This thicket is made up of mock orange (Philadelphus lewisii) and red-twig dogwood (Cornus sericea), a little more pleasant to brush up against than Nootka rose, which is armed with small thorns.  I think the yellowing mock orange leaves look so pretty against the backdrop of the red-twig dogwood.  I have observed many species of birds perching on the bare, leafless branches of red-twig dogwood and the nearly bare branches of mock orange here.  When I planned out the design of our backyard habitat back, I intentionally created areas where there would be undisturbed native thickets for wildlife habitat.

Native thickets are valuable in many ways, one of which is that they attract more than just birds, they attract many species of wildlife that benefit one another and can provide a safe corridor for moving through urban spaces.  They don't have to look unruly, either.  As you can see here, the yellows and reds of mock orange and red-twig dogwood complement one another nicely.  Along a fence-line, it creates a beautiful border of differing texture, color, and height.  Evergreen and deciduous native species can be intermixed to create a biodiverse thicket that in turn attracts many wildlife species.   Here, you can see a young buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus) that will eventually get every bit as tall as mock orange and red-twig dogwood in the background.  This area is mixed with sword ferns, snowberry, wild ginger, graceful cinquefoil, Willamette Valley gumweed, a large amount of native species in the rain garden below, and a Pacific madrone behind the photographer, just to name a few.  On the slopes of the rain garden, you will find kinnikinnik with ground nesting bees.  These thickets keep feet off those slopes, providing the perfect, sunny slope for their nesting tunnels.  There's a little something for many species of wildlife that are found in urban areas, and that is why native thickets provide the perfect habitat in these locations as they are a mimicry of forested areas around the area.

Broken stems like this one create nice little homes for overwintering bees, insects, and even spiders.  You want to leave your dead flower stems intact in winter, then in spring, cut the stems, leaving stalks one to two feet tall, dropping the tops or bundling them for the brush pile.  Emerging adults will begin to lay eggs on pollen balls in these cut stems in spring, then new adults emerge from same stalks in summer.  A lot of people talk about leaving the stems for the winter, but it is equally important to leave them cut to varying heights during spring and summer—they are nesting sites and nurseries for cavity nesting bees! 

Plant native species that hold on to berries for overwintering birds, like photo two, which shows a berry still intact on Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana). Other native species with fruit this time of year are snowberry, false lily of the valley, kinnikinnik, Oregon grape, chokecherry, and Madrone, just to name a few. 

Leaving the leaves is also a significant step you can take in providing habitat and resources for overwintering butterflies, moths, and other insects, not to mention they protect your plants, reduce weed germination, and give your soil back exactly what it needs for another spring season. 

Woodland skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides)

 Looking around the garden, I see a landscape now full of browns and yellows, so I almost didn't notice this little woodland skipper resting on the dried seed head of native yellow monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata).  Adults feed on late-season blooms July through October, while their larvae host on certain grassland plants like blue wild rye (Elymus glaucus).  I think they are the sweetest little butterflies!

Woodland skipper resting on leaf of Willamette Valley gumweed.

Later the same afternoon, I caught a glimpse of a native female pigeon horntail wasp (Tremex columba).  These pigeon horntail wasps are one of the largest of North America. 

Pigeon horntails have a long ovopositor, which females use to drill down into vulnerable wood, such as nurse logs, depositing its eggs into the bark of vulnerable wood, where the larvae will eventually feed on the fungi that enters from the small hole.  I often find them this time of year on nurse logs around our property.

Ovopositor of female pigeon horntail.

As you meander through your own gardens, keep your eyes open for species you may be unfamiliar with and try to identify them through apps like iNaturalist, which can also pin your sighting, which helps in ongoing research.  Planting native species and using features like nurse logs within your plantings will help wildlife such as the two species highlighted here as they need the habitat with which they co-evolved to survive and continue their reproductive cycles.  Healthy ecosystems are the foundation of a healthier world for all living things.

Western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) have been a steady presence in our garden for the past five weeks or so. It used to be that I would feel lucky to see a single one briefly in an entire summer, but now it’s rare to step outside or glance out the window and not see one. This is an encouraging sign that gardening for wildlife—even one yard—can and does make a difference!

Western tiger swallowtails only live 6-14 days in the adult butterfly stage, and during this time they lay eggs on the underside of host plants such as aspen, alder, ash, and willow. Our Scouler’s willow (Salix scouleriana) is the size of a small tree now, and I suspect they are laying eggs on it, meaning we have a regular stream of adult butterflies in our yard! They seem to favor showy milkweed, fireweed, and showy fleabane. I feel so grateful to have a six-year pesticide-free yard where they can breed and complete their life cycle. Even our neighbors have been commenting on the rise of butterflies this year, though they mistakenly think these are monarchs. 😊

Building habitat where western tiger swallowtails can thrive requires their host plants, a mineral source (consider a drip system into a pan of sand), a food source (native species are best for high-quality nectar and preference of the species to feed on plants with which they evolved), canopy layers for shelter, and discontinuation of pesticide use. It’s taken six years to see western tiger swallowtails thrive in our yard, so remember that it takes time in certain areas where habitat destruction and fragmentation have been occurring for 150 years for wildlife to build populations up again. We can do this—one yard at a time! ✨

 A new bird house graces our arbor and looks so good!  I'm hoping to set up a web cam this year to track one of our backyard bird nests this spring.  Nestled behind branches of tall Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) and about 8' off the ground beneath a deodar cedar canopy, this location seems to be an attractive place for a nesting pair.  

Kingsyard Nesting Box

Gardening for wildlife means providing habitat for nesting birds.  In urban and suburban areas, there are too few locations for birds to safely raise their broods, so nesting boxes like these can be a great way to support wild birds in addition to building up the five canopy layers of native plant species to your area.  

Bewick's wrens have been active at the feeders in recent weeks.

I'm a big advocate of the facilitation of safe and respectful human/wildlife connections, so am hoping to facilitate that with a web cam depending on where the finches, chickadees, western screech owls, downy woodpeckers, song sparrows, hummingbirds, etc. choose to nest this season.  Now is the time to put out your nesting boxes.  I like the Kingsyard line as their products are research-based, high-quality, affordable, and easy to mount and clean.  You can order this nesting box here and scroll through other habitat supplies that I use and love at my Amazon Storefront.  Karli20off for 20% off Kingsyard products.  Happy habitat building!   

Help support our work by buying a coffee, which will be used to create additional habitat and invest in things like web cams. 

I have compiled my favorite habitat products on the Beetles and Bees Amazon Storefront, so check it out!  If you have questions about a product, feel free to send me a message using the contact form on the right-hand side.  Here is a picture of our new Classic Bird House from Kingsyard.  Use Karli20off for 20% off Kingsyard products, several of which are linked through my Amazon Storefront.  Happy habitat building!

I just spotted my first Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis) bloom this afternoon, and realized that Spring is only four weeks away! We are in for a few bitter cold nights ahead, but we're only a hop, skip, and a jump away from spring blooms and bird nests!

Our backyard friends take advantage of native habitat during the winter season. Here is an Anna’s hummingbird perched on Pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus). I was able to get pretty close as he seemed to be coming out of torpor. As soon as I walked out the door with fresh nectar this morning, one flew by my head. Living day in and day out with these connections to wildlife sure makes for a beautiful life! 

I have linked all my favorite Anna's hummingbird products on my Amazon Storefront!  The Aspect brand is my favorite.  Always make sure to clean your feeder every few days.  You can always get in the habit of taking them down at night and putting them up in the morning to avoid the nectar from freezing.  We don't use heaters, but you can buy those as well!  There are so many ways to support wildlife and foster connections with wildlife in your own yard! 

One of the earliest blooming native shrubs of the Pacific Northwest is Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis), making it is an important native shrub to include in habitat gardens as a nectar source for early emerging pollinators.  Osoberry is dioecious, which means it has male and female organs on separate plants.  In order for Osoberry to produce fruit (drupes) and seeds for birds, which they are highly attracted to, you must have one of each.

Once Osoberry is in bloom, which typically occurs in mid to late February, it's time to sex them.  In my case, I already had two males and was on the lookout for two females.  About six weeks ago, knowing Osoberry was in bloom, I visited a couple of native plant nurseries to look for females, which I was able to find, and now have Osoberry drupes already visible--they usually ripen by summer. 

Sexing male Osoberry: look for fifteen stamens and a five-petal calyx:

Sexing female Osoberry: look for five pistils and a five-petal calyx: 

I just love Osoberry!  From its purplish-brown bark to white, five-petal blossoms to bright, light-green, lance-shaped leaves to ovoid, bluish-black drupes, you'll feel right at home in the Pacific Northwest with this in your yard!  

Osoberry appreciates moist to dry soil and part-sun, often found growing along streambank terraces in the understory of open coniferous forests at low elevations.  Can get up to 15' tall and 5-10' wide.  Plant with companion plants such as Douglas fir, western red cedar, vine maple, Pacific ninebark, western bleeding heart, Cascade Oregon grape, sword/deer ferns, Oregon oxalis, and others.  The genus Oemleria contains a single species: Osoberry.  I've always thought that was pretty cool.

I paid a long overdue visit yesterday to Sauvie Island Natives and picked up two lovely native buckbrush shrubs, a new Ceanothus species to our yard.  Isn't it pretty? 

Ceanothus spp. are known as keystone plants within ecosystems; that is, they are necessary in order for many wildlife species to complete their life cycle and without them, ecosystems break down.  In fact, there are 120 known caterpillar species that use Ceanothus as a host plant, according to data posted on The National Wildlife Federation site.  "The research of entomologist, Dr. Doug Tallamy, and his team at the University of Delaware have identified 14% of native plants (the keystones) support 90% of butterfly and moth lepidoptera species" ("Keystone Plants by Ecoregion", n.d.).  In our yard, we now have four Ceanothus species: C. sanguinous (2), C. velutinus (2), C. prostatus var. prostatus (many), and now C. cuneatus (2).  I am hoping these Ceanothus spp. within our yard will bring in higher levels of biodiversity.  After all, more caterpillars means more food for our local birds. 

Above you will see our second C. cuneatus planted now in our front yard, which will not entirely block our view of the road, and will look beautiful with its springtime white blossoms along the walkway near several of its native associate species.  I am looking forward to observing wildlife from inside our front living room window or from our front doorstep.  This species is monoecious, meaning both male and female parts occur on the same plant.  This means both of our C. cuneatus shrubs will produce fruit/seeds.  Each fruit capsule contains three seeds, explosively ejected.  Since it is often found growing on slopes, many of these ejected seeds slide downwards, while ants and other wildlife carry other seeds further away.  As with most Ceanothus spp., C. cuneatus is nitrogen-fixing, which will add to our soil restoration efforts.

Native Habitat and Range:  Dry, rocky soil in chaparral habitat, cedar-hemlock-Douglas fir forests, forest slopes, grassland/prairies, and other ecosystems.  Ranges from Oregon to the Baja of Mexico at elevations less than 6000 feet.

Size and hardiness:  4-12 feet tall and just as wide.  Drought-tolerant and well-adapted to chaparral fires, which propagates new plants, keeping populations even.  Tolerates colder temperatures and poor soil conditions.  May be shorter-lived in urban yards, usually d/t over-watering.   

Propagation:  Semi-hardwood cuttings in summer or root cuttings in late fall.  Seed propagation requires scarification by fire with cold-stratification for a minimum of several weeks.

Plant associates: Oregon white oak (Garrya Hairy manzanita (Arctostaphylos columbiana), Fremont's silk tassel (Garrya fremontii), Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and Ceanothus prostatus var. prostatus), and Cascade Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa), Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), western yarrow (Achillea millefolium var. occidentalis), and many others depending on the ecoregion.

Ethnobotany:  C. cuneatus was utilized frequently by several native peoples in basket and tool construction.  Young shoots were especially valuable in basket weaving by the Mewuk people.  The Kawaiisu used buckbrush twigs for arrow-making and as fuel.  You can read about how native tribes utilized this plant at Native American Ethnobotany DB.

Reference

“Keystone Plants by Ecoregion.” (n.d.) National Wildlife Federation, https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion.

It is the time of year, in early February, that I begin to welcome the sight of emerging buds of the state flower of Oregon: Mahonia aquifolium.  In a few week's time, all across the Pacific Northwest, tall Oregon grape will put forth bright, yellow masses of fragrant flowers that last for weeks starting at winter's end and lasting well into spring, making it an excellent source of pollen and nectar for early foraging native pollinators.

Arthur R. Kruckeberg (1989) writes, "The showy bloom in early spring is confined to the tips of the canes.  The large clusters of smallish golden yellow flowers set on the lustrous green foliage are a glorious sight" (p. 101).  Pollinator activity will lead to an abundance of dusky bluish berries (not grapes, as its name implies), which support our native birds throughout the summer months.  Most years, our Oregon grape is stripped bare of its berries by summer's end, as these nutritious berries are much-loved by wildlife.  The berries are edible for humans, though quite tart, and are usually used to make jams or mixed with sweeter berries for a more palatable flavor.

I think tall Oregon grape looks best when grown along a hedge, though we have one as a centerpiece within our backyard habitat.  We let ours get tall and leggy, as wildlife usually benefits from native plants left in their natural form, and I think the branches look so pretty as they reach for the sun.  Always consider the mature size of the plant when planting.  Rhizomes spread close to the surface of the soil, so if desired, are easily removed, and can be propagated into new plants or shared with others.  This species is very easily propagated by seed as well.  If you're looking to enhance your backyard habitat, this species is native to most counties of the Pacific Northwest, and is highly supportive to wildlife year round.  See below for more details:

Native Habitat and Range:  "Moist to rather dry or rocky wooded slopes and thickets at low to mid elevations, from southern British Columbia south to California, and from the coast east through the Columbia River Gorge to eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and Montana" (Robson, et al., 2008, p. 436).  As you can see, tall Oregon grape is found in a variety of areas from sunny slopes to the partly-shaded understory and moist to dry sites.  It usually thrives in sun.   

Size and hardiness:  5-8 ft. and just as wide with some branches reaching up to 10-12 ft. on mature stands.  Will eventually spread to form a hedge.

Propagation:  Rhizome cuttings,  hardwood cuttings in spring, or by seed.  Cold stratification over winter for spring germination.

Plant associates: Mixed conifer forests, Osoberry, vine maple, Pacific rhododendron, oceanspray, Oregon oxalis, salal, western sword fern, black twinberry, Pacific ninebark, evergreen huckleberry, and many others.

Ethnobotany:  Indigenous tribes and people groups used Mahonia aquifolium in a wide variety of ways from numerous medicinal uses to raw/preserved food and dyes.  You can read about how different tribes utilized this plant in different ways at Native American Ethnobotany DB.

Support to wildlife:  Attractive and supportive to pollinators as a late winter/early spring bloomer.  Berries attractive to a wide variety of native birds and small animals.  Foliage used by browse species and as cover for small animals, made especially protective by its spiny leaves.  

References

Kruckeberg, A. R. (1989). Gardening with native plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press.

Robson, K. A., Richter, A., & Filbert, M. (2008). Encyclopedia of northwest native plants for gardens and landscapes. Timber Press.