Purple Coneflower

Echinacea Purpurea

 Supple, green arrow leaves, purple flowers with cone shaped center atop stalks.

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Well-drained moist to dry

Height: up to 3 feet

Spacing: 2 to 3 feet

Good to know: Does not like to be moved after established. Attracts butterflies and many birds!

Blue Columbine

Aquilegia Coerulea

Bushy with bright green leaves and showy blue or blue and white flowers in spring and early summer. Self-seeds easily. Good for borders, edging or in perennial beds.

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Evenly moist through season. Well-drained

Height: 1 to 3 feet

Spacing: 12” to 18”

Good to know: Hummingbirds love them!

Woodland Strawberry

Fragaria Vesca

Attractive, spreading ground cover, white flowers and small strawberry fruit.

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Well-drained, moist.

Height: 3” to 6”

Spacing: 12”

Good to know: Edible for humans and wildlife. Keep runners at bay with pruning – it can be invasive. Divide every 3-4 years to keep vigor. Deer resistant after established

Sword Fern

Polystichum Munitum

Robust green leaves in dense crowns up to 60 inches long!                                               

Light: Part sun to full shade

Soil: Moist

Height: 3 feet

Spacing: At least 3 feet

Good to know: Evergreen and deer-resistant. Perfect in woodlands or shady rock gardens.

Davidson’s Penstemon

Penstemon Davidsonii

Blue-lavender-purple blooms over dark green foliage. Great in dry, rocky spots.

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Well-drained

Height: 8” to 10”

Spacing: 12” to 16”

Good to know: Evergreen. Attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds.

Showy Fleabane

Erigeron Speciosus

 Petite ray-like flowers with golden centers with many to a stem from June to September.

Light: Full sun

Soil: Well-drained

Height: Up to 3 feet

Spacing: 2 feet

Good to know: Attracts pollinators! Virtually disease-free, great for beds and borders.

Mildly toxic to cats, dogs and livestock if eaten.

Palmer’s Penstemon

Penstemon palmeri

 Light pink blooms in clusters from stems on a main stalk bloom mid to late spring.

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Well-drained

Height: 1 to 3 feet

Spacing: 1 to 3 feet

Good to know: Attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds.

Showy Milkweed

Asclepias Speciosa

Rose colored star flowers sit atop velvety blue-green foliage.

Light: Full sun

Soil: Well drained. Prefers moist

Height: 1-1/2 to 3 feet

Spacing: 16” to 24”

Good to know: Deer resistant, honey bees, butterflies and hummingbirds LOVE this plant.

Most commonly found along roadsides and ditches across the west.

It is the least poisonous of the milkweed family, but can still be harmful to livestock.

Missouri Iris

Iris missouriensis

Violet blue flowers bloom atop stout leafless stalks that rise up among dense, flexible, sword-shaped leaves.

Light: Full sun to part shade

Soil: Well-drained, moist

Height: 1 to 2 feet

Spacing: 1 to 2 feet

Good to know: Lewis and Clark first collected this plant along the Missouri River in 1806. Native to western North America. Best grouped in sunny areas of perennial beds, borders or foundations.

Tuft Hairgrass

Deschanosia Caespitosa

 Grows in dense clusters. Finely branched, pale green flowering stalks.

Light: Full sun to part shade.

Soil: Well-drained, moist.

Height: 2 to 3 feet

Spacing: 1 to 3 feet

Good to know: Easy care! Edible seeds which can be used like other cereal grains or left to feed wild birds in late summer and fall.

Rocky Mountain Penstemon

Penstemon Strictus

 Long bluish-purple blooms in clusters from stems on a main stalk bloom mid to late spring.

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Well-drained

Height: 1 to 3 feet

Spacing: 1 to 3 feet

Good to know: Evergreen. Attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds. Easy to grow!

Blue Mtn. Penstemon

Penstemon pennellianus

Known for its ability to attract native bees and bumblebees.

Light: Full to part sun

Soil: Well-drained, even rocky.

Height: 10” – 18”

Spacing: 12” – 18”

Good to know: Bloom for about a month in late spring, early summer and attract pollinators. Easy to grow!

Ponderosa Pine

Pinus ponderosa

The dominant pine tree of the western U.S. and is an important timber tree. May live up to 600 years.

Light: Full sun no tolerance for shade

Soil: Well-drained moist

Height: Usually 60 to 125 feet

Spacing: 25 to 30 feet

Good to know: Produces pine cones with edible seeds, “pine nuts” which have been a historically significant forage for indigenous peoples and have become a popular gourmet item.