Streamside Gardening

If you live along a stream, then you know the beauty and value the stream adds to your home. Your streamside is part of a larger system of plants and animals that live near and within the stream itself.

Balancing your needs in your home and garden with the needs of the larger ecosystem and community for clean water is what this site is all about.

Fact Sheets and Videos

Your garden, our shared watershed

A watershed is the region of land whose rain and snowmelt drain into a specific body of water. Learn what you can do as a gardener to maintain or restore some of the functions of a healthy streamside.

Jul 2018 | Article

A wildlife-friendly streamside garden

The key to creating a thriving streamside garden is to keep it as natural as possible and minimize the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Here's how to create a wildlife-friendly streamside with suggestions for plants.

Jul 2018 | Article

Northwest native plants for the streamside garden

Plants native to the Northwest are well adapted to conditions near streams where the groundwater table is shallow enough to interact with plant roots. Here's a guide to selecting plants for areas near streams.

Linda R. McMahan | Jul 2018 | Article

How to select and plant bare-root native plants

Bare-root native plants are an economical way for gardeners to contribute to the health of ecosystems and watersheds. While they are affordable because of their small size, they also require careful handling.

Jul 2018 | Article

Invasive plants don't belong in your streamside garden

Invasive plants disrupt ecosystems and have no place in streamside gardens. But these plants can be tempting because of their showy flowers and cheap prices.

Jul 2018 | Article

Sample Landscape Designs for Streamside Gardens

Streamside plan #1, Steep Slope - dry streambank

A design for gardens near streamsides with steeper banks and dryer soils.

Carolyn M. Devine | Jan 2010 | Fact Sheet

Streamside plan #2, Average Slope - mixed wet/dry

A design for gardens near streamsides with average sloped banks and mixed wet and dry soils.

Carolyn M. Devine | Jan 2010 | Fact Sheet

Streamside plan #3, Gradual Slope - Wet

A design for gardens near streamsides with gradually sloped banks and wet soils.

Carolyn M. Devine | Jan 2010 | Fact Sheet

Presentations on Planting Streamside Gardens

Controlling Invasive Plants in Streamside Gardens

Slides from a presentation on methods of controlling invasive plants in streamside areas. ------ Use pesticides safely! -Wear protective clothing and safety devices as recommended on the label. Bathe or shower after each use. -Read the pesticide label—even if you’ve used the pesticide before. Follow closely the instructions on the label (and any other directions you have). -Be cautious when you apply pesticides. Know your legal responsibility as a pesticide applicator. You may be liable for injury or damage resulting from pesticide use.

Jun 2009 | Online resource

Native Plants for Streamside Gardens in Western Oregon

Western Oregon native plants to use in streamside gardens.

Jun 2009 | Online resource

Jul 2018

This piece is part of the collection Eco Gardening

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