chives / garlic chives
Allium schoenoprasum/Allium tuberosum
Mild onion flavor. Can be used fresh in salads, or can be frozen or dried … Continued
Other Trait: attracts beneficial insects
common milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Common milkweed produces dusty pink flower clusters in mid-summer atop large, glossy leaves that resemble … Continued
showy milkweed
Asclepias speciosa
Showy milkweed produces dusty pink flower clusters in mid-summer atop large, glossy leaves that resemble … Continued
swamp milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Swamp milkweed sports lightly fragrant flower clusters from early summer through fall. Plants grow 3-5′ … Continued
tall green milkweed
Asclepias hirtella
Plants grow up to 4′ and produce white flowers. This species prefers medium-wet to dry … Continued
whorled milkweed
Asclepias verticillata
According to the website Monarch Butterfly Garden, you shouldn’t rely on it as your main milkweed … Continued
basil
Ocimum basilicum
Ararat The best tasting purple basil. This heirloom has purplish-gray, mottled foliage, wonderful aroma and … Continued
false indigo ‘Pink Lemonade’
Baptisia 'Pink Lemonade'
It’s hard to improve on the striking blue blooms of native baptisia, but ‘Pink Lemonade’ … Continued
prairie baptisia
Baptisia lactea
A stately, native plant with white flowers in June followed by black pods that make … Continued
borage
Borago officinalis
Big fuzzy plant bears uncommonly true-blue flowers which are prized for garnishes and salads from … Continued
buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
This deciduous shrub has an open, rounded habit. Common throughout the midwest, it can most … Continued