Native Plants

Looking for a native substitute for Ajuga or Lamium? This could be it! Long, trailing stems run across the ground and root along the way. In late spring the green carpet gives way to hundreds of blue flowers opening to reveal spotted throats. Beautiful from a distance and under close scrutiny. Irresistible in a pot!

You know spring has arrived when the pendulous, trumpet-shaped flowers of Mertensia return. Flower buds start off pink and slowly transition to a soft blue as flowers develop. Foliage is smooth, oval, and has an attractive bluish cast. Beautiful when used en masse and left undisturbed. The perfect spring ephemeral for the woodland garden, incorporate with native ferns and sedges. Summer dormant. Best for planting directly into the landscape, as they must root in to return to bloom the following year. These ephemerals are not ideal for finishing in a pot for spring sales.

The darkest, truest purple flowers to come out of Mt. Cuba’s bee balm evaluations—this selection has upright rigid stems, strongly verticality, and a rough, sand-papery texture to its foliage. Very resistant to powdery mildew.

A fan favorite at Mt. Cuba Center’s Monarda trials thanks to superior resistance to powdery mildew—this selection boasts sturdy, upright stems, and a prolific floral display of purplish-red flowers atop clean green foliage.

'Gardenview Scarlet' is one of the most mildew resistant Monarda varieties available. A classic variety that is well-earned, it's rose-red flowers sit on stems rising to 3' tall. Blooming from June to August, this long-flowering Monarda is beautiful, especially when massed in drifts to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. 

Tubular, two-lipped, pink to light lavender flowers carry a purple tracking and bloom from spring into summer. A member of the mint family, this native bee balm is very attractive to pollinators and occurs naturally in open and dry, rocky woods from Alabama to Texas, north to Iowa.

Named for the son of Georgia plantsman and garden designer Jean Cline. This is the ticket as far as mildew resistant Monardas. Wonderfully aromatic foliage and stems with enormous red tubular flowers from June to August. A Saul Nursery introduction. Cherished by butterflies and hummingbirds. Also makes an excellent cut flower!

Lovely lavender flowers top aromatic foliage. Easy to grow in a perennial border, wildflower garden or meadow. Wild bergamot is a great naturalizing wildflower and a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds. Monarda fistulosa is more tolerant of drought and resistant to powdery mildew than M. didyma.

A valuable ecological species, Monarda punctata is the equivalent of a juice bar at the gym for nectar loving/needing insects! BONUS, it also resists all other kinds of mites that could impact the bees because it is incredibly high in thymol. If you are in the area where the endangered Karner Blue still resides, you will be helping restore them to safe status by planting a stand of Monarda punctata, as this is their food mothership.

The very fine, blue foliage of Muhlenbergia capillaris provides color and texture to the garden, but in late summer or fall this native grass explodes into bloom with clouds of airy pink flowers that last for many weeks. Stunningly beautiful, even in heat, humidity or drought!

Plant this muhlygrass for a show-stopping autumnal display! An aura of reddish mauve flower spikes bloom late summer into fall and will stop you in your tracks—a performance that intensifies when backlit by the rising or setting autumn sun. Striking when planted en masse, or lovely as an accent mixed into a perennial border. The clouds of flowers dry after frost and persist to provide winter interest. This warm season grass’s fine-textured, soft green foliage forms a tidy, well-behaved mound. Heat and drought tolerant, long-lived and low maintenance.

A tough and reliable perennial, well-suited to hot dry sites. The stems of Oenothera fruticosa are thin, hairy, and reddish with similar leaves. The buds begin as red but open into beautiful bright yellow flowers in early summer. Easy, dependable, a strong grower that can spread a bit, particularly in sandy soils. Great color for a meadow! Native to dry soil, open fields, and open woods from Nova Scotia to Florida.

A vigorous, tough perennial that spreads readily to from dense mats of low-growing foliage. In late spring to summer, its covered with fragrant, pink to white blooms! Easy, dependable, a strong grower that can spread significantly, particularly in well-drained soils. Native to rocky prairies and plains, this plant spreads by seed and rhizome and is a great candidate for naturalizing an area.