20 Wednesday, May 27, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Lose your lawn and go native With Oregon and the rest of the West experiencing sig- nificant drought, more and more homeowners are turn- ing to natural landscaping or xeriscaping to minimize their impact on the environment — while still having a beau- tiful yard to enjoy. Natural landscaping and xeriscaping have some similar characteristics, but they are not the same thing. Xeriscaping is focused on water conservation, using plants that require minimal water — but not necessarily native plants. In Central Oregon, you can use native plants and reduce the demand for water in your yard — especially in comparison to a turf lawn. “If planted in a suitable habitat, native plants are well adapted to our soils and cli- mate,” A.J. Detweiler wrote in a paper for OSU Extension Service. “This reduces the need for supplemental water (once established) and main- tenance, and makes it easy to maintain plant health. “There are a host of ben- efits to basing your landscap- ing around native plants,” Detweiler noted. “When grown in the right conditions, native plants typically expe- rience less environmental, insect, and disease damage than nonnative plants. Native plants also create the best environments for local pol- linators and wildlife. That’s an important point for Sisters Ranger District Ecologist Maret Pajutee. “Protecting and plant- ing natives helps support many native species that have evolved together with plants,” she said. “They gen- erally use less water, need less care.” Pajutee notes that “some natives are easy to grow from collected seed in the wild (blue flax, Oregon sunshine, penstemons) or through transplants.” You can get a free trans- plant permit through the U.S. Forest Service to bring home plants from the wild. You need to know what you’re doing. Some native plants will not survive transplant- ing — you should leave all lilies and rare plants in place. You can get more information through your Forest Service transplanting permit. A division of Lakeview Millworks Pajutee notes that nurs- erys have more native plants these days and can be a good source. “Beware of wildflower seed mixes,” Pajutee warns. “They are rarely native wild- flowers of the area and often contain weedy species.” Pajutee also warns that “Some garden plants are invasive and can spread into natural habitats and cause great ecological harm. If you see your garden plants escaping to natural areas on public lands, please stop them!” You can have a good afternoon’s outing, get some exercise and learn to iden- tify and recognize our native plants through Deschutes Land Trust wildflower walks. And, Pajutee notes, certi- fied weed-free native grass and flower seeds are avail- able from Deschutes Native Seedbank; email Berta Youtie at byoutie@crestviewcable. com. So if you want to conserve water, add beauty to your landscape and spend your Saturday doing something other than mowing the lawn — go native. Best Vue Blinds With an intense focus on service, quality and value, Best Vue Blinds is making it simple to get exactly what residents in Sisters Country want. Brad King of Lakeview Millworks connected with Best Vue Blinds as a way to add a complementary product line to the quality entryways and windows the Sisters com- pany offers. John Rumgay provides free in-home estimates and manages projects all the way through completion. “I’ll go to your house and spend two hours with you. Whether you’re buying one window covering or a hun- dred, you get the same service.” The kind of service you cannot expect at a big-box store. And Best Vue Blinds can compete on price and value, too. They offer a wide variety of window-covering materials with a variety of functions — all at competitive prices. Add to that a commitment to get things right, and Best Vue Blinds is a superior deal. Wants to show our appreciation and thank you with a $50 Dining Voucher for one of these Sisters Restaurants: Takoda’s, The Gallery, Depot Café, Season’s Café, Rancho Viejo, Los Agaves, Ali’s Townsquare Deli or Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill & Saloon with a FREE complete home estimate on your window blinds. (8-blind minimum. One dining voucher per family). For appointment call 541-588-6201 or 541-241-7582 Visit our showroom in Sisters at 141 E. Cascade Ave., #202. BestVueBlinds.com – 541-588-6201