Aquilegia canadensis

Columbine is easy to grow and tolerates a wide range of conditions. Red and yellow 1"-2" lantern-shaped flowers are hummingbird magnets. Under favorable conditions Columbine spreads readily. Larval host plant for a cute little butterfly, the Columbine Duskywing. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: prefers Part Sun
Soil: Moist to Average
Height: 1-2 feet
Blooms: April-June
Flowers: Red with Yellow center

Echinacea purpurea

A popular plant for good reason. Blooms attract pollinators in summer and their seed feeds birds in the cold months. Beautiful in a home or business planting and in a vase. One larval host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly and Wavy-lined Emerald moth. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Blooms: June-August
Flowers: Purple-Magenta

Helenium autumnale

Also known as Sneezeweed (a misnomer as it is insect pollinated. Pollen is not dispersed via wind), this plant is under-utilized in the home garden and for cut flowers. The flowers have rounded, nearly spherical yellow centers ringed with notched yellow petals. Trim in late June to desired height. A larval host plant for the Dainty Sulfur butterfly. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full to Part Sun
Soil: Average
Height: 3 to 5 feet
Blooms: August-October
Flowers: Yellow

Monarda punctata

Showy pagoda-like white to deep pink bracts form a ring below less conspicuous spotted yellow flowers. Low maintenance, long-lasting bloom period, though a 'weak perennial' but may self-seed. A pollinator favorite.

Light: Part to Full Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Blooms: July-September
Flowers: Yellow, White-Pink Bracts

Heuchera villosa

Low, clump-forming perennial with tidy rosettes reminiscent of maple leaves. Lovely when grouped for use in borders, rock gardens. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Part Sun
Soil: Average
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Blooms: July to September
Flowers: White to Pink

Schizachyrium scoparium

Used as an ornamental grass with silvery & bluish green leaves in rain gardens & pollinator gardens. Attractive bronze fall foliage & purplish flowers. Provides food & cover for wildlife.

Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Blooms: August to February

Verbena canadensis

Attractive low mounding short-lived perennial with an extended bloom period. Good for ground cover, hanging baskets, window boxes, rock gardens & in pots. Attracts hummingbirds.

Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: to 1.5 feet
Blooms: May to August
Flowers: Pink to Purple

Muhlenbergia capillaris

Highly ornamental grass with thread-like leaves that form a tidy clump to 2 feet in height. Named for the lasting pink clouds of flowers that rise to 1 foot above the leaves.

Light: Full Sun to Light Shade
Soil: Dry to Average
Height: 2 feet, 3 feet when in bloom
Blooms: September to November
Flowers: Pink

Penstemon hirsutus

Front yard worthy. At 18 inches tall, this plant will grow in full sun to shade, moist soil to dry. Lovely purple tubular flowers support the hummingbird & many pollinators. Under-used as a yard plant. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full Sun to Shade
Height: to 18"
Soil: Moist to Dry
Blooms: May to June
Flowers: Pink-Purple

Talinum calcaricum

A lovely little succulent perfect for a rock garden or other dry, sandy spot. It's magenta blooms open in the late afternoon and blooming lasts for weeks. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full Sun
Soil: Dry
Height: leaves to 2 inches, flowers to 6 inches
Blooms: throughout summer

Asarum canadense

Heart shaped leaves spread via rhizomes to form an attractive ground cover for shade.

Light: Part to Full Shade
Soil: Average to Wet, Well-drained
Height: to 1 foot
Blooms: April to May (but are low to ground, making them difficult to notice)

Coreopsis auriculata

Short stature and charming, airy and long-blooming yellow-orange flowers make this an ideal choice for a front border in intermediate light. Foliage is compact, low & mounding. Remove spent flowers to extend blooming. Self-seeding & slowly spreading by stolons.

Light: Intermediate
Soil: Medium
Height: Flowers to 18 inches
Blooms: April to June
Flowers: yellow-orange

Coreopsis pubescens

Flowers similar to lance-leaf coreopsis with notched yellow petals. Good for dry spots but in nature also found in gravelly stream banks. Trim foliage to keep good form. May be short lived but will self seed.

Light: Full sun
Soil: Dry to medium
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Blooms: June to September
Flowers: yellow

Solidago drummondii

Arcs or cascades over retaining walls or slopes in full sun, dry to average soil. Not aggressive like other goldenrod species. Goldenrods are excellent pollinator plants. Not native to Kentucky, but to neighboring states.

Light: Full Sun
Soil: Dry to Medium
Height: 1.5 to 3 feet
Blooms: August to September

Oenothera fruticosa tetragona

Large bright yellow day-flowering plant with nice dark green foliage. Can be used as a ground cover but is not aggressive. Stems and foliage often turn reddish in fall.

Light: Full sun
Soil: Dry to Moist
Height: to 2 feet
Blooms: April to June

Penstemon pallidus

At the nursery, this beardtongue flowers early, is typically 2' tall or less and stays put. It's a good choice for early nectar & for a spot in the front yard. Flowers white to pale pink on downy stems.

Light: Full sun to Part shade
Soil: Dry to Medium
Height: 1 to 2.5 feet
Blooms: May to July

Penstemon tenuiflorus

In nature found in western Kentucky on thin calcareous soil in open woods. Graceful white tubular flowers benefit hummingbirds. Kentucky source seed.

Light: Full sun to Part Shade
Soil: Medium, well-drained to Dry
Height: to 2.5 feet
Blooms: April to June

Symphyotrichum shortii

Woodland aster great for a spot with intermediate light. Light blue flowers reminiscent of Blue Wood Aster, borne the top of the stem. Lovely late season color & nectar.

Light: Intermediate
Soil: Medium to Dry
Height: to 3 feet
Blooms: August to October

Liatris microcephala

Also called Appalachian Blazing Star, this plant prefers sandy, well-drained sites and will reward with interesting blooms. In photo it is paired with Purple Lovegrass. Drought tolerant, good cut & attracts hummingbirds & butterflies.

Light: Full sun
Soil: Dry to Medium
Height: to 2 feet
Blooms: July

Hypericum prolificum

Upright shrub tolerant of a wide variety of soil types and good for stabilizing embankments or creating a boundary or hedge. Flowers to 1" in diameter. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average (but drought-tolerant)
Height: usually 1 to 4 feet
Blooms: June to August
Flowers: Yellow

Spigelia marilandica

Striking red & yellow flowers attract hummingbirds. Grows best in moist well-drained soil.

Light: Part Sun
Soil: Average
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Blooms: June
Flowers: Red & Yellow