Our Passion is Native Plants

Our purpose and our mission has always been to promote the use of native plants in landscaping and land management.  We have never strayed from that mission.  Over the past thirty years, WinterCreek established itself as a “bleeding edge” company working to expand the knowledge of our customers and develop native plant landscaping as an essential segment of the landscape and nursery industries.

Our nursery still produces over 150 species of native plants in over 100 genera. We developed many of the propagation protocols commonly used in native plant production – often out of necessity because standards simply did not exist.  For years, our work focused on design and construction of truly sustainable, ecology-based urban landscapes, but our active projects now address the conservation of natural areas throughout the western U.S. and the importance of utilizing site specific genotypes in ecological restoration.

Native plants differ from most conventional nursery stock in genetic variability and adaptation, or their ability to acclimate to specific environmental conditions.  Propagating the majority of our plant material grants us the ability to know it intimately and to understand the subtle characteristics of each species. Transferring this knowledge to students, customers, and landowners aids in design and construction of functional landscapes for urban environments and restoration of natural areas.

Our Clients

For over twenty years we provided landscape design and construction service. We were fortunate to have many outstanding clients supportive of our work and willing to move in directions outside the norm.  Many of our most successful projects were unique in the country, requiring our clients to balance the risks of trying something completely new with the potential rewards offered through a unique approach. 

Utilizing the knowledge gained from working in the landscape industry for over two decades when helping our customers choose plant material is unique in the nursery industry. Our employees are well educated in native plants, basic ecology, and the constraints inherent in urban landscape design and construction. Our staff is able to apply their understanding of each species we grow to help meet the design elements and aesthetic considerations of a project.

Karen Theodore

Founder, Wintercreek Nursery

Karen started propagating high desert native plants in 1992.  She developed many of the propagation protocols currently in use for native plants, and although she’s semi-retired, she still tests new species for adaptability to created environments.  Her extensive knowledge and enthusiasm for native plants helped create a fun and educational experience for every nursery customer over the years, and continues to inspire our employees that are dedicated to taking WinterCreek Nursery into the future. She remains active in training the next generation of nursery managers, and if you’re lucky, you can still catch her at the nursery.

During her time as owner, Karen made annual trips around the western U.S. to collect seed and cuttings for propagation at her nursery, and that work has not ended.  She has been in Bend for over 30 years and is intimately familiar with the many unique habitats and environments throughout central and eastern Oregon and continues to provide seed to WinterCreek.  She is an OSU alumna, earning a BS in wildlife biology with an emphasis in ornithology. She is a long-term member of the Oregon Native Plant Society and East Cascades Audubon Society, and is a Central Oregon Master Gardener.

Rick Martinson, PhD

Founder, High Desert Horticultural Center

Rick spent years working in environmental analysis and management. His previous endeavors include work as an ecologist, botanist, environmental scientist, and archaeologist in a variety of environments around the country. His speciality is the adaptive physiology of xerophytic native plants, and he applies that knowledge in the management of natural areas, planning, and nursery production. While working as a landscape contractor, many of Ricks’ projects received national recognition for their unique ecology-based approach.

Rick teaches courses in native plants, ecology based design, and applied ecology at Oregon State University and is a frequent guest lecturer at numerous organizations and conferences.  He is a long time member of the Natural Areas Association, Society for Ecological Restoration, Oregon Landscape Contractors Association, and other professional societies.  He is also a Central Oregon Master Gardener.