Happy February, Gardeners!
I am not sure why I decided that my birthday month was the month to talk about invasive plants, but here we are. It might have to do with the excitement around new seeds coming into the library and the recurring conversation I have around certain flowers being invasive or not.
Grass Isn’t Greener by Danae Wolfe makes a case for eliminating invasives. “Not all non-native plants are bad. In fact, many non-native plants coexist peacefully with native species and bring beauty to the garden. But when non-native plants become invasive, that’s when things go awry.”
“Invasive plants are non-native species that are introduced to a new environment and have the ability to rapidly reproduce and spread. These plants have a knack for outcompeting native species for resources like sunlight, water, and nutrients, and they also exhibit aggressive growth habits and fast growth rates, and often have efficient reproductive strategies. With few natural predators to keep them in check and the ability to tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions, they can rapidly colonize new areas and quickly dominate local ecosystems.”
One of the most frequent flowers that gets mentioned are foxgloves (Digitalis pupurea). We associate foxgloves with our area so much that I think they are even featured on the city’s new electric bus! They are beautiful, but there is a case to be made that they are invasive.
Oregon and Washington do not have them on the official list because to make it onto a state-wide invasive list, the plant often has to have a major impact on our agriculture industry, not our wild and native spaces. However, our neighbors, California and British Columbia both agree that it is invasive, with local plant organizations, like the Native Plant Society of Oregon, pushing for this classification.
If this is a flower that you adore, you are not alone, and I do have some words of hope: There are many hybrid varieties available in seed form, and the beauty in their hybrid form is that the seeds are sterile. You will not have to worry about them seeding out of control and taking over in native spaces and you still get to enjoy them.
Foxgloves (Digitalis pupurea) Links
Foxglove- Invasive Species Council of British Columbia
Native Plant Society of Oregon - Invasive Plant Atlas
Invasive Species List of California - Digitalis pupurea
Photo: Wiki Commons
Attribution: Robert Flogaus-Faust - Own work, CC BY 4.0
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Penstemon
If you are looking for a similar flower that would be a better option, check out the penstemon flowers. This picture I took at a local nursery as I was watching a bee go in and out of each flower. Click on the image to see her booty and little legs hanging out of a flower.
Upcoming Events
Native Tree & Shrub Planting at Tickle Creek!
Folks absolutely crushed it in November, removing hundreds of pounds – ALL – of blackberry and clearing the whole site! Now it’s time for the fun part – putting the good plants in!
Join the Clackamas River Basin Council, The Girl Scouts, The City of Sandy, and community volunteers for a morning of stewardship at Tickle Creek Park! Together we’ll plant native trees, shrubs, and ground cover. This planting will help stabilize stream banks, improve habitat for wildlife, and support long-term watershed health by re-establishing native vegetation adapted to local conditions. Community volunteers will play a hands-on role in restoring this area and helping ensure the site continues to recover and thrive!
The site is about an acre and is a stormwater retention area. This work will help to improve water infiltration and water quality.
When: Saturday, February 7, 10am - 2pm
Where: Tickle Creek Trail exact location emailed after registration
Register: ClackamasRiver.org/events
Lewis & Clark College has started a tradition where they honor moss for a week in February. From a moss petting zoo, to DIY terrariums, check there schedule for specific event dates and times. https://college.lclark.edu/
Additionally, this year the Portland Japanese Garden has decided to join them by participating in honoring moss throughout the week as well! If you did not know already, we have a Cultural Pass available for the Portland Japanese Garden, where you can get free admission with a reservation made with your library card.
When: February 8 - 15, 2026
Where: Watzek Library, Lewis & Clark College
What I've Been Reading
Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer
I enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. The author does a lovely job blending storytelling with the science of moss. I was talking with my coworker about it and he asks me, “I wonder if you can eat it and what it tastes like?” and I excitedly exclaimed, “She talks about that!” In her chapter "City Mosses," she tackles some misconceptions around moss: for example, moss does not kill grass, it simply grows where grass struggles, and there is no proof that moss will damage roofs. I am relaying this, but I just double checked and this book was published in 2003, so maybe there is new data to suggest one way or the other! We get to travel throughout the US with her, but it is her time in Oregon that ends up meaning the most to me. Oregon has some highly sought-after moss, and it is becoming a bit of a problem. Turns out, moss is incredibly diverse and most moss species need a very particular environment to survive, so poachers that go into the protected forests to harvest it to sell at nurseries are really doing a disservice because the resources that mosses need can be a very delicate blend. And when you read her chapter "The Owner," you will get a good sense of just how hard it can be to cultivate moss where you want it!
Moss Ball Bonsai by Satoshi Sunamori
I don’t think I have the courage to try this, but I loved all the pictures of the various mosses.
Hanging Kokedama by Coraleigh Parker
This book shows you how to have potless hanging plants, and not all have to have the moss on the outside!
What I've Been Reading Children's Edition
Mossy by Jan Brett
Jan Brett's books have such a lovely art style that I couldn't help myself when this book came across my desk. Mossy is a lovely turtle that grows a garden on her back utilizing moss. After being taken from her home and placed in an exhibit, folks start to consider whether that was the best decision.
Rick's Corner
My bird feeding station in the front yard is crowded this time of year–though “station” may be too ambitious a term for the one little seed feeder and its accompanying suet feeder. Regardless, bird traffic is heavy, especially early on frigid mornings: goldfinches, towhees, juncos, various sparrows and finches, scrub jays–the whole lot. And the vibe is a tad bit more serious than in the food-abundant and sunny spring and summer months–winters can be a hard time for birds.
But there are some things you can do to help…
Become a Winter Bird Hero
February is National Bird-feeding Month, and has been since February 23, 1994, when Congressman John Porter (R, IL) read the following proclamation before Congress (thanks, Wikipedia):
I would like to recognize February, one of the most difficult months in the United States for wild birds, as National Bird-Feeding Month. During this month, individuals are encouraged to provide food, water, and shelter to help wild birds survive. This assistance benefits the environment by supplementing the wild bird’s natural diet of weed seeds and insects. Currently, one third of the U.S. adult population feeds wild birds in their backyards...
...Feeding wild birds in the backyard is an easy hobby to start and need not overtax the family budget. It can be as simple as mounting a single feeder outside a window and filling it with bird seed mix. For many people, the hobby progresses from there. They discover the relationship between the type and location of feeders, and the seeds offered in them, and the number and varieties of birds attracted. Parents can challenge an inquisitive child’s mind as they explore together these factors in trying to encourage visits by their favorite birds.*
So, now is the perfect time to give your backyard birds a helping hand by becoming a Winter Bird Hero! From the folks at National Bird-feeding Month:
How to Become a Winter Bird Hero in 3 Easy Steps
Winter can be tough on wild birds, with food harder to find, water often frozen, and fewer safe places to find shelter. By focusing on three simple essentials — offering high-energy bird food, fresh water, and safe shelter — you can make a real difference for the birds in your area and help them thrive through the coldest months of the year.
Learn more: https://www.
Don’t Forget the Hummingbirds!
One of the things I most enjoy about our dark PNW winter mornings, in addition to slow-walking my old dog around our still-sleeping neighborhood before much of the hubbub of the day gets started, is sleepily looking out in the dim first light of morning, just a hint of sunrise, really, and seeing the little dark silhouette of an Anna’s Hummingbird perched on the (heated) feeder outside my bedroom window.
Since Anna’s hummingbirds don’t migrate, keeping your hummingbird feeders up and full over the winter gives the amazing little birds a valuable helping hand, especially as their natural winter food alternatives to flower nectar–insects and sap–can be harder to find amid all the human development that continues to disrupt their ever-shrinking natural habitat.
Remember:
- The recipe for hummingbird food is easy: 4 parts water to 1 part regular old white sugar. Heating it in a pan on the stovetop makes it dissolve easier.
- Clean your feeder often.
- And consider a heated feeder, or multiple feeders that you can rotate inside throughout the day to keep the nectar from freezing when temperatures drop.
For more, see the Bird Alliance of Oregon: Tips for Assisting Anna’s Hummingbirds in Cold Weather.
Bonus YouTube: EELS, “I Like Birds,” from their live CD Eels, Royal Albert Hall, available on LINCC.
*I left out the middle bit from the proclamation here, but feel free to read the whole thing at the Wikipedia link above.
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