Hi! Thanks for stopping by. My name is Erin, my husband is Ron, and Oregarden is the affectionate name we call our home garden here in Portland, Oregon. I’m a Certified Oregon Naturalist through Oregon State University with a passion for dragonflies and gardening for wildlife. When not at home, we spend our time exploring Oregon, with a keen eye for odonata, birds, herps, and fungi.

Living in the pnw temperate climate supports our ability to grow stunning roses, a diverse selection of veggies and annuals, and gorgeous northwest native plants. Our garden is adjacent to acres of forest trees, whose resident birds and critters often visit our garden.

Our garden is 100% natural - we practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and don’t use any chemicals, even those advertised as organic. Any chemical has the potential to harm beneficial insects and the thriving ecosystem we lovingly support in our garden.

We also love fun and color! You never know what you’ll find when you walk the garden…

About Erin:

• Certified Oregon Naturalist

• Dragonfly Society of the Americas (member) & citizen odonatologist

• Backyard Habitat Certification Program (site certifier)

• Friends of the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex (board member)

• Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (board member)

• iNaturalist (monthly supporter)

• iNaturalist personal projects:

  • Our Garden

  • Our Oregon Odonata

  • Our Oregon Birds

Favorite resources:

Naturalist Resources:

• iNaturalist — Nature app that helps you identify the plants and animals around you

• Oregon Naturalist program by Oregon State University Extension

• Backyard Habitat Certification Program

• Bird Alliance of Oregon

• Field Guide to Birds of Western North America book by Sibley

Gardening for Wildlife:

• Let Your Garden Grow Wild | Rebecca MacMakin | TED

• Natures Best Hope book by Doug Tallamy

• Homegrown National Park

Native Plants: (Portland area)

• Portland Plant List - official list of Willamette Valley Natives

• Bosky Dell Natives

• Farmington Gardens - a lovely collection of native plants

• Portland Nursery: Native Plant List

• Native Plants for Willamette Valley

• Sparrowhawk Native Plants

Gardening Supply & Decor:

• Territorial Seed Company — my go to source!

• Gardener’s Supply Company

• Farmington Gardens

• Portland Nursery

• Backyard Bird Shop

• Crown Bees

• Etsy — unique signs and decor for the garden

• OSU Metro Area Master Gardener

• Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest book by Kruckeberg and Chalker-Scott

• Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest book by Forkner

Bee & Pollinator Resources:

• Bumblee Bee Guide to Western North America — amazing pdf

• The Bees in Your Backyard book by Wilson & Carril

• Ecolingual — August Jackson, outstanding photos and author of the The Bees of the Willamette Valley

• PNW Bumble Bee Atlas

• Bumble Bees of Thurston County Blog

• Oregon Moths

• Steven Falk — fly photography

• Macro Bugtography — by Phil

• US Forrest Service Animal Pollination — with pages on each type of pollinator