Biodiversity is the vast variety of life on Earth from genes to species to ecosystems, resulting from 4 billion years of evolution, notes Eileen Stark, Pacific Northwest landscape designer and author of “Real Gardens Grow Natives.”

Gardening with native plants that flourish in our area and are part of our Olympic Peninsula ecosystem, even just a few plants, can make a difference. Incorporating woody plants in particular, the trees and shrubs in your garden, is a major factor in increasing biodiversity.

Eileen details that native plants that contribute generously are not always large in stature but notably are “able to support insect herbivores at the base of the food chain because they offer leaves for insects to munch on, food for animals, like birds, who eat the herbivores, flowers and nectar and pollen for pollinators, fruit and seeds for other wildlife, cover and nesting sites, decaying matter that protect the soil, and other benefits.” 

Extending a welcome mat for wildlife

The shrubs listed below will marshal vibrant wildlife into your landscape.

For example, oceanspray and red-flowering currant blossoms attract birds such as chickadees, bushtits and hummingbirds (red-flowering currant) while the fruit of the serviceberry are eaten by many birds and mammals, including woodpeckers, crows, chickadees, thrushes, towhee, bluebirds, waxwings, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, goldfinches, juncos, grouses, pheasants, chipmunks, marmots, skunks, raccoons, and bears. Mock orange and red evergreen huckleberry combined attract flickers, orioles, bluebirds, thrushes, waxwings and more. Red-osier dogwood develops a diverse spreading structure as it grows that provides edibles and nesting cover for pollinators and birds, including waxwings, thrushes and grosbeaks (stark). The vast majority of the shrubs provide food sources for butterfly larvae including zephyrs (red-flowering currant), common wood nymphs (mock orange), spring azures and orange sulfur butterflies (red-osier dogwood), and Lorquin’s admiral (oceanspray).

Shrubs preferring full sun to part shade

Mock orange (Philadelphus lewisii): multi-stemmed shrub to 10 inches; fragrant white flowers in late spring; well-drained soils. 

Oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor): multi-stemmed with height to 15 inches; profuse, creamy white cascading flower clusters; dry to moist sites; drought tolerant.

Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum): 6 to 10 feet wide and tall; profuse red-pink tubular flowers; not for most areas (does not like wet feet); drought tolerant, but does need water as it gets established in the garden for 2 to 3 years. Companion plants include madrone, vine maple, salal, sword fern and manzanita. 

Red twig or red-osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea): height and width of 6-10’;  showy red stems; clusters of white flowers that become small white berries; prefers damp soils rich in organic matter; tolerates slow draining soil; once established drought tolerant. 

Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia): graceful rounded shape from 15 to 30 feet in height; 2- to 4-inch-long showy flower; prefers moist, well-drained soils; landscape interest and color all year; ripe fruit can be eaten fresh or used in jams, jellies and pies; nice and tidy; once established, needs little water. 

Shrubs preferring partial to full shade

Black twinberry (Lonicera involucrata): multi-stemmed shrub to 7 feet; small, tubular, yellow flowers; branches, leaves, flowers and berries grow in pairs; prefers loamy soils, tolerates some flooding; beaver resistant.

Red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium): deciduous shrub to 10 feet; with dense, strongly angled, bright green branches; small white flowers, red fruit.

Planning 

Joe Holtrop, manager of the Jefferson County Conservation District, as noted in part one of this four-part series, advises gardeners to ask the following questions about the perennial woody plants: “Does the plant grow in wet soil or well-drained soil? Does it need sun or can it tolerate shade? And what size is the shrub at maturity?” following the “right plant for right place” mantra. 

Consider the function the plant will provide (screening or framing views), habitat services and form provided (flowers, fruit, fall color, form) in your home garden. Eileen notes that if your garden includes a variety of native plants, you will not need to worry about planting for dwindling pollinators.

More information about shrubs can be found online through the Jefferson County Conservation District.

Ask a “Master Gardener” plant clinics will be held at the Charles Pink House on the first Tuesday of the month from noon to 2 p.m.from January to December at the Port Townsend Library, 1220 Lawrence St. 

Michele Koomen is a volunteer for the Master Gardener Program since 2024, serving as a community educator in gardening and environmental stewardship.