Testing for UV reflectance to gain insight into the benefits of nativars compared to native plants Market demand for native plants in ornamental landscapes has drastically increased since the early 2000s, as consumers, landscapers, landscape designers and landscape architects are increasingly aware of the environmental benefits provided by native plants. But despite their popularity, native […]
Native plants, bees, and microbes
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The OSU Garden Ecology Lab studies the health of garden environments The Garden Ecology Lab at Oregon State University (OSU) studies the plants, insects, animals, people, decisions, and management practices that either improve or degrade a garden’s ability to promote environmental and human health. An underlying premise of our work is that gardens are important […]
Pollinator plant trials
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Researchers test the value of Willamette Valley natives and nativars Interest in native plant gardening is at an all-time high. For example, native plants were ranked as the top landscape garden trend for 2017–2018 by the American Society of Landscape Architects, and for 2018–2019 by Garden Media Group’s Garden Trends Report. The demand is such […]
We study gardens: An update from OSU’s Garden Ecology Lab
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Gardens are unique and understudied systems that can have multi-faceted and positive impacts on the environment and public health. The positive impact of gardens is an important thing to consider when planning, installing and maintaining individual gardens as well as neighborhood-wide landscaping installations. It turns out that gardeners and landscapers manage and maintain a significant […]
Helping horticulture find its niche
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The goal of NICH (National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture) is to get 90 percent of U.S. households gardening by 2025.