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

Asclepias tuberosa

Flame orange flowers are stunning in masses or drifts and attract pollinators galore. Interestingly, this plant does not exude the milky sap. Monarch butterfly host plant.

Light: Full Sun
Soil: Dry to Average
Height: 2 feet
Blooms: June-August
Flowers: Orange

Baptisia alba

Elegant white, pea-shaped flowers displayed along an elongate axis provide cut flowers as early as April. White Wild Indigo is an herbaceous perennial that, in full sun is rounded and bushy but dies back to the ground in winter. Good source of early-season nectar to attract and support our pollinators. Larval host plant for Wild Indigo Duskywing butterfly. Grown from KY source seed.

Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Dry to Average
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Blooms: April-May
Flowers: White

Coreopsis lanceolata

A tried and true plant for the home garden, Lance-leaf Coreopsis is a prolific bloomer and provides excellent cut flowers.

Light: Full Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: to 2 feet
Blooms: May-July
Flowers: Yellow

Dalea purpurea

Purple prairie clover has a deep taproot, making it a good choice for tough, full sun spots prone to drought. Bright, interesting flowers with a long lasting bloom time. Seed is high in protein, a good food source for mammals. A larval host plant for the Dogface Sulfur and Reakirt's Blue butterflies. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

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

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

Monarda bradburiana

Excellent choice for a yard, this Bee Balm is clump-forming & short (1' to 2'). It is also less aggressive & more mildew-resistant than other Bee Balms. It has a long bloom period and is a great pollinator plant.

Light: Best in Intermediate Light
Soil: Average
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Blooms: May to June
Flowers: Light Pink

Chrysopsis mariana

Daisy-like yellow flowers provide much-needed late-season nectar. This plant is a good option for use as a matrix species in a flower garden, reducing the need to mulch between plants. Grown from KY-source seed.

Light: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: 1 to 2.5 feet
Blooms: August-October
Flowers: Yellow

Liatris spicata

Also known as Gayfeather, this plant produces striking dense purplish wands of flowers from a clump of narrow, shiny, strap-like basal leaves. Beautiful in a front yard, butterfly garden, rain garden, cut flower or large pot. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full Sun
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Soil: Average
Blooms: July to August
Flowers Reddish-Purple

Penstemon calycosus

Under-used & well-suited for home garden use, Calico Beardtongue has 1" long pink tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds. Foliage is semi-glossy and may turn purple in fall. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full Sun to Filtered Shade
Soil: Moist to Dry
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Blooms: June to July
Flowers: Violet 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

Sedum ternatum

Hardy & unique, this trailing succulent is ideal for use as a ground cover, in a window box or rock garden. Good source for early-season nectar. Drought-tolerant once established.

Light: Part Sun
Height: 3 to 6 inches
Soil: Average
Blooms: April to May
Flowers: White

Rudbeckia fulgida

A pleasing clump forming plant bearing bright & bold yellow-orange blooms that last for weeks. Great as a cut flower, for use in rain gardens & massing to create a border. Remove spent flowers to prolong bloom time. Spreads by rhizomes. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full sun
Height: 2 to 3 feet
Soil: Average to Dry
Blooms: June to October
Flowers: yellow-orange

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

Ceanothus americanus

Shrub with a rounded form, fragrant flowers that attract hummingbirds and yellow-green stems in winter. Deep roots makes this plant drought-tolerant but difficult to transplant.

Light: Full to Part Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: 3 to 4 feet
Blooms: May to July
Flowers: Creamy white

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, Aster oblongifolius

Perfect height for the home garden, profuse blue-lavender blooms provide the solution to both late-season color and nectar. Trim to desired shape through June. Grown from Kentucky-source seed.

Light: Full to Part Sun
Soil: Average to Dry
Height: to 2 feet
Blooms: September-November
Flowers: Blue-Violet

Phlox divaricata

Lovely low mat-forming native perennial with abundant, fragrant blue-violet flowers in spring. Useful along a path or rock garden. Prefers rich, moist well-drained humus soil.

Light: Part to Full Shade
Soil: Average
Height: to 1 foot
Blooms: April to May
Flowers: Blue-Violet

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

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

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

Blephilia hirsuta

Charming pale lavender flowers in tiered spheres bring nectar to a shady garden. Nice in borders, paths.

Light: best in intermediate, shade
Soil: Medium
Height 1 to 2.5 feet
Blooms: May to September