When we last wrote of our propagation project, we had sown seeds of 8 species of wildflowers and 3 species of grasses into planting containers in a greenhouse setting so that we could have many new, healthy plants for the Baltimore Woods meadow. We found, with a couple of exceptions, that our seeds germinated well, and we spent many weeks this spring planting the first small grass and lomatium plants into the meadow, as they had outgrown their nursery pots and needed to be transplanted to their permanent home. We hoped to take advantage of the generous spring rains for these few hardy species. However now, as the warm season…

Seeds are like a promise, yet to be kept. They encompass hope, toughness, fragility, survival, and new beginnings. They are like a gift, wrapped in the most homely of gift-wraps, but with the best possible payoff when opened – a continuation of new life in our ecosystem. The Friends of Baltimore Woods (FOBW) group is in the midst of a new restoration project, which includes the growing of native wildflower and grass species from seed to increase botanical diversity in our meadow. We hope our project results in a natural area which more closely resembles the incredible biodiversity of Willamette Valley oak meadowscapes, now largely lost to human development. When we were…

After an unusually cold and wet May, the Portland area experienced a sudden and rather drastic change to hot and dry conditions. While the sudden heat gave us humans “weather whiplash”, wildflowers in the meadow proceeded to burst into bloom. Friends of Baltimore Woods has been gratified that so many of the native plants, which were planted several seasons ago, are beginning to spread and propagate themselves, with the result that some areas of the meadow were putting on quite a floral display this May! Care has been taken to cultivate many varieties of flowering native plants which bloom throughout the entire growing season, providing a steady supply of food…

Winter Talk: How to Choose the Best Plants for Pollinators The Friends of Baltimore Woods will host our annual Winter Talk on Saturday, February 11th, from 1pm – 2pm at the St Johns Community Center at 8427 N. Central St. An additional 30 min Q&A period will follow the talk. Look for our event signs on the day of the talk! Our guest speaker is Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Protection. Mr. Shepherd is the Director of Outreach & Education for Xerces, and a passionate advocate for educating the public about invertebrates (animals without internal skeletons, such as insects) as well as restoring & enhancing the natural…