The Pacific Northwest Native Plant Primer: 225 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden

by Kristin Currin, Andrew Merritt

Native plants bring your garden to life—and life to your garden! Here are the best choices for Oregon and Washington. 

The benefits of native plants are enormous—they reduce maintenance, require less water, and attract vital, earth-friendly pollinators like birds, butterflies, and bees. Gardeners seeking to add them to their landscape will find no better guide than The Pacific Northwest Native Plant Primer . Packed with proven advice that everyhome gardener can follow, this incomparable sourcebook profiles 225 recommended native wildflowers, grasses and grasslike plants, ferns, shrubs, and trees. With additional introductory information on preparation, planting, maintenance, and climate considerations, it’s everything you need to know to create a beautiful and beneficial garden. This must-have handbook is for gardeners in Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Environment, Science, Nature

264 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2023

Reviews

[LindaPf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully photographed and a terrific book for gardeners considering changing their landscapes to native plants and pollinators. Rather than using the usual USDA zones, this book considers the various diverse habitats of the Pacific Norhwest, from the wetter western side of the Cascades (where 150 inches of rain is common) to the more arid parts of the plateau in the east (10 inches of rain). The descriptions were informative and well researched. This volume includes native waterwise plants for the eastern PNW gardener and lush wildflowers for the coastal gardener. I was impressed by the concern for ethical propagation (don’t steal the flowers from endangered habitats!). My only criticism was the organization of the entries — although she eschews the gardening zones, I wished (as an arid gardener near Spokane) that there was more of a grouping of similar plants for regions. 4 stars!

Thank you to Timber Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

[Heather R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you obsessed with making your garden as pollinator positive as possible? And do you live in the Pacific Northwest of the US? Then you need this invaluable guide, chock full of beautiful photos of the plants that will set your garden (and heart!) athrum with the beating of many tiny wings.

Thank you #NetGalley for the digital galley of ThePacificNorthwestNativePlantPrimer! I’m definitely going to need to buy a hardcover copy for myself.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well illustrated book packed with profiles and photos of native plants for your PNW garden. It gives a ton of information and the plant profiles are very complete. It talks about which type of climate/habitat each plant is best suited for, with photos and growing information. My one complaint is that it doesn't list garden zones for the plants.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction if you live in the PNW and are new to native plants. Also great if part of your garden beds or landscaping has native plants but you have a particular spot where you want to put another one, two, or three. It's half the price of the book that's long been considered THE BOOK on this topic, Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest, and more comprehensive than Real Gardens Grow Natives, the other two that I recommend.

It's by people who own a nursery and considers the quite-variable microclimates we have, too.

Buy it! But buy the printed paperback version, because you won't get the colored photos in the Kindle version, and they're essential.

[Caroline Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have been nice if the amount of sun or type of landscape each plant would optimally grow in was also symbolized by the plant names - and not just the types of pollinators each plant would attract. Also would have been more helpful if the list of plants by area had the page reference for each plant next to their name, so you didn't have to check the scientific name of the plant then flip to the index in the back, and then go to the page for the plants.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love wildflowers and on travel I always take lots of pictures of the native wildflowers. I love this book because it shares the wildflowers of Oregon and Washington. The climate in those states is very conducive to wildflowers and there are lots. If you live in that area consider adding some of these to your own flower beds. There are a lot of benefits to planting native plants. Birds, bees and butterflies love them and will spend some time in your yard which is very beneficial to everyone. They are low maintenance and you do not have to water as much.Those are a plus in my book. So use this book to find out which ones will grow well in your yard and add a few this year.

[MountainsMama · Rating 4 out of 5]

In-depth and categorized well (e.g. “shrubs”).

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Pacific Northwest Native Plant Primer is a gardening guide with herbal encyclopedia covering a plethora of indigenous plant species for gardeners in the Pacific Northwestern USA. Published 28th Feb 2023 by Timber Press, it's 264 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. This is one of a series of sister volumes on different areas of the USA available from the publisher.

As we learn more about the interconnectedness of local biomes and the desirability of supporting indigenous pollinators, plant, and animal species, more gardeners are moving to reduce or eliminate potentially invasive species and substitute with appropriate native species. This is a regional guide aimed at the midwestern USA and includes a huge variety of native plant species and their uses in the garden.

I liked the layout of the book which is very well organized and easy to follow. The introduction provides a good overview of native plants, why they're desirable for habitat and food for local species, how the choice of these species for our gardens actually benefits us as gardeners (less maintenance, suited to the climate and growing conditions already, hardiness), and more.

The plant primer itself takes up the majority of the page content and is split into plant types: wildflowers, grasses & grasslike plants, ferns, shrubs, and trees. Each of the primer entries contains the botanical and some common names for the plant, habitat/soil conditions and culture requirements, active growing seasons and other special info, size, light requirements, a good description, and a clear picture. There are 225 species contained here, enough to provide lots of alternatives for almost any garden role.The end of the book contains appendices which include a helpful plant chooser for specific garden roles, bibliography, good resources lists, and a cross-referenced index.

This is one of the better regional gardening guides which I've reviewed. Four and a half stars. It would make an excellent choice for school or public library acquisition, home garden, smallholder, gardening club, or community garden use. I really liked that the book's author/s distinguished between the very distinct sub-climates in the geographical area and gave specific recommendations for the lush, rainy western coastal areas, and the more arid inland areas.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[LeastTorque · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors, who run Humble Roots Nursery, are just the best. They have been propagating, selling, and advocating for native plants for a very long time. We’ve bought many plants from them over the years, almost all of which we managed not to kill and which are thriving and bringing us and the wildlife joy year after year. We manage several acres that includes forest and edge habitat and open areas. As we’ve cleared away invasives, the natives spring up naturally. Otherwise we’d be buying a lot more plants from this fabulous, knowledgeable, and kind pair, not just the ones our site is missing.

We went ahead and bought a copy and it will be heavily used. We have other native plant books but it quickly became clear that this one contains bits that the others are missing. This comes from the authors’ long years of hands-on experience.

[Randal White · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we cope with the effects of climate change, it becomes more and more important that we stop trying to force non-native plants into our landscapes. Better to use those plants that belong there, and have adapted to our environment over many years. That's why this is an important book. The author's identify many, many plants that we should be using! Full of information, beautifully photographed, it's a great addition to my library. I will be referring to this book for a long time!

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a spectacular resource for those living in the PNW! So valuable! I am re-wilding and getting rid of invasive non-native plants in my yard and this book has been my gold mine for understanding and selecting the right native plants for my property!

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you into plants?! This is a good book for you! beautiful Photographs. Great ideas to help pick the right plants for your area!

[SassieMolassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of information, lots of different plants, and some guides on what works where. I liked flipping through this book.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and engaging, well-presented information. This was a total winner for me and one that I can see myself referring back to again and again.