Raised Beds for Enhanced Garden Space

Many yards in our area have precious little space for both recreation and gardening. Building raised beds has become a popular way to conserve usable backyard space while still adding capacity to grow herbs and vegetables.

Raised beds contain loosely packed soil that allows for better drainage than Portland’s soil, which is high in clay content. Raised beds also provide warmer soil and an enhanced growing environment because the sides of the beds are heated by the sun. This can allow for a longer growing season. Another benefit of installing raised beds is that the follow up care of your plants is easier, as there is less bending required when pulling weeds or harvesting the vegetables and herbs.

Not only are raised beds a useful addition to your home garden, but they can be aesthetically pleasing as well!

Checking the Spread of Invasive Plants

Invasive plants like English Ivy or Garlic Mustard can have detrimental effects on Northwest native plant and animal communities. The invasives out-compete native plants for nutrients and thereby disturb food chains and reduce biodiversity.

Butterfly Bush is a common invasive plant that originated in China and Japan but now proliferates in Oregon and Washington. It is a large bush with pink, purple, or blue flowers. From yards and gardens, they have spread to forest boundaries, streams, and road shoulders, endangering native landscapes in those areas.

Photograph of a Blooming Butterfly Bush courtesy of Tom Forney, OR Dept of Agriculture

The City of Portland has an anti-invasive policy and is actively trying to eliminate plants like the Butterfly Bush on city-owned sites. It is important for home owners to do the same. At City Steward, we aim to help reduce the negative impact of invasives in our area. One of our service offerings is removing invasive plants and replacing them with natives that will strive and contribute to the vitality of our ecosystem.

The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services has a great reference for those interested in learning more about controlling invasive plants on their property. Here is a link to the city’s “Invasive Plant Management Strategy” as well as a comprehensive list of nuisance and prohibited plants, and the natives that can be planted instead.

Edible Gardens

There are many reasons that edible gardens are taking over yards all around Portland. Growing your own food is a natural fit for the do-it-yourself culture here. What could be more symbolic of independence and self reliance than producing one’s own sustenance and nutrition.

For families, a home garden is a wonderful way to get kids engaged with nature, more aware of how food grows and more willing to eat vegetables. And there is no more certain way to eat organic than have grown it oneself. Saving some money on grocery bills isn’t bad either.

Work into edible gardening gradually by planting one or two spots, or get into it more fully by converting wider areas. The idea is gaining popularity, and was the subject of a September 14, 2008 article in the Oregonian entitled “Is it time to kill your lawn?”

The article chronicles a “new American lawn ritual” – removing it and replacing it with vegetables, fruits and herbs. Just about every yard – with the right site planning, soil building and crop choices – can support edible gardening.

Building Healthy Soil

Healthy soil is made up of various things – clay, silt and sand, air and water, and organic matter in various stages of decomposition. The more organic material in your soil, the more productive it will be.

One reason for difficult gardening is that many yards just don’t have good soil – it may lack nutrients, have heavy clay soil or be compacted. One solution is to add organic fertilizers and thoroughly till the soil before adding new plantings.

Another way to build healthy soil is by planting temporary cover crops. They’re an excellent way to naturally add organic matter and fertility to soil. During most of the year, these annual cover crops can be planted, and after their growing period tilled into the soil to decompose.

For success in growing a wider range of plants, build healthy soil first, plant second.

Going Native

A conventional approach to yards is what many homeowners have inherited as they buy homes in close-in neighborhoods. In many ways, conventional yards reflect outdated practices and standards – the lawn that constantly needs to be either watered, fertilized or mowed; traditional plantings that are boring, tired and often, overgrown; or showy hybrids that are typically too thirsty or maintenance intensive.

Another approach is more interesting, easy and earth-friendly – converting yards with native plants. “Naturescapes” promote biodiversity, preserve our natural heritage, help reduce pollution and enhance livability. They also provide habitat and food sources for butterflies, birds and small animals, while supporting essential pollinators like bees.

Native plants have thrived in this area for thousands of years. They have the advantage of being naturally drought-tolerant and disease-resistant through adaptation to unique local conditions. They are just as attractive as traditional landscape plants, and varied enough to meet most any need. By viewing our yard choices as environmental choices and going native, we can give back to the earth. Expanses of native perennials and shrubs enable any yard to reconnect with our ecosystem. There are several online tools, such as this Native Plant Finder, that enable easy research and review of options for planting with Oregon natives.

DOWNSPOUT DISCONNECT: Containing the rain is fish-friendly and now gets you a water bill discount.

Portland has a “combined” sewer system. This means rain falling on homes, streets and sidewalks is collected and then channeled into the sewer system. When it rains, pipes fill with stormwater runoff and sewage. During heavy rains, untreated sewage overflows directly into the Willamette River.

While the "Big Pipe" project will dramatically reduce these overflows, it will not completely control them. So, part of the solution is reducing runoff from homes.

Clean River Rewards is an incentive for Portland homeowners to do just that – by disconnecting their downspouts from the combined sewer system, homeowners get a discount on their quarterly water bill. After a disconnect, rainwater is routed away from a foundation and into a rain garden, which is planted with moisture-loving plants and allows roof runoff to seep naturally into the ground. Rain gardens make your yard more attractive while building urban ecological health.

The discount applies to the Stormwater portion of your quarterly water bill. Typical savings are about $21.00 per household each quarter. Once the required downspout adjustments and landscaping additions are done, homeowners can easily register online (or by mail) and see savings of about $84 annually. These projects pay for themselves in short order and truly help make a home greener.





In one recent Downspout Disconnect project, City Steward combined reclaimed bricks, a copper rain chain, and native plants in a rain garden design, adding an attractive and watershed-friendly element to a home.