Why We Love Native Plants

Native plants provide many benefits for people and wildlife, while contributing greatly to healthy soil and water. Native plants have adapted to the climate and soils of our mid western region for optimal durability and offer the most sustainable habitat for birds, insects and wildlife. A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction.

Native plants require less fertilizer and fewer pesticides.

Vast amounts of fertilizers are applied to lawns and non native gardens. Excess phosphorus and nitrogen (the main components of fertilizers) run off into lakes and rivers causing excess algae growth. This depletes oxygen in our waters, harms aquatic life and interferes with recreational uses. The over use of a limited number of non-native plants in gardens has produced a homogenized landscape susceptible to pests and diseases, requiring the increased use of pesticides. Nationally, over 70 million pounds of pesticides are applied to lawns and gardens each year. Pesticides can also contaminate rivers and lakes. Native landscapes provide habitats for wildlife and encourage the presence of native insects and microorganisms. These native organisms benefit plants by keeping them healthy without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Native plants have a symbiotic relationship with the environment.

Native plants help with water conservation.

The non native gardens and lawns require significant amounts of water to thrive. The deep root systems of many native mid western plants increase the soil’s capacity to store water. Native plants can significantly reduce water runoff and loss of top soil to erosion.

Native plants help keep the air cleaner.

One gas-powered lawnmower emits 11 times the air pollution of a new car. Excessive carbon from the burning of fossil fuels contributes to global warming. Natural landscapes do not require mowing or very much maintenance at all.

Native plants provide shelter and food for wildlife, support pollinators and promote biodiversity and stewardship of nature.

In the U.S. there are approximately 20 million acres of lawn , covering more land than any single crop. There are very few benefits to native wildlife from a manicured lawn. Likewise, gardens that mostly feature non native species of plants are often of little benefit to wildlife. Native plants attract a variety of birds, butterflies, and other wildlife by providing diverse habitats and food sources. Natural landscaping is an opportunity to reestablish diverse native plants, thereby inviting the birds and butterflies back to your yard.

Native perennials we frequently carry:

(Call for current availability)

Acorus calamus americanus 'Sweet Flag'

Agastache foeniculum 'Fragrant Giant Hyssop'

Agastache scrophulariaefolia 'Purple Giant Hyssop'

Allium cernuum 'Nodding Onion'

Amorpha canescens 'Lead Plant'

Andropogon gerardii 'Big Blue Stem'

Anemone canadensis 'Canada Anemone'

Anemone patens 'Pasque Flower'

Aquilegia canadensis 'Canada Columbine'

Aralia racemosa 'American Spiknard'

Arisaema triphylum 'Jack in the Pulpit'

Asarum canadensis 'Wild Ginger'

Asclepias incarnata 'Marsh Milkweed'

Asclepias speciosa 'Showy Milkweed'

Asclepias syriaca 'Common Milkweed'

Asclepias tuberosa 'Butterfly Weed'

Asclepias verticillata 'Whorled Milkweed'

Aster laevis 'Smooth Aster'

Baptista alba 'White Wild Indigo'

Baptista Australis 'Blue Wild Indigo'

Bouteloua curtipendula 'Side-oats Grama'

Calamagrostis canadensis 'Blue Joint Grass'

Caltha palustris 'Marsh Marigold'

Carex brevior 'Plains Oval Sedge'

Carex bromoides 'Common Brome Sedge'

Carex pensylvanica 'Pennsylvania Sedge'

Carex plantaginea 'Seersucker Sedge'

Carex stircta 'Tussock Sedge'

Carex vulpinoidea 'Fox Sedge'

Ceanothus americanus 'New Jersey Tea'

Cephalanthus occidentalis 'Common Buttonbush'

Chasmanthilum latifolia 'Northern Sea Oats'

Chelone glabra 'White Turtlehead'

Chrysopsis villosa 'Hairy Golden Aster'

Clematis virginiana 'Virgin's Bower'

Coreopsis lanceolata 'Tickseed'

Coreopsis palmata 'Prairie Coreopsis'

Dalea candida 'White Prairie Clover'

Dalea purpurea 'Purple Prairie Clover'

Dalea villosa 'Silky Prairie Clover'

Desmodium canadense 'Showy Tick Treefoil'

Dodecatheon meadia 'Shooting Star'

Echinacea angustifolia 'Narrow Leafed Purple Coneflower'

Echinacea pallida 'Pale Purple Coneflower'

Echinacea paradoxa 'Yellow Coneflower'

Elymus hystrix 'Bottlebrush Grass'

Eragrostis spectabilis 'Purple Love Grass'

Eryngium yuccifolium 'Rattlesnake Master'

Eupatorium maculatum 'Spotted Joe Pye Weed'

Eupatorium purpurea 'Joe Pye Weed'

Euphorbia corollata 'Flowering Spurge'

Eurybia macrophylla 'Large Leaf Aster'

Filipendula rubra 'Queen of the Prairie'

Fragaria virginiana 'Wild Strawberry"

Geranium maculatum 'Wild Geranium'

Geum triflorum 'Prarie Smoke'

Helenium autumnale 'Sneezeweed'

Heliopsis helianthoides 'False Sunflower'

Heuchera richardsonii 'Native coralbells'

Hibiscus laevis 'Rosemallow'

Hypericum kalmianum ' Kalm St. John's Wort'

Iris virginica 'Blue Flag'

Liatris aspera 'Rough Blazing Star'

Liatris ligulistylis 'Blazing Star'

Liatris pycnostachya 'Prairie Blazing Star'

Lilium michiganense 'Michigan Lily'

Lobelia cardinalis 'Cardinal Flower'

Lobelia syphilitica 'Blue Cardinal Flower'

Lupinus perennis 'Wild Lupine'

Lythrum alatum 'Winged Loosestrife'

Mimulus ringens 'Monkey Flower'

Monarda fistulosa 'Wild Bergamot'

Monarda punctuata 'Spotted Bee Balm'

Opuntia humifusa 'Eastern Prickly Pear'

Panicum virgatum 'Switch Grass'

Parthenium integrifolium 'Wild Quinine'

Penstemon digitalis 'Foxglove Beardtongue'

Penstemon hirsutus 'Hairy Beardtongue'

Phlox divaricata 'Wild Blue Phlox'

Physostegia virginiana 'Obediant Plant'

Polemonium reptans 'Jacob's Ladder'

Polygonatum biflorum 'Solomon's Seal'

Potentilla arguta 'Tall Cinquefoil'

Prenanthes alba 'Lion's Foot'

Pycanthemum muticum 'Clustered Mountain Mint'

Pycanthemum tenuifolium 'Slender Mountain Mint'

Pycnanthemum virginianum 'Virginia Mountain Mint'

Ratibida columnifera 'Long Headed Coneflower'

Ratibida pinnata 'Grey Head Coneflower'

Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa 'Showy Black Eyed Susan'

Rudbeckia hirta 'Black Eyed Susan'

Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Sweet Coneflower'

Rudbeckia triloba 'Brown Eyed Susan'

Ruellia humilis 'Wild Petunia'

Sambucus canadensis 'Elderberry'

Sanguinaria canadensis 'Bloodroot'

Schizachyrium scoparium 'Little Bluestem'

Sedum ternatum 'Woodland Stonecrop'

Silene regia 'Royal Catchfly'

Silphium integrifolium 'Rosin Weed'

Silphium laciniatum 'Compass Plant'

Silphium perfoliatum 'Cup Plant'

Silphium terebinthinaceum 'Prairie Dock'

Solidago flexicaulis 'Zig Zag Goldenrod'

Solidago ohioense 'Ohio Goldenrod'

Solidago rigida 'Stiff Goldenrod'

Solidago speciosa 'Showy Goldenrod'

Spirea alba 'White Meadowsweet'

Spirea tomentosa 'Steeplebrush'

Sporobolus heterolepsis 'Prairie Dropseed'

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'New England Aster'

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'Aromatic Aster'

Symphyotrichum oolentangiense 'Skyblue Aster'

Thalictrum dioicum 'Early Meadowrue'

Tradescantia ohiensis 'Spiderwort'

Verbena hastata 'Blue Vervain'

Verbena stricta 'Hoary Vervain'

Veronica fasciculata 'Common Ironweed'

Veronicastrum virginicum 'Culver's Root'

Zizia aurea 'Golden Alexander'

Why We Love Native Plants

​