Northwestern native plants grow in an amazingly diverse range of environments that includes Alpine mountains, foggy coastal areas, high desert, sagebrush steppe, damp meadows, woodlands, lakes, rivers, and savannahs. Climates in the Pacific Northwest (which generally includes British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon) include cold winters and hot summers of high deserts to rainy valleys or pockets of semi-Mediterranean warmth.
Native Gardening in the Pacific Northwest
What are the benefits of native gardening in the Pacific Northwest? Natives are beautiful and easy to grow. They require no protection in winter, little to no water in summer, and they co-exist with beautiful and beneficial native butterflies, bees, and birds.
A Pacific Northwest native garden may contain annuals, perennials, ferns, conifers, flowering trees, shrubs, and grasses. Below is a short list of native plants for Northwest region gardens, along with USDA growing zones.
Annual Native Plants for Northwest Regions
- Clarkia (Clarkia spp.), zones 3b to 9b
- Columbia coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctorial var. atkinsonia), zones 3b to 9b
- Two-color/miniature lupine (Lupinus bicolor), zones 5b to 9b
- Western monkey flower (Mimulus alsinoides), zones 5b to 9b
Perennial Northwestern Native Plants
- Western giant hyssop/horsemint (Agastache occidentalis), zones 5b to 9b
- Nodding onion (Allium cernuum), zones 3b to 9b
- Columbia windflower (Anemone deltoidea), zones 6b to 9b
- Western or red columbine (Aquilegia formosa), zones 3b to 9b
Native Fern Plants for Northwestern Regions
- Lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina ssp. Cyclosorum), zones 3b to 9b
- Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum), zones 5a to 9b
- Deer fern (Blechnum spicant), zones 5b to 9b
- Spiny wood fern/shield fern (Dryopteris expansa), zones 4a to 9b
Northwestern Native Plants: Flowering Trees and Shrubs
- Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii), zones 7b to 9b
- Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii), zones 5b to 9b
- Orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa), zones 4-8
- Oregon grape (Mahonia), zones 5a to 9b
Native Pacific Northwest Conifers
- White fir (Abies concolor), zones 3b to 9b
- Alaska cedar/Nootka cypress (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), zones 3b to 9b
- Common juniper (Juniperus communis), zones 3b to 9b
- Western larch or tamarack (Larix occidentalis), zones 3 to 9
Native Grasses for Northwestern Regions
- Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), zones 3b to 9a
- Sandberg’s bluegrass (Poa secunda), zones 3b to 9b
- Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus), zones 3b to 9b
- Dagger-leaf rush/three-stamened rush (Juncus ensifolius), zones 3b to 9b