Class plants low-water garden at PSU

The Portland State campus got a little greener on Sunday, Oct. 14 when students in a weekend course planted a new low-water garden comprised primarily of plants native to the area, on the corner of Southwest 10th Avenue and Mill Street.

The space, previously a corner patch of ivy and dry lawn, was chosen for its size and visibility, said PSU Landscape Services Supervisor Scott DeSelle. Earlier in the month, the PSU Facilities and Planning Department made the initial soil amendments and ground preparations.

Students participating in the class, “Creating Hellstrips in Inner Urban Spaces,” attended lectures on issues affecting environmentally aware gardeners, such as lessened sun exposure, water usage and foot traffic. The class, offered by the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, was also given instruction on soil amendment, and garden design, and students were given the opportunity to become familiar with the plant selection for the site.

After lectures and a review of the site, the class split into groups to create garden plans for the area utilizing the fundamental principals of low-water gardening in an urban environment.

The class was instructed by Maurice Horn, co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, who then reviewed submitted student garden designs and created a finalized plan of his own. The students planted the finalized plan Sunday afternoon.

Horn has previously planted “hellstrips,” or curbside gravel top gardens, around the Reed College campus. Horn used the same theories of native plant species and low-water concepts at Reed, which was also in partnership with the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.

Horn is a member of the Hardy Plant Society, a nonprofit volunteer group of gardeners and horticulturalists. He has conducted similar gardening workshops with Metro, a regional land preservation and sustainability group, and Heronswood Nursery.

The plant varieties, which include species such as bluebells (Campanula rotundifolia) and Columbian monkshood (Aconitum columbianum), are primarily made up of species native to the Oregon region. The plants, provided by Joy Creek Nursery, were also picked for their adaptability to urban environments, with traits such as low-sunlight and water needs, as well as size, height and hardiness.

Horn said he also selected plants to complement the native species garden planted across the street in front of Science Building 2.

Most plants were set this Sunday, but some remaining species will be planted this coming week, followed by the top dressing of gravel. Bulbs will be planted to finalize the project later this fall.

Portland State Landscape Services, a part of the sustainability department, will integrate maintenance of the garden into their standard grounds maintenance schedule. Horn will be supervising the initial training and pruning of the new plantings.

The new garden shares its home with part of artist Harrell Fletcher’s 2004 urban art installment, More Everyday Sunshine, a series of 15 motion-sensitive spotlights between Southwest Park Avenue and Market Street, and Northwest 22nd Avenue and Northrup Street that highlight nighttime points of interest downtown. At the Mill Street garden, the point of interest is a small stone bench, which the garden planners decided to implement in to the overall design.