Encouraging Lane County residents to use native plants in their gardens is an important part of our mission. Research has shown that having natives in the garden helps pollinators and local insect populations that use or feed on those plants, which in turn helps support a more robust food chain for birds, mammals, and other vertibrate species.

The Native Gardening Awareness Program

NGAP, a committee of the Emerald Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, has produced a set of three booklets about gardening with native plants. The booklets cover plants locally native to the southern Willamette Valley and the specific gardening conditions encountered here. These online versions are provided in the hope that they will serve as a useful reference for home gardeners, as well as landscape architects and nursery retailers.

• Native Herbaceous Plants in Our Gardens
• Native Shrubs in Our Gardens
• Native Trees in Our Gardens

Invasive Ornamental Plants

Many of the invasive plants in our area are intentional introductions brought in for landscaping or other uses. These species escape from cultivation and may become dominant, causing immense damage to natural biotic communities. As a result, they can contribute to limiting the distribution and abundance of native plants and the animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates) that are dependent on those communities.

The Emerald Chapter has developed a document, the Invasive Exotic Ornamentals List, where the plants have been ranked in three categories — High Impact, Moderate Impact, and Suspected to Occur in Lane County — based on the collective assessment of professionals in botany, native nursery/horticulture, public natural area management, and related fields with those having familiarity of the vegetation of Lane County.

Native Plant Nurseries

The Emerald Chapter of NPSO has developed lists of nurseries and consultants in the southern Willamette Valley (greater Eugene-Springfield area) that specialize in or are knowledgeable about native plants. We include here only information provided by the nurseries and consultants. NPSO does not vouch for this information, nor provide any endorsements. We encourage you to ask for and purchase plants propagated in the southern Willamette Valley whenever possible. Both lists are in printable pdf format.

• Native Plant Nurseries
• Native Plant Consultants

Native Plant Propogation Protocols

If you have collected seeds of native plants and you are wondering about how to propagate them,  go to rngr.net (Forest Service National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries and Genetic Resources) for a list of protocols for plants found in the Pacific Northwest. We encourage you to try protocols developed by our colleagues at USDA’s Dorena Genetic Resource Center, if they are available for your species of interest.