Rehabbing My Hudson's Bay 4-plex

I bought the fourplex at 8th and Z in March 2008. This wonderful 1920s building has been neglected for years (if not decades), and the lack of maintenance and love really shows. I'm getting bids from various licensed contractors to rehab the entire structure inside and out. I hope to finish the work by fall, 2008.

I also bought the small lot adjacent to the fourplex. When I got it, it was nothing but weeds. Neighbors have told me that usually the weeds would go unmowed for weeks, until the place looked like an abandoned lot. I'm working to put in a garden full of native plants that will be wildlife- and planet-friendly. For more details about this, please see the next paragraph!

A Passion for PNW Native Plants

Gardening with PNW Natives has become my hobby and my great love. In 1997, my husband and I bought our current home in Vancouver's Northwest neighborhood. Our late-sixties ranch came with standard suburban landscaping--ivy, lawn, barkdust, concrete, plus a few non-native ornamental shrubs and annuals. Over the past decade, I have gradually removed nearly all of those plants, including the lawn. In their place, I have put in annuals, perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees that are native to the Pacific Northwest. Because we live on the side of a slope, I was also able to put in a dramatic water feature.

''Naturescaping'' means I no longer use any herbicides or pesticides to maintain our yard. Because native plants are adapted to our area, I water only once or maybe twice a summer. I don't mow, edge, fertilize, mulch, or compost. I seldom have yard debris to dispose of, since when I do prune, I add the trimmings to the ''brush pile,'' a garden feature much appreciated by ground-feeding birds and other small creatures. We are lucky to have so many evergreen trees, shrubs, ferns, grasses and mosses in Cascadia, and so many gorgeous perennials and deciduous trees. Because I have chosen mostly these natives, our garden has interest for people and for wildlife in every season. I've counted over 40 species of birds out my window, and I'm not even a birder, so who knows how many I haven't recognized?

Over the next several years, I look forward to planting and nurturing this same kind of locally-adapted, easy-care, bird-friendly garden surrounding my fourplex at 8th and Z. Any time you see me working out there, please stop and say hello. Also, if you have ever given any thought to converting all or part of your own patch of Paradise to Pacific Northwest natives, I would love to show you what I've done, share ideas and resources, and just talk native plants!

Email us:
jozierabyor@comcast.net