Ethically propagated native plants of the Pacific Northwest & Columbia River Gorge
Nursery News & Events
Plant sales, educational events, volunteer opportunities and more.....
We will feature select news & events related to native plants, native pollinators, conservation, and restoration on a seasonal basis here, so keep checking in or follow us on Facebook to stay updated.
Featured news & events:
Fall planting season is here!
Work less and enjoy more flowers next spring by joining the growing group of savvy gardeners, landscapers, and restoration professionals who know that fall is a great time to plant native plants! Planting native plants and seeds in the fall can help reduce the amount of supplemental irrigation needed to get plants established, give plants time to settle into their new homes and start to establish their roots so they are ready to grow in the spring, and give seeds the cold, wet stratification period required to break seed dormancy and allow germination in the spring. If you aren't sure what to plant, our book The Pacific Northwest Native Plant Primer can help you!
Call or email us at 503.449.3694, humbleroots@gorge.net to make an appointment to visit the nursery or place an order from our plant list and we will help you pick the right native plant for your garden & landscaping.
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The Pacific Northwest Native Plant Primer
We are excited to announce the release of our book, The Pacific Northwest Native Plant Primer: 225 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden, with publisher Timber Press, which hit the shelves in the spring of 2023! We feel this is a great resource for regional gardeners, particularly in Oregon and Washington. It contains useful information for both beginning and seasoned native plant lovers and covers more than 225 species as we make suggestions of alternate species for different habitats and ecoregions in many of the plant profiles.
Available wherever books are sold. We also have copies for sale in the nursery, so make an appointment to visit us and go home with a book and some plants recommended for you by the authors!
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See what people are saying about our book and read reviews here
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Humble Roots on Cultivating Place
Jennifer Jewell interviews us for her podcast, Cultivating Place. Listen to this episode of the program (which aired November 2nd, 2023) wherever you get your podcasts...and keep listening! This is a great show with deep insights for plant lovers, gardeners, and anyone who appreciates the greenery of the world.
Link to the program: Growing Home: Humble Roots on Cultivating Place
Portland Audubon's 43rd Wild Arts Festival
Find us there on Saturday, November 18th
We will be signing books at the Wild Arts Festival! Come to this celebration of "art, literature, and nature to explore beautiful artwork, nature-inspired books, an array of silent auction items, and much more. When you make a purchase at the Wild Arts Festival, you’ll be supporting Portland Audubon’s mission to inspire all people to love and protect birds, wildlife, and the natural environment upon which life depends."
While we will only be there on Saturday, November 18th, the festival continues through Sunday, November 19th!
See the incredible lineup of authors and artists here: WildArts Festival
Mt. Adams Institute's Sense of Place Lecture - Mountaintop to Backyard: The Beauty of the Gorge's Native Plants
Wednesday, December 13th, 7pm
Columbia Center for the Arts, Hood River
Join us for an evening talking about the true beauty of the Gorge's native plants. Follow this link for a full program description and to purchase tickets (proceeds help to fund the important work of the Mt. Adams Institute):
Lecture: The Beauty of the Gorge's Native Plants
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Native Seeds: Supplying Restoration video series.
Created by the International Network for Seed-Based Restoration (INSR) and Hidden Films with support from a number of organizations and agencies, this is a beautifully made video series exploring the need for native seed in restoration and the native seed supply chain in the western United States.
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Watch the full length documentary or individual episodes:
OregonFlora needs your help!
OregonFlora is a vital resource for anyone interested in Oregon's native flora. Their website provides identification tools and information about native plants and gardening with native plants. In addition, they are producing a three volume comprehensive, illustrated guide to the flora of the state.
This important organization relies on community donations and is in need of donations to continue its work.
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Donate and tour the website at: oregonflora.org
Order Vol 1 and 2 of the Flora of Oregon or purchase the Oregon Wildflowers app here: oregonflora.org/pages/store.php
Create nesting habitat for bees and beneficial insects.
When doing any cleanup in the garden, keep in mind that many of our native bees (which also happen to be solitary and stingless) spend the winter underground, in cavities in trees, or the pithy stems of plants. There are many ways to promote, protect, and provide for these vital insect allies, including specific ways of pruning and maintaining your landscape. The Xerces Society provides some great information and online publications which can educate gardeners on how to truly maintain a year-round pollinator-friendly garden.
Learn more about providing nesting resources for pollinators here:
xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/nesting-resources
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Fall gardening for pollinators webinar September 21st, 2023. This class will be recorded and posted to the Xerces Society YouTube channel.
Book features Sheila Ford Richmond's home and neighborhood gardens in Hood River
Under Western Skies is a beautifully photographed and written book by Caitlin Atkinson and Jennifer Jewell that showcases innovative gardens in the American West where nature is the inspiration. It features the hard work of Sheila Ford Richmond and our very own An"Drew".
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You can now find our plants at Dirt Hugger!
We are excited to be partnering with Dirt Hugger to provide you with locally adapted and ethically propagated native plant starts for your garden and landscape! You can now find a selection of our plants at their landscape supply yard in The Dalles, OR.
We have proudly been using Dirt Hugger soil mixes to grow all of our plants since the early beginnings of our nursery. We appreciate the great team of people that work hard to make this locally and environmentally minded business a success and think they are a great asset to the community. We encourage you to use their products if you don't already, and look for our plants when you visit their landscape supply yard!
Dirt Hugger Landscape Supply (749 Snipes St.) Open Monday-Saturday
Wildflower hikes, classes and events with NPSO & WNPS
The Native Plant Society of Oregon and the Washington Native Plant Society are always planning and organizing great hikes and events to see and learn about the flora of the PNW. Join them!
Native Plant Society of Oregon npsoregon.org
Washington Native Plant Society wnps.org
The Columbia Gorge is well known for its beautiful wildflowers...
We encourage everyone to take a few steps to help protect the beautiful native wildflowers of the Gorge while out hiking....
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*Clean weed seeds from footwear before hitting the trail and use boot brushes at trail heads to help stop the spread of invasive plants that could harm native plant populations.
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*Stay on the trail and please don't pick native wildflowers! What looks like a common flower may actually be a rare subspecies or an endemic species and picking them could do more harm to the population than you may think.
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*Do not post locations of rare plants on social media.
Columbia Insight
Independent environmental news for communities throughout the Columbia River Basin.
Current news and podcasts on a range of topics related to life in the Columbia River Basin. Read & listen up!
Check back seasonally for updates. We will also post updates & links to these events and more on our Facebook page.
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