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Native summer blooming perennials

Pam Morris
Horticulture Section Leader

Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy a wide variety of native perennials. By their very nature, native plants grow well because they evolved with the natural conditions of the area. Not only do they grow easily when planted in the right location, but there are many beautiful perennials that would be a great addition to any backyard garden. Due to the increased interest in lower maintenance plants, there are a wide variety of cultivars available for many native plants as well as nurseries that specialize in natives.

In addition to e beautiful flowers that add to the summer landscape, many native perennials attract songbirds, butterflies and even hummingbirds. Some of these perennials flower well into the fall and provide a valuable food source for migrating birds.

The meadows in the Arboretum’s Natural Areas around the Wetland are a great example of summer flowering perennials. Summer afternoons around the wetland are buzzing with all kind of butterflies, birds and dragonflies who are attracted to these beautiful showy native perennials. All of the perennials around the wetland are straight species but a variety of cultivars are available that make these perennials even more desirable in a smaller garden setting. They are the same easy to care for plants, but often provide a wider palette of color and sizes.

For adding height to your perennial garden there are a number of tall summer flowering natives that work well. Eupatorium is a wonderful native that will add great sturcture to your garden. Their large plumes of flowers create quite a show while attracting bees butterflies. E. fistulosum (Joe-pye weed) has a dusty pink color and good fall color while E. perfoliatum (Boneset) has similar plumes of white flowers. Other ideas for adding height to the garden are; Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root) which has white stalks of flowers, Verbena hastata (Blue vervain) with delicate lavender flower stalks and Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) which had dark green foliage and deep purple flowers.

For attracting more than just butterflies, consider adding Monarda didyma (Beebalm) or M. fistulosa (Horsemint) to your garden. These fragrant plants have a very unusual flower, which comes in a variety of colors that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Liatris spicata (Blazing Star) is another spectacular plant with upright purple spikes that attracts birds as well as butterflies. Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly weed) as its name suggests, attracts many kinds of butterflies with the nectar of its large bright orange flower clusters. Their leaves are also a food source for Monarch caterpillars. And finally, what summer landscape would be complete without a burst of yellow color from the Rudbeckia. There are several native varieties that suit almost any garden. For shorter species try R. hirta (Black-eyed Susan) , R. fulgida (Coneflower) or even R. triloba (Brown-eyed Susan). For a taller variety there is R. laciniata (Tall Coneflower).

The Arboretum’s Wetland area is a great place to see many of these native summer blooming perennials in a natural landscape. Be sure to take a stroll around the wetland and witness the flurry of activity and the beauty that these perennials provide on your next visit to the Arboretum.