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Chickadee Gardens

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

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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

Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 27, 2019

The Farm, Flowers and Friends

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 20, 2019

Whites in the Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 13, 2019

Goodbye Yellow Sedum

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens June 06, 2019

June in the Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 23, 2019

Mid-May Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 16, 2019

A Few Native Plants

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 09, 2019

May in the Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens May 02, 2019

Ceanothus and Hebes at Chickadee Gardens

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 26, 2019

Shady Beauties

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 18, 2019

Sedum Sampler

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 11, 2019

The Early April Garden

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens April 04, 2019

The Ugly Truth

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 28, 2019

Spring Life

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 21, 2019

Spring Spring Spring Spring

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens March 14, 2019

Let's Go! Portsmouth and London

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 28, 2019

Before and After Fun

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 21, 2019

Mid-Winter at Chickadee Gardens

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens February 14, 2019

An Austin Garden: Margie McClurg

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 31, 2019

Winter Interest: Shade Plants

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 24, 2019

Winter Interest: The Sun Plants

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 17, 2019

An Elegant and Wild Austin Garden: Ruthie Burris

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens January 03, 2019

Early January

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 27, 2018

An Austin Garden: Tanglewild

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 20, 2018

2018: The Year in Review

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 13, 2018

Garden Blogger's Fling, Austin: Lucinda Hutson

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens December 06, 2018

Sublime Decay: Autumn in the Gardens of Joy Creek Nursery

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 29, 2018

Let's Go! Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

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Posted by Chickadee Gardens November 22, 2018

Thankful for the Garden

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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 17
- September 1
  - Band Aids and Healing
- August 1
- July 1
- June 2
- 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
- December 5
- November 4
- October 4
- September 5
- August 4
- July 4
- June 4
- May 4
- April 4
- March 4
- February 4
- January 4
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

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

Dirt Therapy
A Way to Garden
danger garden
Late to the Garden Party
Garden Rant
Digging
Gods and Foolish Grandeur
A Growing Obsession
GardenRiots
The World's Best Gardening Blog
Natural Gardening
Whatsitgarden
Fernhaven
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
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!

followers

contact

chickadeegardenspdx@gmail.com

pinterest

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

labels

Anna's hummingbird9
Arctostaphylos26
Art in the Garden12
Asclepias13
Audubon Portland7
Autumn color37
Backyard Habitat Certification Program14
before and after58
Bird Creek Meadows4
birds20

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