Native plant nursery blossoms in Washougal

Hannah Schrager didn’t consider herself to be particularly “outdoorsy” when she was growing up, even though she thought at one point that she wanted to become a vegetable farmer. But now, every time she sees the leaf of a Trillium flower or trout lily delicately emerging from recently thawed ground in springtime, she experiences feelings of wonder and awe.

She can’t help it: as a native plant scientist, Schrager is wired to recognize the renewal of nature and all of its beauty.

“I’m somehow surprised every year when they actually live,” Schrager said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, it works. They’re coming back.’ I like riding that wave of change. I (love) to watch the seasons change and the plants change with the seasons.”

Schrager owns and operates Good Year Farms, a Washougal nursery that specializes in native plants and endeavors to, as Schrager said, “connect people to landscaping methods and plants that help the wildlife, pollinators, water systems and soil systems of the Pacific Northwest.”

Good Year Farms is the only native plant retail nursery in Clark County, Schrager said, but she hopes similar nurseries will soon take root.

“It’s important to go to native plant nurseries because there is a difference between the native plants that have grown up in this area and the ones that have been cultivated in nursery industries,” she explained. “I try to sell wild genetic stock, and (in order to do that), you have to know where your seed sources are. The ones that come from our area are adapted to how much rain we get or how dry our summers are. The science is still out, but we suspect that it’s going to be better adapted to our area if it’s grown from seed from our area.”

The nursery will host three events this spring:

• “Bee Curious Brunch” from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Sunday, April 2;
• “Spring Greens Farm Dinner” on Saturday, April 22;
• “Mother’s Day Brunch and Tea” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, May 14.

“They’re all going to be about birds and pollinators,” Schrager said. “They’re educational events that we happen to have some food at. It’s a way to build community. They connect people, and having snacks and tea is a great way (to do that).”

Schrager grew up in Camas, studied environmental science and forestry in college, and worked for the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Clark County Native Plant Center before launching Good Year Farm in early 2020 at her parents’ 11-acre “mostly wetland” property in northwest Washougal.

“We get a lot of bad news, and it can be crushing, but feeling like you are part of a solution (is really satisfying),” she said. “If our trees are burning up because of climate change, maybe I can plant one of the trees that doesn’t get burned up. I think (my work is) important because hope is important, and I think being connected to your surroundings makes you happier.

“The plants are part of building a community in nature, just like the people that put them in (the ground) are evolving into a little community that has similar interests — they’re gardeners, they’re beekeepers, they’re birders, they’re people that don’t want to water their plants all summer, they’re students that are worried about climate change,” she continued. “It ends up building human networks and a connection to the nature network.”

The nursery opened for its fourth season on Friday, March 18. It will open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through June, close for the summer months, then re-open again in the fall.

“The barn gets reinvented every time we open,” Schrager said. “Right now, it’s decorated for spring, and of course, we’ll decorate it for fall and Halloween and for the holidays, so no matter how many times you’ve come here, there’s something new. As I learn about more plants, how I can grow or source them, we’re always adding species. We carry some local artsy stuff. Last season we had Mooncake Flower Farm do pop-ups in the barn, and this year, we’re going to have (a farmer) come and sell his fruit trees. We (like to work with) other farmers. It’s almost like a mini-farmers’ market.”

Over the past several years, Schrager has partnered with a variety of educational, volunteer, and civic organizations, including NatureScaping of Southwest Washington, the Camas Public Library, and the TreeSong Nature Awareness and Retreat Center located in rural Washougal, to provide “applied ecological education” to the community.

She also holds class sessions at her farm, covering topics such as beekeeping, landscaping and ecology.

“We are doing something that’s a little different, and any industry that’s a little different has to explain why they exist,” Schrager said. “Anyone that shows any level of interest, I usually will be like, ‘Yeah, let’s do something.'”

Schrager also hopes people appreciate the beauty of the plant as much as the ecological benefits it provides.

“You can go out on a hike in the Gorge and see all these beautiful wildflowers. … There’s no reason you can’t (plant native wildflowers), bring some of that beauty into your yard, be part of the patchwork between Portland and the Gorge and have bee-appropriate or bird-appropriate print plants,” she said. “It’s like eco-friendly, eco-conscious landscaping. My goal is that you don’t have to sacrifice anything. It still looks good.”

Good Year Farms is located at 29610 N.E. 23rd St., Washougal. For more information about the nursery and its upcoming events, including food options and pricing, visit goodyearfarms.com, facebook.com/pnwnativeplants or instagram.com/good_year_farms.