Native Plants Book On Area’s Indigenous Flora Springs From Effort To Restore Marshall Creek To More Natural Condition

A seven-year effort to restore Marshall Creek southwest of Spokane has led to publication of a 190-page book on native plants.

Author Bev Keating said “Living With Native Plants” provides a how-to approach to growing trees, shrubs and perennials common to the Inland Northwest.

Property owners who want to restore their landscapes with local varieties could use the book as a resource to choose the right plants, she said.

“Because they are native to this area, they have a better survival rate,” Keating said.

Keating, director of the Marshall Community Coalition, spent four years researching the book after working on the restoration of Marshall Creek. The coalition teamed up with schools and government agencies to improve the health of the stream in the Marshall area.

So far, they have planted 2,000 trees and shrubs to bring back wildlife and prevent Marshall Creek from going dry in the summer.

Prior to 1994, the creek had stopped flowing in its lower stretches along the CheneySpokane Road. More than 30 private property owners agreed to participate in the restoration. Many landowners have reduced irrigation from the creek and fenced livestock away from the banks.

The trend toward native landscaping goes beyond stream restoration. Keating said it is being encouraged in land-use regulations, and many homeowners are choosing indigenous plants because they take less water and are likely to survive weather extremes.

The Spokane County Conservation District awarded the coalition a grant to publish 500 copies of the book through Marciel Publishing and Printing of Spokane.

The paperback is available at Auntie’s Bookstore, Hastings Books and the Cheney Cowles Museum for $15.

Keating said one of her favorite native trees is the quaking aspen because of the sound the leaves give off when the wind blows.

As for shrubs, she recommends red-twig dogwood because it has colorful red bark that adds beauty to landscaping in the winter. The same goes for snowberry, which keeps its small white berries after the leaves drop off in the fall.

The mock orange shrub is very fragrant. Ocean spray blooms with a profusion of lacy white flowers in the spring, she said.

Oregon grape, or mahonia, provides year-round color with its evergreen leaves, yellow spring flowers and purple berries, Keating said. Shrubs with berries are good for wildlife because animals use them for food, she said.

, DataTimes