A yearly community bike-planting event that provides free native plant gardens to benefit wildlife and create colorful neighborhoods.

Welcome to a BEECYCLE garden

Big thanks to Twinflower Natives for providing plants for this project.

portlandbeecycle

Explore the native plants

Click each plant picture to learn more

Western Yarrow

Goldenrod

Prairie Junegrass

California Oatgrass

California Buckwheat

Blanketflower

California Poppy

Glaucus Penstemon

Pacific Aster

Oregon Sunshine

Farewell-to-Spring

Big Leaf Lupine

Willamette Valley Gumweed

Coastal Strawberry

Roemer’s Fescue

Showy Fleabane

Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region where they evolved. They are the ecological basis upon which life depends, including birds and people. Without native plants and the insects that co-evolved with them, local birds cannot survive.

Why are we using native plants?

  • In addition to providing vital habitat for birds, many other species also benefits from native plants.The colorful array of butterflies and moths, including the iconic monarch are all dependent on very specific native plant species. Native plants provide nectar for pollinators including hummingbirds, native bees, butterflies, moths, and bats. They provide protective shelter for many mammals. The native nuts, seeds, and fruits produced by these plants offer essential foods for all forms of wildlife.

  • Once established, native plants generally require minimal maintenance as they are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions.

  • Lawns and bark-mulched landscapes often require profuse amounts of artificial fertilizers and synthetic chemical pesticides and herbicides. The traditional suburban lawn, on average, has 10x more chemical pesticides per acre than farmland. By choosing native plants for your landscaping, you are not only helping wildlife, but you are creating a healthier place for yourself, your family, and your community. 

  • Native plants are adapted to their local environmental conditions meaning they require far less water, time, money, and perhaps the most valuable natural resource, water.

  • Many native plants offer beautiful showy flowers and produce abundant colorful fruits and seeds. Some native plants display brilliant seasonal changes in colors from the pale, thin greens of early spring, to the vibrant yellows and reds of autumn.