Tacoma gardeners will soon have an opportunity to fill their yards with plants that were made for this corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Parks Tacoma’s Fall Native Plant Sale opens online at 7 a.m. Friday, September 18. The sale continues through September 27, but gardeners looking for a particular tree, shrub or flower may not want to wait that long.
The tentative shopping list contains roughly 100 choices, and some are listed in quantities of only a few plants.
The selection reaches well beyond the sword ferns and salal that may first come to mind when people imagine a Northwest garden.
Gardeners looking for height and structure may find vine maple, Pacific dogwood, Pacific crabapple or serviceberry. Evergreen huckleberry, Oregon grape and kinnikinnick can add year-round greenery, while red-flowering currant, western columbine, Douglas aster and Pacific bleeding heart can bring seasonal color.
The list also includes several kinds of ferns, flowering bulbs such as camas and shooting star, and packets of native seeds. Prices on the tentative list generally range from about $5 to the mid-$40s, depending on the plant and container size.
The word “tentative” is important: Parks Tacoma says the listed plants, bulbs and seeds may be available when the online store opens, but the final inventory could change.
Native plants offer more than a familiar Northwest appearance. Because they are adapted to regional conditions, they can help conserve water and provide food, shelter and habitat for birds, mammals and insects.
That does not mean every native plant will thrive in every Tacoma yard. A sun-loving wildflower will not necessarily appreciate a deeply shaded corner, while a woodland fern may struggle in an exposed, dry location. Buyers should consider sunlight, soil moisture and the plant’s mature size before ordering.
Fall also offers a practical planting window. Cooler weather and the return of seasonal rain can give new plants time to begin establishing themselves without the heat and watering demands of summer.
All purchases will be made through Parks Tacoma’s online store. Orders will not be shipped and must be collected from the Tacoma Nature Center, 1919 South Tyler Street, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. October 3, 4 or 5.
For gardeners hoping to replace a thirsty section of lawn, improve a difficult corner or make a yard more welcoming to wildlife, this sale provides an unusually broad place to begin.
The challenge may be deciding what to buy before somebody else gets there first.
View the Fall Native Plant Sale details and online-shopping link here.
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