Download Native Plants for the Edges of Walkways and Driveways

Native Plants for the Edges of Walkways and Driveways (up to one foot tall)
Compiled by Beate Popkin
Spring flowering
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Creeping phlox, Phlox subulata. This is the best edging plant, low, evergreen, drought-tolerant
Woodland phlox, Phlox divaricata. Long-flowering, useful where there is some shade
Woodland creeping phlox, Phlox stolonifera, similar to the above, but with rounded leaves
Dwarf Iris, Iris cristata, very pretty when blooming in spring, leaves may look ratty in summer
Pasque flower, Pulsatilla patens. Spring flowering, drought-tolerant
Spring-blooming anemone, A. canadensis and A. quinquefolia. Spreads by underground
rhizomes
Violets (if one doesn’t think of them as weeds)
Golden ragwort, Senecio aureus. Some shade, some moisture, good leaf carpet after flowering
Shooting Star, Dodecatheon meadia. Usually white-flowering, very pretty, clumping, ephemeral
Lyre-leaf sage, Salvia lyrata. Most often purple leaves, flowers on stalks, not showy, self-seeds
Purple phacelia, Ph. bipinnatifida. Bi-annual, strong self-seeder, evergreen rosettes, shade/sun
Coral bells, Heuchera. Flower and seed stalks, if tall, are likely to flop, can be cut off, droughttolerant, a huge variety of cultivated forms on the market
Eared coreopsis, C. auriculata. Some moisture, golden long-lasting flowers in late spring
Prairie smoke, Geum triflorum. Late spring flowering, drought-tolerant
Blue-eyed grass, Sisyrinchium campestre. Grass-like leaves, but it is a forb
Showy primrose, Oenothera speciosa. Large, very pretty pale pink flowers; beware: it spreads!
Summer flowering
 Bradbury’s monarda, M. braduriana. White flowering, shorter and earlier than other monardas
 Lanceleaf coreopsis, C. lanceolata. Long-blooming but short-lived plant, strong self-seeder
 Threadleaf coreopsis, C. verticillata. mat-forming, var. ‘Moonbeam’ very pretty, but weaker; I
like the variety ‘Zagreb’.
 Harebell Campanula rotundifolia. Blue bell shaped flowers, 6-18’’ high, some shade
 Butterfly milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa. Drought tolerant, orange flowers, leafs out late but
flowers in early summer
 Wild petunia, Ruellia humilis. Flowers closing in sunlight, drought tolerant, strong self-seeder
 Partridge pea, Cassia fasciculata. Annual but self seeds, 1-2’’ tall, sun, dry soil
Fall flowering
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Mistflower, Eupatorium coelestinum. Some moisture, 1-2’’ tall
Prairie dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis. A true grass, give it room
Maryland goldenaster, Chrysopsis mariana. Yellow-gold daisies, late flowering, drought tolerant,
short lived but self-seeds
Non-native plants for the edges of pavements:
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All creeping thymes, marjorams and oreganos. They attract pollinators when in bloom
Geranium sanguineum, esp. the pale pink variety (‘Striatum’)
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