Native Plants of The Wild West

In 2005, a unique and fascinating native plant domestication research project was initiated by Dr. Stephen Love, a faculty member of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. The object is to select landscape-worthy specimens from the most beautiful of the Intermountain West’s native tree, shrub, and perennial wildflower species. As plants are released to the public

from this project, it will allow you to create or enhance your home or business landscape in a distinct, beautiful, and much more sustainable manner. In fact, you will be able to create a one-of-a-kind environment around your home or business. And we are not talking a common desert look here, but the most exciting, attractive landscape you can imagine. For those of you with a “green” bent, you may want to know that the ultimate impact of this research will be a more sustainable approach to urban landscaping. Native plant materials will reduce irrigation requirements and the need for chemical control of insect and disease problems. Your garden will become habitat for many of the insects (especially those all-important pollinators), birds, and small mammals that are dependent on our native flora. Western plants, with their local adaptation and environmental benefits, will become available for western gardens. We thought you might like to follow the progress we are making in domesticating many of our best native plants as this project moves forward. Thus the creation of the first Native Plant Domestication Project page. The first critical step in the process is acquisition of new plant materials. We do this primarily by make collection excursions into the wild places of the west. We will provide you with stimulating reports of these excursions. Once plants are in the mix, we evaluate them for landscape potential in plots at the Aberdeen R & E Center. We will provide you with photos and descriptions of these remarkable plants. Finally, we work with Native Roots, LLC, a Twin Falls native plant nursery, to make these plants available to wholesale and retail markets so you can buy them. We will give you the rundown on which plants are “going commercial” and tell you how to find them. Lastly, we will be using this page to keep our friends informed about other opportunities to learn about native plants and native plant landscaping. Every year, usually in June, we show off our research plots at a field day in Aberdeen. We also participate in numerous conferences and workshops around the region, putting out the word about native plants and their potential. We will let you know when any such event is upcoming and issue you an invitation to attend.