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

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

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 a rock garden or other dry, full sun area where short stature is helpful. 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

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

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. Fabulous as ground cover, in hanging baskets, window boxes, rock gardens & in containers. Attracts hummingbirds.

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

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

Itea virginica

Delightful mounding shrub with arching stems that produce drooping fragrant racemes of white flowers in summer, crimson foliage in autumn. Excellent for rain gardens, border, or adjacent to a pond or stream. Can sucker to form colonies.

Light: Full to Part Sun
Soil: Average to Wet
Height: 3 to 5 feet
Blooms: June-July
Flowers: White

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

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

Talinum calcaricum

A lovely little succulent perfect for a rock garden, window box 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 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

Porteranthus stipulatus, Gillenia stipulata

Also known as American Ipecac, this is a subtle yet interesting plant for texture and effect when planted in mass. Wonderful bronze-reddish fall color.

Light: Part shade
Soil: Medium
Height: 2 to 3 feet
Blooms: May to June

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

Symphyotrichum shortii

Woodland aster great for a spot with intermediate light. Light blue flowers reminiscent of Blue Wood Aster but larger, 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