yellow coneflower
Echinacea paradoxa
A 2-4′ yellow-flowering native. Like its cousins, flowers make great cuts, butterflies are attracted to … Continued
browsing: native perennials
Native plants have evolved over thousands of years alongside native wildlife and therefore offer the most useful habitat. Native plants feed bugs at every stage of life, and bugs are the very foundation for our entire food web.
Our prairie natives require less water, and are adapted to grow in our soil types and temperature extremes, so they do well without requiring extensive resources and chemicals. Native plants help in management of rainwater runoff and maintain healthy soil with their deep root systems.
Native vs Native Cultivar
horsetail
Equisetum hyemale
Hollow, segmented, tubular stems grow to 4′ tall and grow in dry soils to wet, … Continued
purple love grass
Eragrostis spectabilis
Masses of reddish-purple panicle blooms are beautiful in large sweeps. NATIVE TO THE EASTERN HALF … Continued
rattlesnake master
Eryngium yuccifolium
Beautiful native growing to 4′ tall with glaucus, yucca-like foliage topped with clusters of white, … Continued
pincushion cactus, spinystar
[Coryphantha] Escobaria vivipara
2″ bright magenta open in May-June, followed by fleshy, greenish-purple fruits. As the evergreen, ball-shaped … Continued
spotted joe-pye weed
Eupatorium maculatum
An excellent back of the border native plant growing 6′ tall or more with deep … Continued
wild strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
Ground-hugging foliage produces loose clusters of small, five-petaled flowers followed by tasty, wild strawberries. Found … Continued
Fringed loosestrife
Lysimachia cilata
Yellow flowers on long stalks open in spring. Native to much of the lower 48 … Continued
blanketflower
Gaillardia aristata
Blanketflowers are one of the longest-blooming native perennials, well suited to hot sunny sites. Soft-yellow … Continued
bottle gentian
Gentiana andrewsii
These slow-growing natives are long-lived and require little care once established. Bumblebees are the main … Continued
wild geranium
Geranium maculatum
Native to much of eastern North America, this perennial has attractive dissected foliage, beautiful pink … Continued
prairie smoke geum
Geum triflorum
An excellent rock garden perennial, this native produces smoky pink blooms can last for a … Continued