Tips on growing native plants

How-to instructions from Richard Hebda for growing native plants in a container, in full sun or shade.

Credit: Brand X Pictures/Home and Garden/Alison Miksch

Bulb and stonecrop garden:

Place a layer of gravel or stones on the bottom of the container. Fill with a sand or stony mix. Plant common camas (Camassia quamash), harvest brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria) and Hooker’s onion (Allium acuminatum). Cover with soil and a top-dressing of pea gravel.

On the surface, plant broadleaf stonecrop (Sedum spathumlifolium) or perhaps one of B.C.’s more alpine stonecrops (consult with your local nursery staff). Place your container out in the sun and leave it for years of beauty.

For a shady spot

For a shady spot, try white or pink fawn lilies (Erythronium oregonum and Erythronium revolutum) in a less-sandy mix than for the previous combination. Then cover the soil with an open forest floor moss.

Related links:
Allium giganteum video
Ornamental native onions
Ornamental onions
How to dry alliums for winter decoration