Lure wildlife to your apartment patio with these native plants.
Weina Dinata
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:
When your plants’ flowers go to seed, leave them alone because birds need those seeds especially during winter.
Always keep in mind that potted plants need much more attention because of the concentrated heat or cold in the pot.
Don’t be discouraged if some of them don’t work; think of it as an experiment of what works and what doesn’t.
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.