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Chickadee Gardens

Gardening on two acres in northwest Oregon with an emphasis on native plants and sustainability

Press and Services and Products

Services & Products
November 2021 Better Homes & Gardens Article
HPSO Article: Working for Joy Creek Nursery
Pacific Horticultre Article: Creating Place: Outdoor Sculptures of Michi Kosuge
Garden Design Article
Winterbloom Landscaping Visits Chickadee Gardens

Posts

Showing posts from 2016

Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 29, 2016

2016: A Year in Review

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 21, 2016

Winter

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 15, 2016

Let's Go! The Oregon Coast

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 08, 2016

Frosty Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 01, 2016

A November Hike

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 24, 2016

Around the Garden in November

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 17, 2016

Let's Go! Mexico City

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 10, 2016

Means Nursery and Autumn Miscellany

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 04, 2016

Fall Color

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 27, 2016

Nursery Visit: Scappoose Bay Watershed Nursery

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 20, 2016

Reclaiming the East Fields

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 13, 2016

Bella Madrona: A Bit of Sunshine

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens October 06, 2016

Finding Land: One Year Later

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 29, 2016

Wrapping Up September

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 22, 2016

Making a New Garden: The Evolution of a Fire Pit

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 15, 2016

At Joy Creek Nursery: September Seeds and Fruits

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 08, 2016

Portland Garden Tour West 2016

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens September 01, 2016

Project Updates and Miscellany for August

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens August 25, 2016

Playing with Rocks

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens August 18, 2016

The Shade Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens August 11, 2016

Birds at Chickadee Gardens

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens August 04, 2016

Around the Farm in August

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens July 28, 2016

Building our Garden: Lessons Learned

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens July 22, 2016

Plant Shopping at Xera

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens July 14, 2016

The Mega Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens July 07, 2016

Summer Flowers

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 30, 2016

Our First Summer at Blue Jay Lane

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 16, 2016

Tractors, Turf and Twigs: Farm Updates

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 09, 2016

Joy Creek Nursery: The Place I Work

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 02, 2016

Connecting the Dots

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 26, 2016

The Garden in May

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 19, 2016

My Husband Went to Australia and All I Got Were Plant Photos

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 12, 2016

A Native Plant Walkabout

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 05, 2016

Nursery Visit: Molbak's Nursery

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 28, 2016

April Showers and Some Flowers

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 21, 2016

Native Plant Appreciation Week

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 14, 2016

A Field of Camas

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 07, 2016

A Few Small Before and Afters

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 31, 2016

Nursery Visit: Little Prince of Oregon

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 17, 2016

Seattle Visit: Ravenna Gardens

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 10, 2016

Before and After: The Gravel Garden Emerges

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 03, 2016

Nursery Visit: Sky Nursery Seattle

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 25, 2016

Northwest Flower & Garden Show: Display Gardens

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 18, 2016

Before and After: Rock Wall

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 11, 2016

Before and After: A Garden Emerges

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 04, 2016

Nursery Visit: Bosky Dell Natives

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 28, 2016

Making A New Garden: History and Soil

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All material ©2013 - 2025 by Tamara Paulat Chickadee Gardens. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited

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about Chickadee Gardens

Chickadee Gardens started as a small, green oasis in the urban center of Portland. Now it is a two-acre garden in Saint Helens, Oregon about 40 minutes northwest of Portland. We incorporate native plants throughout and practice a low-impact, sustainable approach to this land. Much of the garden is a summer-dry garden and we love experimenting with what works well in our ever-changing climate.

--------------------------------------------Bio: Gardening is an obsession for Tamara. The major impetus was in 2010 when the Backyard Habitat Certification Program caught her attention and her small Portland garden eventually gained platinum status. She began blogging about her garden at chickadeegardens.com to share what she was learning regarding sustainable practices, native plants, successes and failures. A year later, wishing to expand and challenge themselves, Tamara and her husband David purchased a home sited on two acres in Saint Helens.

Transforming what was field grass and blackberries into a thriving, diverse ecosystem these past nine years has been a labor of love for Tamara and David. The property is bordered on three sides by Douglas fir trees and mixed hedgerows, between these boundaries is a dry, sun-soaked garden with a heavy dose of West Coast native and summer-dry adapted plants. A half of an acre of the property was cleared to plant a vegetable garden and orchard. Additionally there are chickens, one turkey and mason bees loving their home, not to mention the native fauna.

She worked for Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose for several years as the photographer, social media creator as well as helping customers choose that perfect plant up until it closed its gates in late 2021. She currently works for Cistus Nursery part-time and is having a blast learning about a whole new plant palette. As a member of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon she has written for that group’s magazine as well as for Pacific Horticulture. She is the newest member of the Great Plant Picks selection committee, a non-profit through the Elisabeth Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle. With access to so many fantastic plants and two acres to experiment with, sharing her passion at chickadeegardens.com is a joy.

contact Tamara at chickadeegardenspdx@gmail.com @chickadeegardens.bsky.social

Blog archive at Chickadee Gardens

2025 13
- June 1
- May 3
- April 2
- March 2
- February 2
- January 3

2024 29
- December 2
- November 2
- October 3
- September 3
- August 3
- July 2
- June 2
- May 3
- April 2
- March 2
- February 3
- January 2
2023 36
- December 3
- November 4
- October 3
- September 3
- August 3
- July 3
- June 3
- May 2
- April 3
- March 3
- February 3
- January 3
2022 32
- December 3
- November 2
- October 3
- September 2
- August 2
- July 3
- June 3
- May 3
- April 3
- March 4
- February 2
- January 2
2021 33
- December 3
- November 2
- October 3
- September 3
- August 3
- July 4
- June 3
- May 2
- April 3
- March 2
- February 3
- January 2
2020 31
- December 3
- November 2
- October 3
- September 2
- August 2
- July 3
- June 2
- May 2
- April 3
- March 2
- February 3
- January 4
2019 41
- December 2
- November 3
- October 4
- September 4
- August 3
- July 3
- June 4
- May 4
- April 4
- March 3
- February 3
- January 4
2018 46
- December 4
- November 5
- October 4
- September 3
- August 4
- July 4
- June 4
- May 5
- April 4
- March 3
- February 4
- January 2
2017 43
- December 3
- November 5
- October 3
- September 3
- August 4
- July 3
- June 4
- May 3
- April 4
- March 4
- February 4
- January 3
2016 50
2015 50
- December 3
- November 3
- October 5
- September 5
- August 4
- July 5
- June 3
- May 4
- April 5
- March 4
- February 4
- January 5
2014 53
- December 4
- November 4
- October 5
- September 4
- August 4
- July 5
- June 4
- May 5
- April 4
- March 4
- February 4
- January 6
2013 18

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Chickadee Gardens

Video Tour of the Garden from Over the Fence Landscape Tours Part 1

Video Tour of Garden Part 1

Video Tour of the Garden from Over the Fence Landscape Tours Part 2

Video Tour of the Garden Part 2

pinterest

Visit Tamara's profile on Pinterest.

Services and Products

Services & Products

November 2021 Better Homes & Gardens Article

HPSO Article - Hotter, Drier, Wetter: Preparing for Extremes

HPSO Article: Working for Joy Creek Nursery

Pacific Horticultre Article: Creating Place: Outdoor Sculptures of Michi Kosuge

Winterbloom Visits Chickadee Gardens

blogs I read

Garden Rant
Dirt Therapy
Gods and Foolish Grandeur
A Way to Garden
danger garden
Late to the Garden Party
Digging
A Growing Obsession
GardenRiots
The World's Best Gardening Blog
Natural Gardening
Whatsitgarden
Fernhaven
The Rainy Day Garden
The Practical Plant Geek
MulchMaid
The Lents Farmer

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links!

Backyard Habitat Certification Program
Bosky Dell Native Plant Nursery for Willamette Valley
Chickadee Gardens Facebook Page
Cistus Nursery
City of Portland Ecoroof Handbook PDF
Cornell Project Feederwatch
E-Garden-Go
Echo Valley Natives Plant Nursery
Great Plant Picks
Hardy Fern Foundation
Hardy Plant Society of Oregon
How to start milkweed from seed
Humble Roots Native Plant Nursery
Joy Creek Nursery (where I work)
Metro Master Gardeners
Native Bee Research
Native Plant Society of Oregon
Native Plants List and Photos for the Willamette Valley from Portland Metro
Plant Lust - Great Search Engine for Plants
Portland Ecoroof Program
Soil Survey from the USDA
The Garden Fling
Video Tour of the Garden with Over the Fence Landscape Tours
Video Tour of the Garden with Over the Fence Landscape Tours Part 2
Xera Plants
Xerces Society - Bees!

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contact

chickadeegardenspdx@gmail.com

All images and content © copyright 2025 Tamara Paulat, Chickadee Gardens

labels

Anna's hummingbird9
Arctostaphylos25
Art in the Garden12
Asclepias13
Audubon Portland7
Autumn color37
Backyard Habitat Certification Program14
before and after58
Bird Creek Meadows4
birds20

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