Remember to use the search form (on your right) if you cannot find what you need!

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.

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.

Gaura lindheimeri

Common name: Gaura
Zone: 5
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 4 ft. x 4 ft.
Native to: Texas

Gaura has long graceful spikes of pinkish or white blooms float on the breeze from mid-summer to fall. Long-blooming, dramatic, easy.

Genista lydia

Common name: Lydia Broom
Zone: 5
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 1-2' x 3-4'
Native to: Turkey, Balkans

Lydia broom, a well-behaved flowering shrub, is a stunning sight in late spring,–covered with bright yellow pea-like flowers. Otherwise, the evergreen mound of wiry stems provide good structure year round. Tolerates clay. Don’t confuse with invasive Scotch Broom. Choice!

Geranium viscosissimum

Common name: Sticky Purple Geranium
Zone: 2
Exposure: Sun / Part shade
Height x Width: 12-30 in. x 10-18 in.
Native to: Idaho

Sticky Purple Geranium makes a lovely addition to informal meadow-like landscapes. Native to higher elevations in Idaho and across the mountain west, it thrives in moist to dry settings. Blooming in mid-spring, it attracts a variety of native pollinators and honeybees. Firewise.

Geum triflorum

Common name: Prairie Smoke
Zone: 2
Exposure: Sun / Part shade
Height x Width: 12 in. x 12 in.
Native to: Idaho

Prairie Smoke has early summer blooms, followed by distinctive feathery pink seed heads. Appreciates moderate water and does best in part shade, except at higher elevations, where it thrives in full sun. Pollinators: native bees. Firewise. More info here.

Gutierrezia sarothrae

Common name: Broom Snakeweed
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 10 ft. x 12 in.
Native to: Idaho

Broom Snakeweed has attractive deep green, finely cut foliage on this tough Owyhee County native. Plants are completely covered with tiny yellow blossoms, mid to late summer and into early fall. Evergreen.

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.

Hedysarum borealis

Common name: Northern Sweetvetch
Zone: 3
Exposure: Sun/part shade
Height x Width: 8" x 24"
Native to: Idaho, Utah

Utah Sweetvetch is a low, sprawling plant with beautiful pea-like blossoms. Winds in and around larger plants. Supports native pollinators and fixes Nitrogen in the soil.

Helianthus maximiliani

Common name: Maximilian’s Sunflower
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: to 6 ft. high
Native to: Southwest US

Maximilian’s Sunflower is a vigorous perennial sunflower that comes back from roots every spring and grows to 5 or 6 feet. In late summer a profusion of smallish sunflowers, cover the upright stalks. Excellent fall interest, great along fences. Late season nectar source for bees and butterflies.

Helianthus occidentalis

Common name: Western Sunflower
Zone: 4
Exposure: sun
Height x Width: 2-3' x 2-3'
Native to: Central, Eastern US

A short perennial sunflower, perfect for meadows. May spread by rhizomes to form colonies. It produces nutritious seeds for birds.

Helianthus pumilus

Common name: Dwarf Sunflower
Zone: 3-4
Exposure: sun
Height x Width: 1-3' x 1-3'
Native to: ID, WY, MT

A very short, mid-season sunflower, native to dry mid-elevation slopes in WY, Mt and SE Idaho.

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.

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.

Heterotheca villosa

Common name: Hairy Goldenaster
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 6-10" x 12" - 24"
Native to: Idaho

Hairy Goldenaster covers itself completely with small yellow aster-like flowers in early summer. Needs no water once established.

Heuchera cylindrica

Common name: Coralbells
Zone: 3
Exposure: Sun / Part shade
Height x Width: 18 in. x 12 in.
Native to: Idaho

Coralbells has dramatic spikes of cream to white flowers rise from a base of scalloped deep green leaves. Favors rock outcroppings; great in full sun or dry shade. Very long blooming in our Boise garden. Firewise. Choice! More information here.

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.

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.

Hymenoxys hoopesii

Common name: Orange Mountain Daisy
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun/Part shade
Height x Width: 2’ x 2’
Native to: Idaho

Large yellow daisies pop out on this mountain meadow plant in early summer.

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.

Iliamna rivularis

Common name: Mountain Hollyhock
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun / Part shade
Height x Width: 40 in. x 32 in.
Native to: Idaho

This vigorous native perennial grows as large as a shrub then dies back to the ground each winter. Its atrractive maple-like leaves are accented with many beautiful hollyhock-like pink flowers. More information here.

Ipomopsis rubra

Common name: Standing Cypress
Zone: 5
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 3-4' x 2'
Native to: Texas and Eastern US

This fantastic biennial, native to Texas, produces a profusion of tubular red flowers in the second summer. Closely related to our native Scarlet Gilia, it is proving to be more reliable in cultivation. And, being from Texas, it is naturally bigger, bolder and showier. A real magnet for Hummingbirds

Iris pallida

Common name: Variegated Iris
Zone: 5
Exposure: Sun/part shade
Height x Width: 18-24" x 18-24"
Native to: Europe

Grown for its striking foliage, this Iris also produces a lovely lavender flower in late spring.

Lamium maculatum

Common name: Spotted Deadnettle
Zone: 2
Exposure: Shade/part shade
Height x Width: 3" & spreading
Native to: Eurasia

A groundcover that loves shade! Its variegated leaves light up a dark shady area, yet the plant will also grow in sun. Not picky about soil type or moisture.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’

Common name: Munstead Lavender
Zone: 5
Exposure: Sun or Part Shade
Height x Width: 18" x 18"
Native to: Mediterranean

This is a classic mid-sized Lavender. Spikes of fragrant lavender flowers in early summer.

Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’

Common name: Lavender “Grosso”
Zone: 5
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 3 ft. x 3 ft.
Native to: Mediterranean

Lavender “Grosso” is a vigorous, large lavender with long, deep purple flower spikes in early to mid-summer. Extremely drought- tolerant, good foundation planting. Flower spikes may be cut back for repeat bloom. Evergreen foliage. Pollinators: bees.

Liatris aspera

Common name: Tall, Button or Rough Blazing Star
Zone: 3
Exposure: Sun or Part Shade
Height x Width: 2-3’ x 1’
Native to: Central, Eastern U.S.

Tall spikes of pink flowers late summer. Nice cut flower. Nectar for butterflies. Firewise.

Liatris ligulistylis

Common name: Rocky Mountain Blazing Star
Zone: 5
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 2-3’ x 1’
Native to: Montana to New Mexico

Rocky Mountain Blazing Star produces tall stalks of lavender/purple flowers. This prairie native is a robust grower and does best in fertile soils with infrequent but deep soakings. Nectar plant for Monarch and other butterflies. Excellent cut flower. Firewise.

Liatris mucronata

Common name: Bottle Brush Blazing Star
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 24” x 18”
Native to: South Central US

Dense spikes of lavender-pink flowers on tall, thick stems. Great pollinator plant. Prefers dry, sandy soil. Firewise.

Liatris punctata

Common name: Dotted Gayfeather
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 12-18 in. x 8-12 in.
Native to: Short Grass Prairie, Central US

A showy plant for dry gardens or shortgrass meadows, Dotted Gayfeather produces lavender bottlebrushes that bloom from the top down. Deep tuberous taproots account for extreme drought tolerance and long life. Nectar plant for butterflies. Firewise.

Liatris spicata

Common name: Dense Blazing Star
Zone: 3
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 16 in. x 12-24 in.
Native to: Great Plains (US)

Dense Blazing Star: With showy spikes of pink flowers over grass-like foliage, Dense Blazing Star will add stunning variety, texture & beauty to your border or meadow. Excellent cut flower. Nectar plant for butterflies. Firewise.

Limonium latifolium

Common name: Sea Lavender
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 10" x 10"
Native to: Europe

This dwarf, perennial statice produces a bouquet of airy, blue-lavender flowers in mid-summer. The flowers are lovely in dried arrangements.

Linum lewisii

Common name: Lewis Flax
Zone: 3
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 1 ft. x 2 ft.
Native to: Idaho

Lewis Flax, a vigorous native that produces masses of cheerful little blue flowers from late spring through mid-summer. Each flower lasts only a day, drops to the ground and is replaced by more the next morning. Charming. Pollinators: bees.

Machaeranthera canescens

Common name: Hoary Aster
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun
Height x Width: 18-24 in. x 18 in.
Native to: Idaho

Hoary Aster: The big purple daisies of this fall-blooming biennial light up the Boise foothills in fall. In the garden, the plants will flower vigorously, then self-sow and reappear the following year. Pollinators: bees, butterflies.

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.

Monarda bradburiana

Common name: Bradbury's Beebalm
Zone: 4
Exposure: Sun/part shade
Height x Width: 12-18" x 12-18"
Native to: Central US

Bradbury’s Beebalm is shorter and earlier blooming than the more common Monarda fistulosa. This more compact beebalm will work well as an edging plant or at the front of a bed. Tolerates poor soil and dry conditions. Can spread gradually by root.

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.