Native Plants

Clusters of airy rich dark purple flowers seemingly cover up the deep green narrow foliage of this tough and disease resistant selection of Ironweed attracting myriads of bees, butterflies, and other garden beneficials. Summer's Surrender Ironweed, a hybrid of Vernonia lettermannii x V. arkansana, was bred and selected by Dr. Jim Ault of the Chicago Botanic Gardens for its broad spreading dense and bushy habit, exceptionally disease resistant foliage, as well as for its long season of flowering. As the name implies, Ironweeds are tough as nails clump forming native perennials that provide much needed late summer and fall nectar for pollinators. Adaptable to a wide variety of soil types from clay to loam and are somewhat drought resistant once well-established. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12250

Large red berries cover the bare stems of this native deciduous shrub beginning in fall and lasting throughout much of winter and possibly into spring. Sunset Winterberry Holly develops into a medium-sized well branched shrub with a an upright to vase-shaped habit when young broadening with age. The textured deep green foliage may provide some yellow fall color prior to leaf fall if grown in full sun. Winterberry Hollies are easy to grow adaptable shrubs that produce clusters of small white flowers in spring that provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinators. Sunset Winterberry Holly is a female and so will need a male pollinator that flowers at the same time for maximum berry production. 'Southern Gentleman' and 'Apollo' are two males that are recommended. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a moist acidic soil. Item# 11888

A profusion of sky-blue, 3/4" wide miniature iris-like flowers seemingly cover the clumps of blue-green narrow foliage in spring attracting a variety of smaller pollinators, especially bees and smaller butterflies. Suwannee Blue-Eyed Grass, a selection of Sisyrhinchium nashii, is considered to be one of the best Blue-Eyed Grasses for garden and landscape settings due to its long flowering season, mannerly clump forming habit, as well as for its adaptability. Blue-Eyed Grass is generally rabbit and deer resistant, disease and pest free, and is resistant to short term drought once fully established. Provide a full sun to partially shaded site in average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 10589

Often throughout summer, small, fragrant beautiful bell-shaped nearly white to blue flowers with gracefully recurving 'petals' (in Clematis it is the large colorful sepals that we often most enjoy) of light blue, blue, or purple. Grow the Swamp Leather Flower as a small perennial herbaceous vine that may top out at 5' but can reach 9' high. It can be cut back to 1-2' in later winter after the buds have begun to swell. Item# 10224.

Medium to large pyramidal clusters of golden yellow flowers are produced in summer and fall attracting a myriad of mainly smaller pollinators with special importance to native bees. Sweet Goldenrod, Solidago odora, is an upright growing, clump-forming, herbaceous, native perennial adorned in anise-scented, deep green, glossy, narrow foliage and the single to multistemmed plants grow to about 2-4' high and 1-2' wide. The flowers and foliage, fresh or dried, is often used to make a very nice herbal tea, as a mild spice in cooking, and could certainly be used in potpourris as well (Bonnie fell in love with the fragrance of the dried seed heads!). The strong fragrance makes them unlikely to be browsed by deer or rabbits. Use Sweet Goldenrod in a sunny perennial border, herb garden, or allow it to naturalize in meadows, prairies, and roadside plantings. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, acidic soil with good drainage, but otherwise plants are fairly adaptable. Item# 10684

Royal purple, 1/2" blooms that are edged in white lace, are born in drooping clusters from spring or early summer until frost and attract butterflies and bees. The nectar rich flowers are followed by grape-like clusters of 1/2" golden berries giving it the name of 'Golden Dewdrop'. Sweet Memories Purple Sky Flower is naturally a large multi-stemmed tropical shrub and can be trained into tree standards or use it as a hedge or screen in mild winter climates. In mild winters in zones 8B and 9, well-established plants may act as a die-back perennials or they can easily be overwintered as a container plants. Item# 579

Loads of glossy black, 3/8", thin skinned, very sweet huckleberries (actually blueberries) begin ripening in mid April often lasting through May. Sweetie Pie Elliott's Blueberry, a local selection of Vaccinium elliottii, is one of the earliest ripening native blueberries and we selected this variety for its exceptionally sweet, larger than average, tender fruit and its heavy bearing characteristics. An excellent berry for pancakes, muffins, pies, jams, and certainly fresh eating. An Almost Eden Exclusive introduction that is always in high demand! Item# 10832

The heavily ruffled deep blue-violet falls and standards are accented by nicely contrasting yellow signals all topped by a trio of greenish style arems with violet tips. Swirling Waters Louisiana Iris flowers in early midseason or April and is a vigorous selection growing to 42-44" high. Louisiana Irises are easy and adaptable, rhizomatous perennials with fans of deep green sword-like foliage and seem as at home in standing water as they do in average moist garden soils. Remember that these plants do most of their growing in fall and winter and so this is when they should be fed and fall is also a great time to divide plants if desired. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13455

A show stopper! Tangerine Beauty Cross Vine produces a huge mass of 2" orange trumpets with yellow throats in late spring with some blooms throughout summer on well-established vines. An easily grown and vigorous clinging native evergreen vine that can easily grow up masonry, tree bark, or other structures without support.Cross Vines are a low maintenance choice for fences, posts, and large trellises. The trumpet shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators. The unusual compound, glossy, dark green foliage takes on orange, red, bronze, and purple tones when grown in full sun during fall and winter.  Item# 12029

Clusters of soft yellow-orange tubular buds mature into medium orange tubular trumpet-shaped flowers that darken as they age. Flowering begins in late winter to early spring and continues cyclically throughout the growing season and finishing up in fall at the end of hummingbird season. Tangerine Princess Coral Honeysuckle, a Louisiana selection of Lonicera sempervirens, is a native, twining, deciduous, woody vine that is one of the longest flowering vines for attracting hummingbirds. The mother plant was discovered during a tour of the Dr. Charles Allen Nature Preserve in northern Louisiana with its namesake noted botanist, author, and retired professor Dr. Charles Allen, Ken and Sonie Milton, etal. Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle will happily twine through a 6' high chain link fence or up an 8' arbor, trellis, or post. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. 1/4" red berries follow flowering and are a treat for songbirds. Item# 957

An exceptionally rare species found only in 4 Texas counties, Texan Trailing Phlox is a low growing groundhugging perennial that produces clusters of deep fuchsia pink Thrift-like flowers held above the low trailing stems that are densely covered in short needle-like deep green foliage. The flowers attract butterflies large and small alike. This evergreen native perennial needs excellent drainage and is typically found growing on sandy pimple mounds. It can be used as a groundcover in the garden and landscape where soils have excellent drainage. Texan Trailing Phlox, Phlox nivalis ssp. texensis, also makes an easy and forgiving container plant with stems that can trail to 12" or more. In containers use a cactus-like mix and preferrably unglazed terra cotta containers. Item# 11966

A choice native coneflower, the Texas Coneflower produces 3-5" bright golden yellow daisies that  are borne singly, or in small clusters of up 5 flowers, and are held on sturdy upright stems in summer. A rosette of large, rich dark green glossy foliage subtends the flower stalks. Texas Coneflower provides us with a medium-sized Rudbeckia that is similar in habit to the stately Giant Coneflower. Item# 10217.

Small clusters of 1" medium yellow lily-like flowers or born on tall slender, 3-5' spikes in fall well above the low light green rosettes of soft succulent narrow strap-like foliage. The Texas Craglily is a rare Texas native that is Texas tough and surprisingly cold tolerant considering it's native home is in the southern most tip of the panhandle. Drought tolerant and easy. Item# 10068.

Texas Ironweed produces clusters of rich purple, to pinkish purple, frilly flowers in summer atop fairly sturdy upright stems. This one of the smaller growing Ironweeds and can be somewhat rhizomatous but does not appear to aggressive. This is tough little drought resistant perennial that is excellent for pollinators common to well-drained soils. Texas Ironweed is shade tolerant but will perform best when grown in full sun in well-drained soils. Item# 10671.

The wispy and whimsical, but sturdy, elongating, and often eventually branching, flower spikes are adorned with small, light purple to light purple-blue, funnel-shaped shaped flowers from late winter or early spring and well into fall attracting a variety of smaller pollinators. Texas Vervain, Verbena halei, is a small, clump forming, herbaceous, native perennial that emerges from a basal rosette of foliage in spring and is adorned with medium to dark green, spatulate to oblong, serrated foliage and growing to about 18-24" high and 8-16" wide by the end of the growing season. This is a tough and easy to grow, deer and drought resistant, smaller growing native perennial with one of the longer flowering periods of most native perennials. It should lend itself to use in naturalized areas like roadside plantings and shorter meadows as well as a mixed perennial borders or whimsical container specimens. Texas Vervain is native to the south central and south eastern US as far west as southern Arizona, as far east as Florida, and north to lower central Arkansas. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in well-drained, loamy to sandy, average moist soils for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13579

Clusters of 6-8" wide night fragrant white flowers with long thin narrow petals and a wavy circular hymen are borne in summer atop the sturdy 2-3' high stems of this heirloom garden favorite. Tropical Giant Spider Lily is a vigorous clump forming, evergreen (to deciduous where freezes occur) bulbous perennial with large glossy medium green sword-shaped upright to arching foliage that readily multiplies into a dense clump of foliage and flowers. It makes an easy and low maintenance addition to the garden or landscape as well as an easy and forgiving container specimen plant. The lush, large sword-like, rich green upright to arching foliage is attractive even when the plant is not in flower. We ship large established plants growing in their own soil and container. Item# 1239

Clusters of 3" long yellow, orange, orange-red, or red trumpets adorn this vigorous native vine throughout summer. An excellent choice for hummingbirds. Trumpet Creeper's vigor, tolerance of poor soils, and durability lend it to use in difficult sites. Use as an espalier, allow it to climb a sturdy fence, or cover an arbor. These are seedling grown and so the flower color may be range from a rich orange to nearly yellow to a dark brick red. Item# 11295

A vigorous hybrid native perennial, Twilite Prairieblues™ Baptisia can produce over 100 flowering spikes per plant of deep violet-purple to nearly burgundy flowers with a soft yellow keel held above the rich green foliage. An excellent addition to the perennial border or cut-flower garden that is drought tolerant, deer resistant, durable, and easy. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Twilite Prairieblues™ Baptisia is a hybrid of Baptisia australis and Baptisia sphaerocarpa and was developed at the Chicago Botanic Gardens by Dr. Jim Ault. This is the first introduction from their Baptisia breeding program. Images courtesy of Dr. Jim Ault and Chicagoland Grows®, Inc., all rights reserved. Though it grows larger than many hybrids, it still received 4.5 out 5 stars in 2012-2015 Baptisia Trials at Mount Cuba Center! Item# 9716

Dense flattened clusters of dainty white tubular flowers top the narrow blue-green to green fragrant foliage in summer. The small nectar rich flowers of Virginia Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum, attract a wide variety of pollinators, and are especially important to native bees. This is a rhizomatous native perennial that will readily spread especially in moist soils. It is native mainly to the northcentral and northeastern US and is typically found in moist soils but can tolerate drier sites where it is less likely to spread aggressively. Virginia Mountain Mint is tolerant of a wide variety of soil types from clay, to sandy, to rocky as well as calcareous soils. Item# 12355

Large clusters of lightly fragrant, 1 to 1-1/2" wide, 4-'petaled' white flowers often with light green accents are produced in mid to late summer attracting bees, hummingibirds, and other pollinators. The Virgin's Bower, Clematis virginiana, is a vigorous, deciduous, woody native vine climbing via tendril-like leaf petioles up to about 20' high where it has support. It is deer and rabbit resistant, is adaptable to soil types and moisture levels, as well as sunlight, although, plants grown in sun to part shade may flower more profusely. This is not to be confused with the invasive Sweet Autumn Clematis, Clematis terniflora, which has entire or smooth leaflet edges and the foliage is thick and leathery, whereas, Virgin's Bower, C. virginiana, has toothed leaflets and the foliage tends to be a darker green. Female flowers may be followed by densely 'bearded', long lasting seed heads. Note: These are seed raised plants which may have only male, only female, or both flower types on the same plant. Flower and overall plant images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13179