pacific bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa) — P

• Wild ginger (Asarum caudatum) — E

• False lily of the valley (Maianthemum racemosum) — P

• Western meadow rue (Thalictrum occidentale) — P

• In large containers: snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) — D or huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum) — E
  

HOW TO KEEP YOUR HABITAT HAPPY 

Nature is evolving as we are but the common thread is nurturance.
Here are some tips to keep your habitat sustainable and happy:

1. When your plants’ flowers go to seed, leave them alone because birds need those seeds especially during winter.

2. Always keep in mind that potted plants need much more attention because of the concentrated heat or cold in the pot.

3. Don’t be discouraged if some of them don’t work; think of it as an experiment of what works and what doesn’t.

4. Repot plants every few years to keep them healthy and thriving

My Favorite Plant Combinations for PNW Themed Container Gardens

Woodland: Wild ginger, Piggy-back, Alum root, Fern, Meadow rue

Meadow: Blue Flax, Cinquefoil, Penstemon, Nodding Onion, Columbine, Grasses

Full-sun: A combination of sedums, Beach Daisy, Lewisia.

Rain-garden: Rushes, Sedges, Salal, Ferns, Common Yarrow.

There are so many different species of plants that are perfect for container gardening and provide seeds, fruit, or most importantly, insects for birds to savor. When you choose native plants for your container gardening, it is really about quality over quantity and less is more. 

Here are some of amazing native nurseries
to help you find great native plants:

Bosky Dell Natives | boskydellnatives.com

23311 SW Bosky Dell Lane, West Linn, Oregon

503-638-5945 | boskydellnatives@aol.com

Echo Valley Natives | echovalleynatives.com

18883 S Ferguson Rd. Oregon City, Or 97045

503-631-2451 | info@echovalleynatives.com

Humble Roots Nursery | humblerootsnursery.com

503.449.3694: call for appointment | humbleroots@gorge.net

When you sign up to my newsletter, you’ll get a free pdf guide on how to create your own mini-habitat garden and bring your bestie to create one with me! And if you’re feeling overwhelmed or don’t know where to begin, then book a consultation and I’ll guide you step by step through the process. Email me here and you’ll have a wildlife habitat on your patio in no time!

Be creative by incorporating fun elements to your container gardening especially moss, cones, branches, that will make it look more natural and keep the plant happy.