Save a Forest in Southworth, WA

Southworth Forest Update:

Late Summer Discoveries at the Southworth Forest

Posted August 21, 2025 by Southworth Forest

Native Douglas Spirea blooming along the seasonally dry stream in the Southworth Forest restoration project. There are still invasive Himalayan blackberries in the area, but they have been cut back substantially.

The main goal of gardening for wildlife is to create habitat for local species, providing food, water, shelter, and nesting sites. Specifically for pollinators, gardeners try to plant native plants so a succession of blooms are available from early spring to late fall. The blooms then frequently become seeds, berries, or nuts that feed birds and other wildlife. Native plants that host caterpillars not only provide us with beautiful butterflies and pollinator moths, but also food for nesting birds. While a gardener rewilding a patch of suburban lawn might have to invest in seeds and plants, starting virtually from scratch, the forest restorationist gets to work with nature.

There is a corresponding goal in forest restoration to provide habitat. This can sometimes be accomplished simply by removing the noxious weeds and watching what natives return to the understory. Many of the native plants still exist in the natural soil seed bank. Others are carried in by birds or other wildlife (along with invasive seeds, too, unfortunately). As part of the Southworth Forest restoration, we have removed weeds and planted baby trees. We have yet to supplement with undergrowth plants from our local native nurseries and conservation districts, though we plan to add plant diversity that way when the trees are larger. Yet every season, we find and identify more native plants thriving in the Southworth Forest. We continue to remove invasives and discover new-to-us natives.

Late summer in the Pacific Northwest sometimes looks like a dying season in our forests. The grass turns brown, the trees may stop noticeably growing or even shed leaves or needles during dry spells, sword ferns seem to whither and brown as they release their spores. The osoberries, a winter blooming shrub, have already fed their small plum-like fruit to the wildlife and dropped their leaves, as have the bitter cherries. The red elderberry holds onto its leaves but is done producing fruit. Salmonberries and thimbleberries bloomed in spring and their berries too have been eaten.

This July, we discovered a lovely and fairly extensive patch of Douglas Spirea along the wetlands in the Southworth Forest. It's likely been there for years, but it's thriving since the removal of some nearby invasive Himalayan blackberries and only viewable during the dry season. Douglas Spirea flowers are important for native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds; the seeds are eaten by birds, and it is a host plant for butterflies and moths.

We also have a returning patch of Pearly Everlasting in the forest's volunteer tree farm, one of the few places where young baby conifer trees seem to be thriving on their own. That particular meadowed area requires the removal of invasive weeds by hand on a regular basis. While humans enjoy Pearly Everlasting in dried flower bouquets, in the wild it attracts small bees and butterflies and other beneficial insects. It is a larval host for the painted and American lady butterfly, and it is deer resistant.

Speaking of nesting sites, a robin's nest was discovered in one of the Sitka spruce trees planted a few years ago in the project, wedged between the tree and the wire netting that protects it from deer rub. It's truly remarkable that even such a small tree, barely six feet tall, is already providing sanctuary for wildlife. Even the smallest trees can house beneficial insects, provide food for a variety of wildlife as they grow, and offer shelter even after their deaths as valuable snags.

As we approach the end of summer, the hazelnut trees are producing nuts. Oregon grape and salal berries are ripening. Ocean Spray has gone to seed for various seed eaters. There are a handful of red huckleberry bushes, which are currently producing tiny red berries that the birds eat as they ripen, and evergreen huckleberry, which the birds prefer to save and eat in winter. The orange honeysuckle that bloomed in May now has berries. And the native trailing blackberries are still growing, blooming, and producing delicious small berries.

While our restoration project currently leaves the lion's share of fruit for the wildlife, many of these native plants are also useable by humans. The high pectin content in Oregon grapes produces a nice jelly. Huckleberries can be used in baking recipes or sauces. Blackberries are good fresh, in baked goods, or in jam. Foraging opportunities will increase as the restoration progresses.

The long, dry days of summer might not make the forest appear as vibrant as the spring, and the restoration project is still struggling along one side to deal with the impacts of a neighboring deforestation at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. But there is much benefit to see from the meadows at the forest's edges to the deeper undergrowth and even along the dry banks of the wetlands. Even as we recommend that you supply additional deep watering to mature conifers in August, there are still ample discoveries to be found in the understories of the forests, your yard, and maybe even your parks this season.

A patch of native Pearly Everlasting in a volunteer tree farm. Beautiful in dried flower arrangements or persistent blooms in the garden, this patch has consistently returned year after year.

A robin's nest is wedged between a six-foot tall Sitka spruce tree and its protective deer fencing, showing that even the smaller trees are useful to wildlife.

A close-up of the robin's nest shown in the prior photo.