Dreams of Plants PDX

Ecologically based garden knowledge and care.

Do you want to plant or enhance an urban habitat/ pollinator friendly garden?

New or existing garden and don’t know where to start?

Need plant ID and specific care instructions?

Just want an extra pair of hands to maintain your garden with love and care?

My Services >

Katie Frey with Flowers

Hi, I’m Katie Frey, the gardener behind Dreams of Plants PDX.

All my life I’ve been a gardener and literally dreamed about gardening, even as a child back east growing beds of strawberries and sweet peas! I was an organic farm apprentice while I got my Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science with a focus in biology. Subsequently, I spent the better part of a decade performing habitat restoration and conservation in the National Park Service. In essence, I was a native and endangered plant caretaker and ecological gardener in truly incredible places like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite.

Then I ended up in the PNW. All of my years of habitat restoration and botany work translated well towards 7 years of horticultural immersion in the plant nursery industry in Portland, Oregon. Dreams of Plants PDX had its origins during this time, as I worked for clients while also holding down a demanding, fast-paced, full time job. I left my nursery management and ad hoc plant buyer position in early 2024 so I could give my full attention to this business, get my hands back in the earth, and return to my ecological roots. I’m passionate about pollinator friendly gardens, edible landscapes, and sustainable, drought tolerant, hardy plant choices. I can’t wait to share that excitement with your space!

  • Bespoke Florals

    For any occasion or just because! My dried bouquets and wreaths are handmade with locally grown and sustainably foraged elements.

    At the moment, please email for any interest in purchasing dried florals. Check back for class updates, and an online shop is in the works!

  • Dried flower bouquet with vintage newspaper

  • Dried floral wreath with naturally dyed silk ribbon

  • Dried Floral Mini Bouquet

  • Bridal Floral Comb with Dried Flowers

@dreamsofplants.pdx

Follow along on Instagram as I mini blog about native wildflowers, pollinators, botany, gardening tips, ecological horticulture, and solid smattering of my urban homestead journey

View fullsize Has anyone else been braiding their daffodil and other bulb foliage to help tidy it up? I first learned this technique last year, and I really like it! It's the most ideal to leave bulb foliage to photosynthesize and strengthen the bulbs until it sta
View fullsize Summer (I know know it's technically still spring) peony tips. They're starting to fade for the season, and here's how to keep them happy until the bloom again next year. Deadhead your blooms! This keeps the plants from putting all their energy into
View fullsize Sleeping male bumblebee on a nigella last night🥹 They live alone, often revisiting the same flowers and leaves as their home, night after night. Then, flying off to pollinator business when it warms up in the morning.
View fullsize Golden hour in the herbish corner of my community garden plot last night. French sorrel seed heads (removed because I do not need more than the gazillion plants I already have), nigella, culinary sage in peak bloom, chartreuse marjorum. Love love l
View fullsize Summer container ideas (Part 1???) Incorporating edible and pollinator friendly elements into your flower pots. As you can see from the first 2 pots, my go-to for that wow factor is dark leafed basil mixed with foliage and pollinator attracting flo
View fullsize I'm obsessed with my little pollinator haven in my front yard. Our rental came with a raised bed with soil that went hydrophobic very quickly. It's near the neighbor's English walnut. Also, it gets blasted with hot, reflective sun in the morning and
View fullsize It's that time of year in the veggie garden where you can just watch things grow. Here are 3 of my favorites I'm harvesting right now while I wait for tomato season. Pic 1: Freckled lettuce: if you plant head lettuce you can plant it and pick it lik
View fullsize It is truly exciting to randomly spot a rare pure white variation (alba) of Calypso bulbosa| Fairy Slipper Orchid! Swipe to see what these delicate beauties usually look like. They like damp places and can be an indicator of morel mushroom habitat. I
View fullsize Checker Lily| Fritillaria affinis everywhere! So fun to go camping in different seasons and get to see some of my favorite blooms depending on bloom cycles and the weather! Pssst, you can totally grow this native wildflower if you have a nice, parti
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View fullsize My first bitterroot| Lewisia rediviva sighting? Perhaps, either that or it's been a long enough time that I've forgotten! Remember years ago when you first started learning your plants in some kind of serious way, and everything was new, especially i
View fullsize Saw this elder dogwood tree blooming at my client's house yesterday, and I could have stood under it and gawked all day! Optimal tree planting season is rapidly approaching a close here in the temperate PNW. We're having an unusually warm, dry spri