Native perennials are well-adapted to our climate and provide ease and beauty for the garden, year after year. There are hundreds of native plants to choose from!
Native plants are part of our natural heritage. By planting them, we maintain the botanical history of our beautiful home. There are many advantages to raising native plants in the garden. They are already well-adapted to the climate, soil and geography of our area. Native perennials are hardy and tolerant during the hot, humid summer and can survive the cold temperatures, snow and wind that come with the winter. These plants have been living, and flourishing, in the area for hundreds of years and have become well-adapted to the climate and the soil. Soil in our area tends to be a little heavy with clay but native perennials have stronger roots that can handle the clay in the soil. Local plants, therefore, require less fertilizer input, since they already grow well in our natural soil.
Native perennials occur in plant communities that have evolved together over the years and coexist well together, and even depend on each other in some cases. They have also evolved with the native animal populations. By planting native perennials, you can provide food and shelter for bird and animal species indigenous to our region.
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a hardy, drought-tolerant perennial. It produces large purple flowers with bright red-orange centers and displays striking dark seedheads in the fall. The shasta daisy (Leucanthemum) are perfect for our area. They do well in sunny locations and require little care. They produce countless cheery white flowers with orange centers over the course of the spring and spread into dense colonies, once established.
The trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) is a woody vine, native to our area that spreads readily, covering trellis and fence with lush, green leaves and orange to red trumpet-like flowers that attract both butterflies and hummingbirds. The blazing star (Liatris spicata) produces a tall stalk of showy purple blooms that attract pollinators year after year. It is adapted to full sun and will produce blossoms from late summer to early fall, making it a wonderful perennial to plant next to those that bloom earlier in the year so that you have color all season long. Mention Phlox
Full lists of plants native to northern Illinois are readily available or ask the folks at the nursery to point you to the native perennials. There is a beautiful selection that will brighten your garden and grow well, year after year, because they are best adapted to our climate and soil. Native perennials offer beauty and ease in the garden.
