Home > Landscaping > Native Plants for Western Washington Gardens and Restoration Projects
Native Plants for Nutrient-rich Soils
 | Acer circinatum Vine Maple Tall, erect, multi-trunked shrub or small tree with sprawling branches. Prefers well drained, nitrogen-rich soils. Height: 13-26 feet (4-8 meters) |
 | Achlys triphylla Vanilla Leaf Grows low to the ground, spreading by rhizomes to form dense ground cover in shady areas. Height: To 12 inches (30 cm) tall. |
 | Adiantum aleuticum Maidenhair Fern, Aleutian maidenhair, western maidenhair, serpentine maidenhair Small to medium-sized delicate, deciduous fern with a fan-shaped arrangement of five to seven fingerlike branchlets each bearing many toothed leaflets. Prefers humus rich soils and well-drained, moist sites. Tolerant of serpentine soils. Height: 6-43 inches (15-110 cm). |
 | Asarum caudatum Wild Ginger Low-growing evergreen perennial that smells strongly of lemon-ginger when crushed. Prefers rich soils. Height: Can grow up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall. |
 | Athyrium filix-femina Lady Fern Tall, delicate, light-green fronds from a basal cluster. Height: Grows 3-6 feet (2 meters) tall. |
 | Claytonia sibirica Siberian Spring Beauty Low-growing delicate herb. Prefers nutrient-rich, moist soils. Height: Up to 16 inches (40 cm). |
 | Cornus stolonifera Red-osier Dogwood Spreading, thicket-forming shrub with bright red stems. Prefers seasonally inundated soils. Height: Up to 20 feet (6 meters). |
 | Cornus unalaschkensis Bunchberry Low, trailing, rhizomatous perennial with white flowers. Can tolerate nitrogen-poor soils. Height: Up to 10 inches (25 cm). |
 | Corylus cornuta Beaked Hazelnut Slender, multi-trunked deciduous shrub. Prefers calcium and nitrogen rich soils. Height: 3 feet - 13 feet (1 meter - 4 meters). |
 | Deschampsia cespitosa Tufted Hairgrass Densely tufted perennial grass. Grows vigorously in nutrient-rich sites. Height: Up to 4 feet (120 cm) tall. |
 | Hydrophyllum tenuipes Pacific Waterleaf Single leafy, hairy stem grows from rhizomes and fleshy fibrous roots; with small clusters of greenish-white flowers. Prefers rich, moist soils. Height: Up to 32 inches (80 cm). |
 | Oemleria cerasiformis Indian Plum, Osoberry Deciduous shrub producing clusters of white flowers in very early spring. One of the earliest plants to bloom. Prefers nutrient rich soils. Height: 16.5 feet (5 meters). |
 | Oplopanax horridus Devil's Club An erect to sprawling shrub with thick, spiny, crooked stems and very large leaves. Found often in wet, but well-drained seepage sites. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters). |
 | Philadelphus lewisii Mock Orange Erect, loosely branched shrub with large fragrant white flowers. Can tolerate several soil types. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters). |
 | Physocarpus capitatus Pacific Ninebark Erect to spreading shrub up to 4 meters tall with clusters of white flowers. Height: Up to 13 feet (4 meters). |
 | Ranunculus occidentalis Western Buttercup Slender perennial herb with fibrous roots and yellow flowers. Height: Up to 2 feet (60 cm). |
 | Rosa nutkana Nootka Rose Spindly shrub with a pair of prickles at the base of each leaf and large pink rose flowers. Prefers rich soils. Height: Up to 10 feet (3 meters). |
 | Solidago canadensis Canada Goldenrod Forms patches from long creeping rhizomes. Stems leafy and hairy near the top, with a dense cluster of small yellow flowers. Prefers soils rich in nutrients. Height: Up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). |
 | Stachys cooleyae Cooley's Hedge Nettle Perennial from rhizomes. Prefers nutrient rich, mucky, peaty soils. Height: Up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). |
 | Thuja plicata Western Red Cedar Large conifer with branches that droop and then turn back up (J-shaped), broad crowns. Prefers nutrient rich soils with poor drainage. Height: 100-230 feet (30-70 meters). |
 | Tolmiea menziesii Piggy-back Plant A woodland herb whose leaves give rise to small plantlets. |
 | Urtica dioica Stinging Nettle Tall perennial herb with deciduous leaves covered in stinging hairs. Prefers nutrient-rich soils. |
 | Viola glabella Yellow Wood Violet An attractive yellow-flowered violet of moist open woodlands. |
The landscaping and restoration information provided on this page is taken from the Starflower Foundation Image Herbarium. All photographs © Starflower Foundation unless otherwise noted.