A Few Wildflowers for the Landscape

If you love wildflowers, the Fall season has so many plants for you to enjoy. We often think of wildflowers as those in natural settings, on roadsides, or in drainage spots.  Here are a few wildflowers that make excellent landscape additions.

Goldenrods (Solidago spp.) are everywhere and the yellow blooms are stunning. If all the incorrect information about goldenrod as an allergy causing plant never existed (ragweed is the main culprit), we would see selections of goldenrod available in every commercial outlet. Many selections have an upright growth so add goldenrod against fences, in back of borders, or large clumps in sunny areas of your landscape.

If you have a moist area and love purple, Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) makes a wonderful fall blooming feature.  Plants will colonize an area with running stems so it tends to form a large clump in moist soils.  You may notice this in ditches on a drive around your county.  The clusters of flowers look fluffy and will be present for many weeks in both full sun or partial shade.

For dry and well drained spots of your landscape, the Woody goldenrod (Chrysoma pauciflosculosa) is a good choice.  The small shrub offers bright yellow fall flowers that extend above a 2 foot tall plant.  Plants tend to be evergreen when in the right location and  additional new seedlings will emerge each spring if your landscape is suited for this plant.

For those enhancing a butterfly garden, add Purple false foxglove (Agalinis purpurea), a host plant to the Buckeye butterfly.  Plants grow well in our acidic well drained soils with a little moisture.  Numerous tubular pink flowers occur in the Fall until a frost. Plants reseed well.

If you love all the colors and variety of wildflowers, it is a good time for finding seeds and plants to grow your own.  Native nurseries and online retailers carry a wide selection for all seasons and many are low maintenance enhancements for our home landscapes.  Like any other ornamental or grass, be sure to match the wildflower with your specific growing conditions.