Horticulture
ECEC projects and programs emphasize Oregon’s natural bounty. The horticulture of Oregon is on display in a variety of ways at ECEC.
The Native Oregon Plant Park was planted by 65 volunteers (ages 3 to 73) in February, 2001. The trees are now towering as tall as 20 feet and are providing an overstory to plant the smaller shrubs and flowers native to Oregon. The 4.5-acre park provides a botanical garden experience as the signage and kiosks inform visitors of the seven climate zones of Oregon and the typical flora one might find in them. In the heart of the park is an amphitheater used for concerts, weddings, reunions and performances.
The native park provides seeds and cuttings for the ambitious plant propagation program carried on by ECEC volunteers and students from the Elkton High School who participate in a spring semester class in native plant propagation and marketing. A renovated sheep shed is the marketplace for the plants produced by the class. Students are compiling a publication to provide information on the 45 native Oregon plants most used for landscaping. The project will begin in the spring of 2009.
Student employees have also researched and produced the books, “The Ethnobotany of Pacific Northwest Tribes”, featuring native Oregon plants and their importance to the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest and “Trees and Shrubs of Oregon.”
Butterfly and hummingbird gardens attract many colorful flying creatures. ECEC was featured in a 2005 Sunset magazine as “one of the five best places to see butterflies.” The reason was given that one can see more flying outside than in the screen room. In July, the gardens virtually hum with activity. Many photography clubs come and stay the day to capture the diverse colors and shapes of this lively garden scenery.
The 90-foot greenhouse has a small seed and cutting greenhouse built inside it to help cut the cost of heating as plants are propagated in the early spring. Hanging baskets are planted in March with beginning sales ready for Mother’s Day. Baskets are also planted to be used for the many weddings that take place on the ECEC grounds. At the end of the greenhouse is a 40-foot covered area used for community gatherings.
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