Long blooming plant, great for boarders. Host to the Common Buckeye butterfly.

Blooms are cute as a button. Use in a consistently moist rain garden (doesn’t like to dry out). Can be cut back in June to produce a shorter, fuller plant. Deadhead for longer blooms.

Host to the hummingbird clearwing Hemaris diffinis. Often confused with common milkweed when it's younger. Popular with many small pollinators. Can be aggressive from horizontal roots.

Larval host for the Common Buckeye Butterfly. Grows well in hot/dry “bad” soil. Doesn’t compete well with aggressive plants.

The tallest Joe Pye. Typically avoided by mammals, but a favorite of many pollinators. May flop or you can stake it up.

Interesting leaf structure and seed pods.

You often find the seeds of this genus sticking to you after a hike – these seeds are eaten by lots of wildlife. Flowers of this plant aren’t especially showy, but the plant is great for insects, birds, and mammals.

Great plant for the pollinators; attracts several butterflies, moths, and bees. Can be aggressive. Deer/rabbit don’t prefer.

A forest species for your shade garden with beautiful structure and flowers for spring garden interest. Not preferred by deer.

A butterfly magnet. Try in a shady rain garden. Can be tall, floppy, and take up a lot of space, but a stunning statement in the garden.

Beautiful spring flower that lasts all summer. Plant in masses to make a dramatic effect. Can spread quickly but typically fades out of the garden in about 8 years.

Annual/biennial plant, so allow to self-seed in disturbed soil in order for it to return. A very unique, delicate-looking flower that can spread quickly by seed in disturbed soil but may fade out as other plants take the space.

Typically grows as a shrubby upright perennial to 4' tall and to 2 1/2' wide. A study in KC showed that Symphyotrichum is one of the plant genera in our area that attracts the largest number of different bee species.

An annual that will reseed and spread through the garden. Attracts bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

A groundcover for a shady area. Try this as a native alternative to hostas.