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Achillea millifolium
  • Common name: Western White Yarrow
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 24-30 in. x 24 in.
  • Native to: Idaho

Western White Yarrow is a tough native wildflower with fragrant, lacy foliage and dense umbels of tiny white flowers in summer. Can spread aggressively by seed. Great attractor of beneficial insects.  Tolerates variety of soil conditions. Pollinators: Butterflies and native bees.  Firewise. More information here.

Armeria pseudarmeria
  • Common name: False Sea Thrift
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 10" x 6"
  • Native to: Spain and Portugal

Taller and longer-blooming than its cousin, Thrift, this “False Thrift” is a colorful focal point in any garden. Evergreen foliage.

Asclepias speciosa
  • Common name: Showy Milkweed
  • Zone: 3
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 3 - 4'' x 1'
  • Native to: Idaho

Showy Milkweed was once common, but modern agricultural techniques have largely eradicated this crucial pollinator plant. Milkweed provides larval food for the dwindling Monarch butterfly. It is tall and beautiful, but spreads through the garden by root–so choose the planting site with care!

Berlandiera lyrata
  • Common name: Chocolate Flower
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 12 in. x 24 in.
  • Native to: Southwest US

Chocolate Flower: Cheerful wispy yellow daisies keep coming all summer and actually smell like chocolate! Attracts butterflies, honey bees and beneficial insects.

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Calylophus hartwegii
  • Common name: Hartweg's Sundrops
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 15 in. x 18 in.
  • Native to: Southwestern US

Hartweg’s Sundrops produces masses of cheerful, clear yellow blossoms throughout the heat of the summer and into fall. The yellow blooms age into burnt orange creating a two-tone effect. Easy-and reliable. Needs well-drained soil.  Attracts: butterflies and bees.

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Centranthus ruber
  • Common name: Jupiter's Beard
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun/Part shade
  • Height x Width: 3' x 3'
  • Native to: Mediterranean

Jupiter’s Beard produces masses of crimson flowers fading to pink from late spring right through the summer. Periodic deadheading will enhance the bloom even more. Attracts Swallowtails and Monarchs. Can seed out somewhat aggressively. Firewise.

Easy, reliable.

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Cleome lutea
  • Common name: Yellow Bee Plant
  • Zone: (annual)
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 3' x 1'
  • Native to: Idaho

Yellow Bee Plant is a smaller cousin of the purple Rocky Mountain Bee plant, Both of these annuals are extremely valuable as food sources for native bees and butterflies as well as honeybees. Very long-blooming and freely reseeding in the garden. Available spring only.

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Cleome serrulata
  • Common name: Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
  • Zone: (annual)
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 3' x 2'
  • Native to: Idaho and most of the Western U.S.

This outstanding native annual is a magnet for honey bees and native bees alike! Tall stalks end in multiple flowers that look as if they were designed by Dr. Seuss. Once it starts blooming in early to mid-summer, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant just keeps going until fall. More information here.

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Delosperma nubigenum
  • Common name: Hardy Iceplant
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 1 in. x 24 in.
  • Native to: South Africa

Hardy Iceplant is a fast-growing, mat-forming succulent, lovely garden accent. Bright yellow daisy-like flowers appear in late- spring. fall. Bright-green knobby leaves turn bright red during the winter. Avoid overwatering and excessive winter moisture. Firewise.

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Echinacea paradoxa
  • Common name: Yellow Coneflower
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 30" x 15"
  • Native to: Ozarks

This is the only Coneflower with yellow rather than purple flowers. Its drooping yellow petals surround large, coppery-brown cones. Nectar plant for Monarch and other butterflies. Tolerates clay.

Echinacea tennesseensis
  • Common name: Tennesee Coneflower
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 2 ft. x 1 ft.
  • Native to: Tennessee

Shorter than other Echinaceas, Tennessee Coneflower cheerfully faces the rising sun and blooms like crazy–even despite heat and low water. Native to dry, rocky areas in Tennessee, it does well in the Intermountain West.

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Epilobium fleischeri
  • Common name: Alpine Willowherb
  • Zone: 3
  • Exposure: Sun/Part shade
  • Height x Width: 18” x 12”
  • Native to: Europe

This is a miniature European version of our beautiful native Fireweed. We have been reluctant to offer Fireweed itself as it can be very invasive. Alpine Willowherb is much smaller and promises to be better behaved in the garden. Supports honeybees.

Erigeron linearis
  • Common name: Desert Yellow Fleabane
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 6 in. x 6 in.
  • Native to: Idaho

Desert Yellow Fleabane is a small native daisy with cheerful yellow flowers in summer. Grows in poor soil with little care.

Erigeron pumilus
  • Common name: Shaggy Fleabane
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 8" x 8"
  • Native to: Idaho

Cheerful little Shaggy Fleabane (Shaggy Daisy) is native to the Boise Foothills. It will survive without additional water, but will flower much more vigorously if given a bit of extra moisture.

Eryngium planum
  • Common name: Sea Holly
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 2' x 1'
  • Native to: Europe

Steel blue thistle-like flowers on branched stems. Beautiful garden accent and cut flower. Thrives in poor soils.

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Fallugia paradoxa
  • Common name: Apache Plume
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun / part shade
  • Height x Width: 5-6 ft. x 5-6 ft.
  • Native to: Southwest US

Apache Plume is a sturdy multi-branched Southwest native shrub. Its small white, rose-like flowers emerge over a long blooming season and are a favorite of honey bees and other bees. It is our favorite bee plants! The flowers are followed by charming, fluffy seed heads that give the plant its name. More info here.

Gaillardia aristata
  • Common name: Blanketflower
  • Zone: 3
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 1-2 ft. x 1-2 ft.
  • Native to: Idaho

Cheerful red flowers with yellow tips. Adaptable and reliable, this native wildflower blooms for most or all of the summer. Give haircut to in mid-summer to promote more flowering. Will seed out without being invasive. Tolerates a wide variety of soil types. Pollinators: native bees, honey bees.  Firewise. More information here.

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Gypsophilia repens rosea
  • Common name: Creeping Baby's Breath
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 6 in. x 18 in.
  • Native to: Europe

Creeping Baby’s Breath is a delicate spreading ground cover, creeping around other plantings and falling down walls. Covered with a burst of pink or white blooms, late spring. Easy and rewarding.

Heliomeris multiflora
  • Common name: Showy Goldeneye
  • Zone: 2
  • Exposure: Sun or Part Shade
  • Height x Width: 12" x 12"
  • Native to: Idaho

Cheery daisy-like flowers continue blooming all summer, especially beautiful in informal native or prairie gardens. Can seed out but is easily controlled. Tolerates some shade. More information here.

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Hesperaloe parviflora
  • Common name: Texas Red Yucca
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 4' x 3'
  • Native to: Texas

Tall spikes of tubular red flowers in summer attract hummingbirds. The basal leaves are long and narrow, but not sharp as in a true Yucca. Needs well-drained soil.

Heterotheca jonesii
  • Common name: Jones' False Golden Aster
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 1 in. x 10-15 in.
  • Native to: Utah

Jones’ False Golden Aster is a little known dwarf aster from southern Utah. Gradually spreads to form flat mats of gray-green leaves studded with bright yellow daisies all summer. A fantastic rock garden plant, it thrives in the heat requires little moisture and is not invasive.

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Heuchera rubescens
  • Common name: Alpine Coralbells
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun / Part shade
  • Height x Width: 12-18 in. x 12 in.
  • Native to: Idaho

Alpine or Red Coralbells is another charming native Heuchera, this one with deep red to pink flowers on delicate wands. Great for full sun or dry shade. Sculpted evergreen foliage. Firewise.

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Hymenoxys acaulis
  • Common name: Sundancer Daisy
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 15 in. x 15 in.
  • Native to: Idaho

Sundancer Daisy is a cheerful, showy, long-blooming western wildflower and is a gem in the xeric garden. The attractive thread- leaf foliage is covered by bright-yellow, long-stemmed daisies in summer. Remarkably adapted to arid regions, from low desert to mountains. More information here.

 

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Iberis saxatilis
  • Common name: Perennial Candytuft
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 4” x 12-18"
  • Native to: Mediterranean

Very low growing, evergreen cushion with dark green leaves and large, white flowers in spring that can fade to lilac. Sun, very well-drained soil.

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Melampodium leucanthum
  • Common name: Blackfoot Daisy
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 12” x 18”
  • Native to: SW US

Blackfoot Daisy is a cheerful, informal SW native daisy that, with a little extra water, blooms all summer long. More information here.

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Mirabilis multiflora
  • Common name: Colorado Four o'Clock
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun/Part shade
  • Height x Width: 3-4 ft. x 3-4 ft.
  • Native to: Southwest US

Colorado Four O’Clock  dies back to its enormous root in winter. Then, late in the spring, shoots begin to emerge and once the plant starts growing—there’s just no stopping it! It can sprawl far and wide and looks lovely draped over a wall. Long-lived!  Firewise. More info here.

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Monarda fistulosa
  • Common name: Beebalm, Wild Bergamot
  • Zone: 3
  • Exposure: Sun / Part shade
  • Height x Width: 36-60 in. x 24-36 in.
  • Native to: Idaho

Beebalm or Wild Bergamot is a widespread native wildflower with clusters of tufted lavender flower, an important food source for native bees and butterflies. A long-lived, clump-forming perennial, it is attractive at the back of a border or in a meadow-like setting. Firewise. More information here.

Muhlenbergia capillaris
  • Common name: Pink Muhly
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 3' x 3'
  • Native to: SE US

Stunning pink Seedheads on SE native grass. Needs good drainage.

Oenothera macrocarpa
  • Common name: Missouri Evening Primrose
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun / Part shade
  • Height x Width: 10 in. x 2-3'
  • Native to: West-central US

Missouri Evening Primrose grows into mounds of glossy leaves followed by clear yellow blossoms over much of the summer. Plants sprawl widely then die back to the ground in winter. Firewise.

 

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Oenothera speciosa
  • Common name: Showy Evening Primrose
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 1 ft. and spreading
  • Native to: Southwest US

Showy Evening Primrose is a heat-loving beauty, thriving in sunny, dry areas. It can spread rapidly on shallow roots  and can overrun smaller, less vigorous plants. Preferring unimproved, well-drained soils, this plant requires little extra water once established. Firewise. More information here.

 

Penstemon pinifolius
  • Common name: Pineleaf Penstemon
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun / Part shade
  • Height x Width: 15 in. x 18 in.
  • Native to: Southwest US

Pineleaf Penstemon has loads of red-orange tubular blooms over expanding clumps of attractive narrow leaves. Stems become woody with age. Evergreen foliage. Firewise. More information here.

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Potentilla fruticosa
  • Common name: Shrubby Cinquefoil
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 2-3 ft. x 2 ft.
  • Native to: Idaho

Shrubby Cinquefoil is a small native shrub covered by small, yellow flowers all summer. Attractive foliage makes this a nice accent plant for sun or partial shade. Attracts bees and butterflies.

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Ratibida columnifera
  • Common name: Prairie Coneflower. Mexican Hat
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 15” x 18”
  • Native to: Widespread in U. S.

This cheerful wildflower has two forms, one yellow and one red. They both will  bloom over a long period in hot, dry summers, attracting bees and butterflies. Great in meadows and other casual landscapes. Will seed around.

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Salvia nemorosa Blue Queen
  • Common name: Blue Queen Salvia
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 2-3' x 2-3'
  • Native to: Eurasia

Blue Queen Salvia has spikes of violet-blue flowers in summer; tolerates intense heat and drought. Cut back after bloom for quick re-bloom. Magnet for honeybees and butterflies! Tolerates clay. Firewise.

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Salvia pachyphylla
  • Common name: Giant Flowered Purple Sage
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 3 ft. x 3 ft.
  • Native to: Western US

Giant Flowered Purple Sage is a tough, heat-tolerant summer-bloomer with spectacular clumps of deep purple flowers.Attractive gray-green foliage remains in winter. Needs well-drained soil. Attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Tolerates clay. More information here.

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Scutellaria resinosa
  • Common name: Prairie Skullcap
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 8 in. x 12 in.
  • Native to: West Central US

Prairie Skullcap has neat mounds with tight, upright stems. Stunning deep lavender-blue flowers dotted with white, May through July.

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Sedum sp.
  • Common name: Green Mound Sedum
  • Zone: 5
  • Exposure: Sun or Part Shade
  • Height x Width: 8" x 8"
  • Native to: Mediterranean

This compact mounding sedum is very useful in the landscape for small border areas and evergreen structure. Grown for foliage rather than flowers. Firewise.

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Sphaeralcea munroana
  • Common name: Munro's globemallow
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 1-2 ft. x 1-2 ft.
  • Native to: Idaho

Munro’s globemallow has dark maroon stems with dark-green, cut, lobed leaves and many heads of clear orange flowers.

Yucca glauca
  • Common name: Soapweed Yucca
  • Zone: 4
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 3' x 2'
  • Native to: West central U.S.

This handsome yucca has narrow, evergreen, spiky leaves and sends up a tall stalk of fragrant white flowers in late summer. Likes full sun and well-drained, sandy loam. Firewise and evergreen. More information here.

Yucca toftiae
  • Common name: Toft's Yucca
  • Zone: 3
  • Exposure: Sun
  • Height x Width: 18" x 15"
  • Native to: Utah

Clumps of thin, stiff, leathery white-margined leaves eventually produce flower stalks with creamy white bells. Evergreen. Firewise.