Category Archives: Native Plants

2019 Native Plant Field Season Update

I’m thrilled to announce that this summer I completed the third field season of my study. This is slightly bittersweet – while I’m excited that we are done with hot fieldwork, I will miss chasing bees around the farm and … Continue reading

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Native Plants and Pollinator Survey

Aaron Anderson is repeating his original survey on native plants and pollinators. This time, he is trying to understand how knowledge of a plant’s ecological function may alter impressions of native plants. The survey takes about 25-30 minutes to complete. … Continue reading

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Native plants and pollinators – 2018 field update

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a field update about my native plant – pollinator study, so this post will be a recap of the entire 2018 field season! Sampling this year was successful, though it was a much … Continue reading

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Plant of the Week: Douglas Aster (Revisited)

This entry is from Lucas Costner, an undergraduate horticulture major at Oregon State University.  It highlights one of the plants that Aaron Anderson is using in his research. Original “Plant of the Week: Douglas Aster” post available here: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/gardenecologylab/2017/11/07/plant-week-doulgas-aster/    Last … Continue reading

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Webinar on Willamette Valley Native Plants and Pollinators

Aaron’s webinar on his Ph.D. research has been posted on YouTube. He highlights some really interesting results from his 2017 and 2018 field seasons, including recommendations for what to plant, if you are interested in attracting native bees to your … Continue reading

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Plant of the Week: Sunflower

This entry is from Lucas Costner, an undergraduate horticulture major at Oregon State University.  It highlights one of the plants that Aaron Anderson is using in his research. As summer in the Pacific Northwest comes to a close, the sunflower (Helianthus … Continue reading

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Do Gardeners Like the Same Flowers as Bees?

In 2017 and 2018, Aaron and Lucas took weekly counts of bees on their native plant plots. Aaron has summarized the data for 2017 (below) according to bee morpho-type. The morphotype categories are the same general categories that have been … Continue reading

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First Bee List from Native Plant Study

We are so lucky that Lincoln Best has been in Oregon, supporting the work of the Oregon Bee Atlas. Linc was kind enough to take a look at Aaron’s bees, before going back to Canada. Aaron is currently taking a … Continue reading

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Plant of the Week: Common Yarrow

This entry is from Lucas Costner, an undergraduate horticulture major at Oregon State University.  It highlights one of the plants that Aaron Anderson is using in his research. Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) isn’t just common — it’s nearly ubiquitous throughout the … Continue reading

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Master Gardener Input Needed!

We are soliciting Master Gardener feedback on the attractiveness of the native wildflowers that Aaron Anderson is studying for pollinator plantings. More detail on the study can be found at: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/gardenecologylab/native-plants-2/ As we mention, not only are we interested in … Continue reading

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