Temps hovered near 30 degrees when staff began the pollinator hedgerow project.
Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District staff grabbed shovels, wheelbarrows, and rakes on a frosty March morning to build a native pollinator hedgerow. The hedgerow took advantage of two berms which run across the front property line of the District’s newly constructed Conservation Resource Center. The berms measure a total of 400 feet in length and are 15 feet wide. Soil, excavated to level the property on which the District’s new, permanent home is built, provided the base material for the berms.
Native Pollinator Hedgerow
Native plant sales provided forbs, grasses, shrubs, and trees for planting.
District staff took advantage of local plant sales to secure a wide variety of native plants for the hedgerow. Plants were chosen for their appeal to local pollinators and other native birds and insects. Blooms will provide food from early spring through late fall. Shelter and nesting will be provided through the selection of plants that provide different levels of habitat from low growing forbs and grasses to shrubs and small trees.
What Did We Plant?
Fourteen staff members participated in the “planting party.”
Over the course of four hours, District staff planted 350 plants and moved two “mountains” of mulch. Native plants included:
Forbs
- Meadow Checkermallow
- Yarrow
- Canada goldenrod
- Oregon Sunshine
- Columbia Larkspur
- Douglas aster
66 cubic yards of mulch was distributed over the berms!
Bunch Grass
- Roemers Fescue
Shrubs
- Tall Oregon Grape
- Nootka Rose
- Red Flowering Currant
- Pacific Ninebark
- Mockorange
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Plants are small now, but will grow into a large, healthy hedgerow in years to come.
Thimbleberry
- Douglas Spiraea
- Snowberry
- Oceanspray
Small Trees
- Cascara
- Pacific Crabapple
- Pacific Dogwood
Interested in Learning More About Native Plants and Habitat?
The District is offering a 2-part Gardening for Wildlife Naturescaping Workshop series on Saturday, April 18th and Saturday, April 25th. Registration is open now! Learn how to create wildlife-friendly spaces in your own yard or community area by incorporating native plants and wildlife habitat components. Read about the workshop here!
The District provides funding to bring the Backyard Habitat Certification Program into urban Clackamas County. This program provides many resources to home gardeners to improve pollinator and wildlife habitat right in their own backyards.