Category Archives: Native Plants
A Story of Gophers & Great Camas
According to the staff at Oak Creek and many other gardeners and farmers I’ve had the opportunity to talk to, it appears that though 2020 was a difficult year for humans, it was truly a remarkable year for gophers and … Continue reading
Posted in Native Plants, science
Tagged Camas, gophers, native cultivars, Native Plants
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Garden Ecology Lab Year in Review: COVID Edition
This past year presented challenge and change to the Garden Ecology Lab. COVID locked us out of the lab and out of the field for a period of time. We said goodbye to two lab members (Angelee graduated! Cliff decided … Continue reading
Posted in Lab News, Native Plants, Pollinators, science
Tagged Garden Ecology Lab Research, research recap
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Virtual Field Day: Garden Ecology Lab
Our colleague, Brooke Edmunds, was kind enough to shoot and edit this short video on two of our current lab projects: Jen Hayes’ study of native plants and nativars and Tyler Spofford’s study of the economic costs and benefits of … Continue reading
Posted in bees, garden ecology, Native Plants
Tagged Basil, Bucket Garden, nativars, Native Plants, pollinators, Tomatoes
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Pollinators in Your Parking Strip
What’s the first thing people see when approaching a house? The parking strip.What is often the ugliest, most barren part of a yard? The parking strip! The parking strip, often called a “Hell Strip”, is a tough landscaping challenge. Narrowly … Continue reading
Posted in Beneficial Insects, Native Plants, urban
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How do we know what flowers bees like?
Pollinator Syndromes Pollinator syndromes are the characteristics or traits of a flower that appeal to a particular pollinator. These traits often help pollinators locate flowers and the resources (e.g. pollen or nectar) that the flowers have to offer. Syndromes include … Continue reading
Where to buy native plants in Oregon?
As an ecologist who studies garden systems, the increasing use of native plants in urban and suburban landscaping is exciting to me (see lab member Signe Danler’s great blog post on “ecological gardening”). Unfortunately, there are still many challenges associated … Continue reading
Ethnobotany of Oregon Wildflowers
As many of you may know at this point, Aaron Anderson and Jen Hayes are conducting some amazing research regarding Oregon native plants and their pollinator attractiveness. If you haven’t had the chance to read about their research yet, check … Continue reading
Setting up a native-nativar plant study
Natives vs Nativars Recent studies report an increase in consumer demand for native plants, largely due to their benefits to bees and other pollinators. This interest has provided the nursery industry with an interesting labelling opportunity. If you walk into … Continue reading
Posted in Beneficial Insects, Lab News, Native Plants, science
Tagged California poppy, Camas, field research, nativars, native cultivars
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How attractive are native wildflowers to gardeners?
For my dissertation research, I am studying which native Willamette Valley wildflowers are most visited by pollinators and natural enemies for use in home gardens and urban landscaping. I’ve previously shared preliminary results from my field study on our blog, … Continue reading
Posted in bees, Native Plants
Tagged gardeners' views, native bees, Native Plants, native wildflowers, Oregon Native Plants
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From the Lab to Your Laptop: Getting Research to the Public
The members of the Garden Ecology lab spend much of their time on research into subjects that affect, what else, the ecology of home gardens. Pollinators and their relations with native and non-native plants, bee variety and abundance in gardens, … Continue reading
Posted in bees, Native Plants, teaching
Tagged Native Plants, online learning, pollinators
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