NPSO 2022 Annual Meeting

May 20 - 22     Spirit Mountain Lodge, Grand Ronde, Oregon

Field Trips

Sunday May 22, 2022    9 a.m. - Noon                    Field Trip # 90

Difficulty:     Easy - Walk on paved sidewalk and paths around library building

Elevation:     None

Trip Description:     The native plant garden surrounding the Carnegie building at the McMinnville Public Library began in 1983 with containers filled with native plants. Master Gardeners expanded the garden to five raised beds in 1988. The new NPSO Cheahmill Chapter joined with Master Gardeners to form the Native Plant Garden Coalition in 1999, and together they designed, planted, and maintain the now eleven-bed garden around the Carnegie building.

The garden demonstrates the huge selection of native plants available for domestic landscaping and represents different ecological niches, from full sun to complete shade. It includes species native to the Willamette Valley and up to 400-feet in elevation in the Cascades or Coast Range.

Among the 80 species represented in the garden are trees, such as incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) and Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia); shrubs, including ocean spray (Holodiscus discolor), and three species of Ceanothus; and forbs, including Nelson's checkermallow (Sidalcea nelsoniana), wild ginger (Asarum caudatum), shooting star (Dodecatheon hendersoni), and pink and white fawn lilies (Erythronium oregonum and E. revolutum).

Meeting Place and Time:     Trip # 90 leaves at 9 a.m. from Spirit Mountain Lodge entrance. Plan to arrive 30 minutes before departure time to meet your group and arrange carpools.

Alternate Meeting:     Participants may also meet the trip at 9:30 a.m at undercover entrance of Carnegie Room, McMinnville Public Library, 225 SW Adams St. (Highway 99W), McMinnville, Oregon 97128. If you choose this option, be sure to notify your trip leader in advance.

Driving Miles and Time from Spirit Mountain Lodge:     23 miles, 29 minutes on paved roads

Driving Directions:     Trip leader will provide detailed driving instructions.

Leader:       Rob Tracey

Founding member of the Native Plant Garden, lead gardener for 20 years.

Plant Lists and Other Information:     Clink on the links below for more information about this trip.

Photo: Jim Culbert
Oregon fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum)

Photo: Marna Porath
Adams Street entrance to Native Plant Garden with red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) and tall Oregon grape (Berberis aquifolium)

Photo: Susan Williams
Vine maple (Acer circinatum) in the fall outside the Carnegie Building at the Library.