Download Landscaping with Native Perennials

Landscaping with Native Perennials
Benefits of using
natives
Some challenges:
Adapted to our region
Difficult to find
Attract native pollinators
Resistant to wildlife
Attractive
Have specific
environmental
requirements
Not always as showy
Microclimate Matters
What features does your landscape readily
provide?
Sun or Shade
Wet or Dry
Clay or Sand
Shelter from wind or exposed
South facing or North facing
Native Landscape Design
Checklist (1)
How much space do I have
How many habitats can it accommodate
Is the topography suitable for the habitats
that I want
Is there adequate soil
How much water can I provide
Is solar exposure appropriate
Do I need to provide artificial shade or
wind protection
What plants do I want to use, and do I
need to modify the microclimate?
Do I want color/interest year round?
Sunny & Dry Native
Perennials
Flowers For the spring:
Creeping phlox
Field Chickweed
Arrowleaf Balsamroot
Creeping Phlox
Recommended native varieties:
Longleaf Phlox (Phlox longifolia), Rocky Mountain
Phlox (Phlox multiflora), Carpet Phlox (Phlox hoodii),
Moss Phlox (Phlox muscoides)
Ground covers, early bloomers, pink, purple or white
flowers, foliage is moss-like,
Full sun, excellent for rock gardens with well-drained
soils, moisture required in spring. Don't crowd.
Field Chickweed
(Cerastium arvense)
White flowers with twotoothed petals in loose
clumps on trailing stems.
Found on meadows and
mtn slopes. Requires
spring moisture.
Arrowleaf Balsam Root
(Balsamorhiza sagittata)
Sunflower with large,
blueish-green arrowshaped leaves. Flowers
early spring on open
slopes of foothills and
mtns.
Full sun (can tolerate
some shade), loamy,
well-drained soils.
Sunny & Dry Native
Perennials
Flowers For the summer
Pussytoes
Evening Primrose
Penstemon
Goldenrod
Pussytoes (Antennaria
aprica)
Ground cover, with
velvety-silver leaves.
Flowers are tight bundles
of yellow or pink that look
like the toes of a kitten.
Dry prairies to hills and
mtn slopes.
Full sun, dry to moist well drained soils
Evening Primrose
Recommended varieties: Fragrant Evening Primrose
(Oenothera cespitosa), Combleaf Evening primrose
(Oenothera coronopifolia), Western Evening primrose
(Oenothera elata), Howard Evening primrose (Oenothera
howardii)
Found in dry, open, often barren areas (ex. O. elata).
Tolerant of dry, alkaline and even clay soils.
White or yellow flowers with accents of pink and purple
in a loose cup shape. Plants with varying heights.
Beardtongues Penstemon
Over 100 species are native to Wyoming and
many can be used in landscaping.
Range in size from low, mat forming to 3 ft tall.
Flowers are relatively short lived but very showy
and attractive to bees, butterflies and
hummingbirds
Mostly drought tolerant; different varieties like
different types of soils
Goldenrod (Solidago)
Feathery yellow flowers
produced late in the
summer.
Tall plants that grow into
thick clumps.
Found in dry, open
areas of plains and mtns.
Shady &/or Moist Native
Perennials
Spring Flowers
Pasqueflower
Oregon Grape
Meadowrue
Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla
patens)
Early, fuzzy flowers that
are pink-purple with
yellow centers.
Found in moist open or
partly-shaded areas.
Requires rich soils
Oregon Grape (Mahonia
repens)
Creeping evergreen with
year-round interest.
Flowers are yellow and
clustered. Berries are
velvety blue.
Does best in moist, part
shade but can tolerate
drought.
Western Meadowrue
Male and female plants
have dainty flowers on
columbine-like foliage.
Common understory
plant along streams.
Shady &/or Moist Native
Perennials
Summer flowering
Mountain Bluebells
Monkey flower
Wild Bergamot
Cutleaf coneflower
Mountain Bluebells
(Mertensia ciliata)
Blue to pink, drooping
bell flowers produced
June to Aug. Plants
typically 1-3ft tall.
Found in wet meadows
and along stream banks.
Yellow Monkey Flower
(Mimulus guttatus)
Flowers like a snap
dragon, yellow with red
spots. Plants in clumps
up to 6" - 1.5ft tall.
Found in moist
meadows and marshy
streams - good water
garden plant. Can take
full sun.
Wild Bergamot (Monarda
fistulosa)
Flowers clustered in a
tight head of pink-purple
at top of plant. Fragrant
leaves and attractive to
butterflies late in the
season.
Full sun to light shade,
moist to slightly dry.
Clumps should be
divided every few years.
Cutleaf Coneflower
(Rudbeckia laciniata)
Yellow ray flowers with a
prominent cone center
produced in July to Aug
on tall plants.
Widespread, tolerates
full sun. Found along
streams.
The in-betweens
Lupine
Columbine
Geranium
Clematis
Lupine (Lupinus
polyphyllus or Lupine
argenteus)
Spike of purple, pealike flowers produced in
spring to early summer.
Plant height from 1ft 4ft. Leaves palmate.
Found in open
meadows and slopes.
Tolerates full sun to
light shade, moist to dry
soils.
Columbine
Native varieties: Colorado Columbine (Aquilegia
coerulea), Elegant Columbine (Aquilegia
elegantula), Yellow Columbine (Aquilegia
flavescens)
Flowers bicolored with bright sepals and spurs
surrounding paler petals. Leaves are clumped
below flowers.
Full shade to part sun. Prefers moist, well-drained
soils & cool conditions.
Geranium (Geranium
sp)
5-petalled flowers of
white, pink or blue or
loose or dense clumps
of palmated leaved
plants.
Full sun to partial
shade and moist,
loamy soils but will
tolerate poorer soils
and drought.
Clematis
Fun, native varieties: Virginsbower (Clematis
occidentalis & C.tenuiloba), Sugarbowl (Clematis
hersutissima), White Virginsbower (Clematis
ligusticifolia)
Early spring flowers of purple or white. Virginsbower
is a climber. Flowers various in shape, but all produce
tuffs of feathery seed heads.
Full sun to partial shade, moist, well-drained or
loamy soils
Where to find them, and
are they native or not
Local nurseries
Seeds and plants from your friends
Online native plant retailers - make sure
these are from domestic sources.
References
Dorn R.D. and J.L. Dorn. 2007. Growing
Native Plants of the Rocky Mountain
Area. www.lulu.com
Johnson, L. 2009. 100 Easy-to-Grow
Native Plants for American Gardens in
Temperate Zones. Firefly books.
States, D. and J. States. 2004.
Wildflowers of Wyoming. Mountain Press
Publishing Co.