Bleeding Heart – Dicentra formosa

So, I’m starting to worry that I have referred to every single one of these plants at Multnomah Falls as my favorite. They are just all so great! And even more importantly they are all so great TOGETHER!

Bleading Heart is no exception. I particularly adore this plant with ferns. At the falls we have it with Sword ferns. I think it is also fabulous with our native maiden hair fern! With such delicate lacy leaves and a broken hearted blossom, it is certainly one of the most desperately romantic flowers in the Pacific NW.

Where to find it at the Multnomah Falls Lodge: In the outside planters in front of the lodge.

2008. Click on the photo to learn more about the photographer.

Common Yarrow – Achellea millefolium

There is nothing common about it… okay actually this one really is a more commonly seen native plant, but in my opinion, its advantages as a garden specimen are wholly undervalued.

While bloom colors are the most obvious way to add interest and contrast to a garden design, foliage color and texture is also an important part of the planting pallet to consider. I’m particularly fond of the fine scaled texture of Common Yarrow’s foliage. It makes for a strong contrast to the broader leaves of the Western Sword fern and Creeping Mahonia.

Where to find it at Multnomah Falls: At either end of the central planter beds adjacent to the Creeping Mahonia.

Blanket Flower – Gaillardia aristata

I’ve read that the blanket flower is named for its resemblance to the patterns of of color on woven blankets. It is also a low growing perennial that tends to appear as a carpet of red and yellow blooms when found in the wild. A great color spot for any sunny garden!

Where: You’ll find Blanket flower planted just behind the benches in the central middle planter in front of the Multnomah Falls Lodge.

Penny Postcard, ca.1930, “Multnomah Lodge, Multnomah Falls, Columbia River Highway, Oregon.”.

Caption on back reads: “Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River Highway, 23 miles east of Portland, Oregon: Where a cataract leaps down shear 620 feet in a roaring, mystic white.”.

columbiariverimages.com

White Spirea ‘Lucida’ Spirea betulifolia var. ‘Lucida’

White Spirea is the species I am most excited to see going into the planting beds at Multnomah Falls Lodge. Its a low growing variety with lovely white blooms that will highlight the white spray of the water fall in the spring and finish up in the fall with showing of fabulous red and orange color! As the flowers fade, even the seed pods will create a dramatic effect in front of the western sword fern!

Where: In all four planters right in front of the western sword fern. Bam!

Creeping Mahonia – Mahonia repens

Creeping Mahonia, a lower growing relative of our State Flower the Oregon Grape, makes for a fabulous year round accent to your native garden. With yellow flowers in the spring, blue berries in the summer and fall, and an evergreen leaf that goes from spring green to deep red over the course of the year, it keeps a winter garden going, and makes a summer garden that much more fabulous.