Go native

When it comes to picking plants for our landscape or for yours, we prefer to go native whenever possible. Trees, shrubs and other plants native to the Northwest — vine maples (right), sword fern, salal, beach strawberry, and Pacific dogwood — simply do better in our climate. In addition to requiring little maintenance, birds and other wildlife in our area have come to rely on these plants over decades and centuries to supply them with food, shelter and other needs.

Native plants create a natural landscape. It has the added benefit of reducing runoff — one of the biggest causes of pollution in Puget Sound — by controlling erosion and curbing flooding.

Sometimes finding native plants is the trickiest part of all. Ecoyards has secured and planted many native trees, shrubs, ground covers and other plants for our customers. We have good relationships with nurseries in the area, and can recommend some of our favorite native plants, such as red flowering currant, evergreen huckleberry, mountain hemlock, trillium, kinnikinnick, and mock orange.

King County’s Native Plant Resources site includes good suggestions on which native plants to put in sunny, shady, wet or  dry conditions. The Washington Native Plant Society also has a list of plants suited for most occasions.