Perennials

Yarrow is an erect, herbaceous, perennial plant that produces one to several stems that grow to be from 8 to 40 inches in height. There are white to pink flowers that bloom from March to October. There is a sweet scent that emits from the Yarrow plant – similar to chrysanthemums.

An upright, clump-forming perennial. Lavender to purple flowers are densely packed along showy, cylindrical, terminal spikes mid to late summer. Medium green foliage remains clean throughout the season and carries a refreshing anise scent, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.

Allium cernuum occurs primarily in rocky soils on glades, bluff edges, open woods and slopes. Plants typically grow 12-18” (less frequently to 24”) tall. Features clumps of flat, narrow, grass-like leaves (to 12” tall) and tiny bell-shaped, pink to lilac pink (occasionally white) flowers which appear in loose, nodding clusters (umbels) atop erect, leafless scapes rising slightly above the foliage.

False Indigo has small, uniform leaves that measure out from the stem, airily filling out the top third of the plant. In summer, tiny purple colored flowers open from tall spires, sending bright yellow and orange stamens from individual blossoms and dusting the spikes with golden pollen. This is a thicket-forming shrub and prefers to keep its roots moist.

This is an erect, branching perennial, up to 2 ft. tall, well-known for its showy flowers. A nodding, red and yellow flower with upward spurred petals alternating with spreading, colored sepals and numerous yellow stamens hanging below the petals. The compound leaves, divided into round-lobed threes, are attractive in their own right. This beautiful woodland wildflower has showy, drooping, bell-like flowers equipped with distinctly backward-pointing tubes, similar to the garden Columbines. These tubes, or spurs, contain nectar that attracts long-tongued insects and hummingbirds. Aquilegia canadensis readily hybridizes with the popular Southwestern yellow columbines, yielding some striking yellow-and-red color combinations in the flowers. This genus has been referred to as the flower for the masses. Once started, Columbine propagates for years and, although perennial, increases rapidly by self seeding.

The large, bright, terminal blossoms of this showy, 2-4 ft. perennial are made up of small, rose-purple flowers. Deep pink flowers clustered at the top of a tall, branching stem, bearing numerous narrow, lanceolate leaves. Opposite, narrow, lance-shaped leaves line the erect, open-branched stem. Elongated, tan-brown seed pods persist into winter.

Common Milkweed- Asclepias syriaca thrives in almost any well-drained soil, and produces lavender to pink flowers in midsummer. The extremely fragrant blooms attract and benefit many pollinators. This is one of the easiest and fastest to establish of the milkweeds, as it spreads rapidly by rhizomes and grows readily from seed. Plant some today to help counter the increasing threats to the Monarch butterfly. Monarchs lay their eggs exclusively on plants in the Asclepias genus, otherwise known as milkweeds.

This bushy, 1 1/2-2 ft. perennial is prized for its large, flat-topped clusters of bright-orange flowers. The leaves are mostly alternate, 1 1/2–2 1/4 inches long, pointed, and smooth on the edge. The yellow-orange to bright orange flower clusters, 2–5 inches across, are at the top of the flowering stem. The abundance of stiff, lance-shaped foliage provides a dark-green backdrop for the showy flower heads. This showy plant is frequently grown from seed in home gardens. Its brilliant flowers attract butterflies. Because its tough root was chewed by the Indians as a cure for pleurisy and other pulmonary ailments, Butterfly Weed was given its other common name, Pleurisy Root. Although it is sometimes called Orange Milkweed, this species has no milky sap.

Smooth Aster is a herbaceous perennial in the aster family that is native to central and eastern USA. It is a must have for the garden due to the late-season blooms and the many pollinators it attracts. Has daisy-like purplish-blue flowers in September to late fall. Asters are easy to grow in well-drained average garden soil in full sun to partial shade and tolerate drought once established. Use in the border, a pollinator garden or naturalized areas. Will self-seed.

New England Aster is a late bloomer like most Asters. Maturing to 5′ tall, it is rich with purple flowers with orange-yellow centers from late summer to October. Popular with pollinators, it thrives in full sun or light shade in all but the driest soils. Before New England Aster blooms, it is easy to identify the plant because of the hairy stem and leaves that clasp the stem in a distinctive manner, nearly encircling it, unique from other Asters.

The colors of the New England Aster can vary from purple, violet, and lavender to all shades of pink. Bees and butterflies are attracted to it, and the nectar of the flower provides an excellent source for Monarchs and other butterflies late into the fall. New England Aster is drought-tolerant and deer-resistant. When the plant is blooming, the lower leaves can often dry up causing some to think the plant is dying or has disease. This is normal.

Rising 2-4 ft. high from a woody base, blue wild indigo is a bushy, robust perennial. Flowers are blue-purple and pea-like, congested in dense, upright, terminal spikes, 4-16 in. long. Leaves are divided into three leaflets. In late fall the plant turns silvery-gray, sometimes breaking off at ground level and tumbling about in the wind. Like other members of the pea family, this plant requires the presence of microorganisms that inhabit nodules on the plants root system and produce nitrogen compounds necessary for the plants survival.

Coreopsis verticillata, is a rhizomatous perennial which typically grows in dense, bushy clumps to 1-3′ tall. Features yellow, daisy-like flowers (1-2″ diameter) with yellow untoothed rays and yellow center disks. Flowers appear singly in loose clusters (cymes) in a profuse and lengthy late spring to late summer bloom. Shearing plants in mid-summer will promote a fall rebloom. Palmately 3-parted leaves with thread-like segments lend a fine-textured and airy appearance to the plant.

A popular perennial with smooth, 2-5 ft. stems and long-lasting, lavender flowers. Rough, scattered leaves that become small toward the top of the stem. Flowers occur singly atop the stems and have domed, purplish-brown, spiny centers and drooping, lavender rays. An attractive perennial with purple (rarely white), drooping rays surrounding a spiny, brownish central disk. The genus name is from the Greek echino, meaning hedgehog, an allusion to the spiny, brownish central disk. The flowers of Echinacea species are used to make an extremely popular herbal tea, purported to help strengthen the immune system; an extract is also available in tablet or liquid form in pharmacies and health food stores. Often cultivated, Purple Coneflower is a showy, easily grown garden plant.

A robust, upright perennial with hollow purple stems accented by huge, rounded, tight clusters of pink or purplish-mauve flowers. It is an important pollen and nectar plant and attracts butterflies (particularly the swallowtail butterfly) and other pollinators by the dozens. The height makes it an excellent background plant in border perennial beds, but is also majestic standing alone. Flower color is darker in cooler weather.

Eupatorium maculatum is an herbaceous native perennial wildflower, commonly known as Joe Pye Weed , that is useful as a tall plant in wet spaces. It displays clusters of purple blossoms through summer into fall. Joe Pye Weed prefers moist to wet soil and does best in sun to partial shade. This plant is resistant to damage by deer. It does best in average, medium to wet soils in full sun, but tolerates some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates. You can cut the plants to the ground in late winter. The root system is fibrous and rhizomatous. This plant often forms small clonal colonies. You can divide the plant in spring or fall and replant to a new site.

Euthamia graminifolia is a herbaceous plant on thin, branching stems. Leaves are alternate, simple, long and narrow much like grass leaves (hence the name of the species). One plant can produce many small, yellow flower heads flat-topped arrays sometimes as much as 30 cm (1 foot) across. Each head has 7–35 ray florets surrounding 3–13 disc florets. The species is very common in fallow fields, waste places, fencerows, and vacant lots in many places.

Fragaria virginiana shows early-summer white blossoms and edible fruit. Wild Strawberry plant takes on a great red fall color also. Wild Strawberries grow in a wide variety of sun and soil conditions. The fruit ripens in late spring or early summer. They are much smaller than commercial strawberries but probably the most delicious of the wild fruits.

Sneezeweed can be found throughout the United States in moist soils along streams, ponds, in swamps, and wetlands. Sneezeweed can be cultivated in average to rich soils, needing moist to wet conditions. It should be cut back in early summer to encourage branching and increase flowers. The common name of Sneezeweed is based on historic use of the crushed dried leaves and heads to make a form of snuff that caused sneezing. Common sneezeweed leaves, flowers, and seeds are poisonous to humans if eaten in large quantities, causing gastric and intestinal irritation, which can become fatal. The chemicals in sneezeweed can poison livestock, particularly sheep and cattle.

Heliopsis helianthoides is an upright, clump-forming, nearly glabrous, sunflower-like perennial. It typically grows to 3-4′ tall and features daisy-like flowers (2-3” diameter) with yellow-orange rays surrounding brownish-yellow center cones. Flowers bloom throughout summer atop stiff stems clad with ovate, toothed leaves (to 6″ long). The preference is full to partial sun, moist to mesic conditions, and loamy soil, although rocky ground and clay-loam are tolerated. This plant is easy to cultivate and it has a long blooming period during the summer.

A graceful, sword-leaved plant similar to the garden iris, with showy, down-curved, violet, boldly veined sepals. Several violet-blue flowers with attractively veined and yellow-based sepals are on a sturdy stalk among tall sword-like leaves that rise from a basal cluster. Flowers may be any shade of purple, but are always decorated with yellow on the falls. Grows 2-3 ft. tall. This is a showy native iris of northeastern wetlands. Insects attracted to the sepals must crawl under the tip of a style and brush past a stigma and stamen, thus facilitating pollination.

A graceful, sword-leaved plant similar to the garden iris, with showy, down-curved, violet, boldly veined sepals. Several violet-blue flowers with attractively veined and yellow-based sepals are on a sturdy stalk among tall sword-like leaves that rise from a basal cluster. Flowers may be any shade of purple, but are always decorated with yellow on the falls. Grows 2-3 ft. tall. This is a showy native iris of northeastern wetlands. Insects attracted to the sepals must crawl under the tip of a style and brush past a stigma and stamen, thus facilitating pollination.

Wild bergamot, known by many other common names, is a popular and showy perennial. Clusters of lavender, pink or white flowers, looking like ragged pompoms, bloom atop 2-5 ft., open-branched stems. This showy perennial, frequently cultivated, has aromatic leaves used to make mint tea. Oil from the leaves was formerly used to treat respiratory ailments. The leaves smell minty.

Evening primrose is an upright biennial in the Onagraceae family. This commonly grows in fields, prairies, glades, thickets, waste ground, disturbed sites, and along roadsides and railroad right of ways. This plant wuld easily and work well planted along boarders or makes an excellent addition to a wildflower, cottage, or herb garden. It is highly drought tolerant. Gold/yellow flowers will bloom during the Fall, Spring, and Summer. At dusk, flowers will open up and then close again once it is hit by the sun.

Penstemon digitalis is a clump-forming perennial in the plantain family. It grows up to 5 feet tall in prairies, wood margins, and open woods of eastern and central USA. In late spring to early summer, tall clusters of showy white tubular flowers appear that attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. It has no serious disease or pest problems. This plant adapts easily to cultivation and prefers well-drained, moist to dry loamy soils and tolerates clay soil if it is well-drained. Plant in full sun to light shade in small groups in the native/pollinator garden, naturalized areas or borders.

Sweet Black Eyed Susan is a deep rooted perennial that displays an impressive floral bunch with strong stems. The yellow flowers bloom from late summer into the fall. The plant has a pleasant smell while it blooms that attracts many pollinators. This plant is long living and thrives in clay or any rich soil with full sun.

Thin sprays of arching flowering stems occur at the top of sturdy, erect, 2-5 ft. stems. The numerous, narrow, toothed leaves are rough-surfaced.Tall, rough, hairy stem bears divergent, or arching, branches with small, light yellow flower heads concentrated on the upper side. The plant occurs in clumps.

Seaside Goldenrod is a low maintenance native that makes a great addition to pollinator gardens and ornamental flower beds. Growing 3-5’ tall, stems erupt from a tight clump of evergreen blue-green basal leaves. Producing golden-yellow tight blooms at the terminal end of long stalks, seaside goldenrod is notably different for its almost succulent-like foliage and flowers, a protection against the ocean winds. Extremely tolerant of salt, periodic inundation, and drought, Solidago sempervirens is tough and blooms late in the summer, extending the season and adding nectar sources for migrating insects.

Showy Goldenrod is a herbaceous perennial that grows to about 3 feet. It has upright stems that host foot-long rods of golden yellow flowers in early fall. Showy goldenrod tolerates drought and clay soil well and will naturalize in a landscape.

Best grown in average, dry to medium, well drained soil in full sun. Tolerates poor, dry soils. Remove spent flower clusters to encourage additional bloom.