Plants for a Meadow garden
For Loam (also does well in sand)
- wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa): 60–90 cm, lavender flowers mid-summer, attracts butterflies and
hummingbirds
- sky blue aster (Aster azureus): 30–120 cm, gorgeous blue flowers in late summer through autumn
-
 |
| Sunflowers add a splash of colour. |
ox-eye sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides): 60–150 cm, yellow flowers in summer, attracts butterflies,
self-seeds
- nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum): 30–60 cm, pink or white hanging flowers early to mid-summer
- pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida): 60–120 cm, purple flowers early to mid-summer, attracts
butterflies
- stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida): 30–120 cm, masses of yellow flowers in late summer to fall, not
invasive
- blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium): 30 cm, deep-blue flowers with yellow centre in late
spring/early summer, grasslike leaves
- little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium): 45–75 cm, clump-forming grass, turns bronze in autumn
For Moist Areas
- Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis): 30–60 cm, white flower in early summer, spreads rapidly
- cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis): 60–120 cm, intense scarlet flowers in mid- to late summer, attracts
hummingbirds
- turtlehead (Chelone glabra): 30–90 cm, white flowers in late summer, look like turtleheads
- blue flag iris (Iris versicolor): 30–90 cm, blue flowers in late spring/early summer, spiky leaves
- spotted Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum): 60–180 cm, clusters of purple-pink flowers from mid-summer
to fall, whorled leaves
- swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata): 90–120 cm, purple-pink flower clusters in summer, fragrant,
attracts butterflies
For Clay (also does well in sand)
- lavender hyssop (Agastache foeniculum): 60–120 cm, violet-blue flowers in spikes, attracts
butterflies
- showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense): 60–150 cm, pinky-purple pea-like flowers
- golden Alexanders (Zizea aurea): 30–90 cm, small, bright yellow flowers in late spring to early summer,
purple seed pods
- New England aster (Aster novae-angliae): 90–150 cm, violet-purple flowers late summer through fall,
attracts butterflies
For Dry, Sandy Soil
- butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa): 30–90 cm, intense-orange flowers mid-summer, host plant for monarch
butterfly
- lance-leaved coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata): 30–60 cm, glowing yellow flowers in summer, deadhead to
extend bloom
- black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta): 60–90 cm, yellow daisy-like flowers in summer, self-seeds
 |
| Black-eyed Susans are a favourite because they self-seed, filling in drab spaces. |
- hoary vervain (Verbena stricta): 30–90 cm, spike with purplish-blue flowers in summer, self-seeds
- rough blazing star (Liatris aspera): 8–40 cm, spike of purple flowers in summer, attracts
butterflies
- purple prairie clover (Petalostemum purpureum): 30–60 cm, brilliant purple, thimble-like flowers in early
to mid-summer, fixes nitrogen in the soil
- prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis): 30–60 cm, graceful, narrow-leaved grass, bronze in autumn
- three-toothed cinquefoil (Potentilla tridentata): 10–20 cm, low-growing shrub, evergreen, white flowers
in mid-summer, shiny foliage
- pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea): 10–90 cm, masses of white flowers mid- to late summer, host
plant for American painted lady butterfly
For photos of these and other plants, refer to these websites:
Ontario Wildflowers
North American Native Plant Society
- Compiled by Lorraine Johnson
 Repurposed
from the four-part series, The Natural Garden by Lorraine Johnson in the June 2003 issue of Cottage
Life magazine
Copyright © 2003, 2008 by Cottage Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any article, photograph, or
artwork, for other than personal use, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher is
strictly forbidden.
Plant photos: Randy Craig
|
|
