What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 3:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 3:30pm Friday 9:30am - 3:30am

Indigenous Landscapes, West Chester, OH (2026)

07/25/2025

Native Plums and other indigenous fruits of the United States such as Black Raspberries, have a genetic diversity that displays mature fruits as either Red or Gold. With Black Raspberries; their diversity displays mature fruits as either Dark Purple or Gold. In both cases, the golden fruits are more rare and less than 10% of these plant's wild populations present as golden mature fruits. If a nutritional analysis were done on the golden fruit plum trees vs. the red fruit plum trees they'd likely differ as different colored fruits often have different composition of anti-oxidants and vitamins. Out of the 4 Chickasaw Plums I planted in my yard shown in the background; 1 happened to be a gold fruiting Chickasaw Plum Tree and after only 3 and half years in the ground the thicket is over 8 feet tall and producing its first fruits. We've seen gold fruiting plum trees in the Native Plum species of American Wild Plum (Prunus americana), Chickasaw Plum (Pictured - Prunus angustifolia), Shawnee Plum aka Munson's Plum (Prunus munsoniana), Quapaw Plum aka Hortulan Plum (Prunus hortulana), and Beach Plum (Prunus maritima).

A common question I'm asked is "What Native Plum species tastes the best?". This is impossible to answer because the genetics of wild grown trees vary so widely. One species on one fence row, would taste different from the same species 50 feet away. From species to species they differ, but they also differ in flavor from thicket to thicket within the same species. Some taste like cherries, some taste like peach, some taste little like an orange. Some have neutral tasting skin, some have tart skin, and some have bitter skin. Some are super sweet, some are mild, some are sour. So you can't charterize any native plum species as the best or worst tasting. It's a spectrum that each plum tree of each species randomly lands upon. The “plum flavor” is stronger and sweeter than store bought plums because store bought plums have been bred for color and size resulting in a higher water % than wild plums. What I can say is from my experience, across all of the species I've tasted: about 75% of wild plum flavors are "good or great", and less than 25% are unfavorably flavored - usually because their skin or pulp is too bitter. When Indigenous People of the U.S. still managed the majority of the land; they undoubtedly selected thickets with favorable fruit sizes and flavors as a part of their agricultural practices. With the ease of cloning Native Plums through their suckers; the best flavored and best size native plums are easy to reintroduce as varieties in native plant agriculture.

Learn more about Native Plant Agriculture with our free Native Plant Agriculture online book at Lovenativeplants.com - You'll also find our free Native Meadowscaping book - view these books on a screen larger than a cell phone.

07/10/2025

In the Great Plains states, Midwest, and parts of the South Purple and White Prairie Clovers represent remnants of regions that were once rich with hundreds of millions of acres native prairie/grassland. These slight plants are able to grow thin taproots and use minimal resources to survive next to intensely rooted native grasses in high sunlight exposed landscapes. These are some of the most drought tolerant native plants, ranging into the drought and low rainfall prone states even west of the great plains. Their survival is helped by their ability to use bacteria within their roots to fix nitrogen for the plants directly from the air, a common ability that occurs primarily in the legume family.

Purple and White Prairie Clovers (Dalea purpurea and Dalea candida) are great for the edges of pollinator gardens, but can be more challenging to get to persist in native meadows. They do best within native meadows when surrounded by shortgrasses such as Prairie Dropseed and Side Oats Grama; those grasses help to keep the competition short. These two prairie clovers are long lived when provided with the correct moderately dry to dry conditions and full-sun. Both species’ flowers are highly attractive to native bees, you’ll often find somewhat of a panicked frenzy of bees moving quickly around the cylindrical flowers. The fine texture and tight form make for a stunning albeit small statured plant, accented by dark green foliage full of nitrogen produced by bacteria in its root nodules. Both species are adapted to Silty, Clayey, and Sandy soils as well as Rocky soils, though they prefer to have at least a moderately well drained soil profile. Try to get these two Prairie Clovers established on steep south or west oriented slopes if you have the opportunity to - or use them in the extreme foreground of pollinator gardens where they can lean out from taller vegetation.

Germination Tips for Plugs: Cold-Moist stratify for 20 days before surface sowing, compressing the seed into the surface. They often germinate with stratification at all and soaking for 24 hours at room temperature before sowing is sufficient.

Some Companion Plants: Heart Leaved Alexanders (Zizia aptera), Downy Wood Mint, Butterflyweed, Eastern Prickly Pear, Nodding Wild Onion, Rough Blazing Star, Long-Headed Coneflower, Hoary Vervain, Gentian species, Dwarf Goldenrod, Little Bluestem, Prairie Dropseed
-
You can find our free online native plant books and categorized past educational articles at LoveNativePlants.com for further learning. The free online books are made to be viewed on screens larger than a cell phone's.

07/08/2025

What to Plant with Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) - Companion Planting

Companion planting is a way to match the plants in your pollinator garden with complementary plants that don't outcompete each other, while accentuating each other. Wild Bergamot is a commonly used native plant so let's talk about other native plants that complement it.

Blue and White Wild Indigos (Baptisia australis and Baptisia alba) create miniature shrub-like forms with blue-green foliage that remains in good aesthetic throughout the summer into fall. Planting these Baptisia in the foreground with Wild Bergamot right behind them will help buffer the tendency of wild bergamot has of dropping leaves in late summer. They also bloom in different seasons stretching the bloom period of your garden. Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) gets to a similar height as wild bergamot and can be planted side by side with it. Common Milkweed's broad textured foliage contrasts well with Wild Bergamot's smaller leaves. They both bloom at a similar time overlapping the bloom period. Early Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) contrasts Wild Bergamot's lavender flowers with a bold gold-orange colored bloom that blooms at the same time as Wild Bergamot. Early Sunflower also gets to be a similar height as Wild Bergamot and it is adapted to the same sun conditions (Full-sun to Part-sun). Yellow Crownbeard (Verbesina helianthoides) blooms a few weeks before Wild Bergamot at a similar height. It can be placed in the foreground or side by side with Wild Bergamot. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is shorter than Wild Bergamot in garden spaces, so is best placed south of Wild Bergamot. The two overlap their bloom periods providing a pink + lavender colored contrast. In native meadows, Grey Headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) is the perfect blooming partner for Wild Bergamot contrasting yellow flowers a bit taller than Wild Bergamot. In Gardens, Grey Headed Coneflower tends to flop from lack of root competition. Maryland Senna and Wild Senna (Senna spp.) can be placed behind Wild Bergamot, utilizing their shrubby form for a solid background for Wild Bergamot. Royal Catchfly flowers slightly taller than Wild Bergamot at the same time, with a bright red color contrasting well with the lavender of Wild Bergamot. Tall Coreopsis (Coreopsis tripteris) can be placed behind (to the north) of Wild Bergamot to create a fine textured background and blooms that will appear a few weeks after Wild Bergamot is done blooming. Purple Headed Sneezweed and Common Sneezeweed (Helenium spp.) can be placed in the foreground (south) of Wild Bergamot as their short shrubby form will cover up the late-summer naked lower stems of Wild Bergamot. Tall Ironweed (Vernonia altissimum) can be used like Tall Coreopsis - as a background for Wild Bergamot that blooms afterwards. Tall Boneset (Eupatorium altissimum) can be used side by side or behind (north of) Wild Bergamot as a later season bloomer that gets about the same height. New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) and Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) both bloom in the late summer/early fall and can be planted side by side or behind Wild Bergamot to stretch the bloom period of your pollinator garden.

You can find our free online native plant books and categorized past educational articles at LoveNativePlants.com for further learning. The free online books are made to be viewed on screens larger than a cell phone's.

07/05/2025

5 of the most pollinator-popular Native Shrubs/Thicket species for early summer blooms. Pictures are labeled in captions along with native ranges.

1. Shrubby Saint John's Wort (Hypericum prolificum) - ranges from 3 to 5 feet tall in its maturity, producing gold blooms in early summer that are most popular with native bee species. They grow in seasonally saturated soil, moderate moisture soils, and lower moisture soils in partial shade to full sun. Their small seeds are favored by over wintering birds and you can find Juncos feeding on their seed voraciously. Their pattern of foliage and form make them useful as a native foundation shrub, while their natural habits are of Prairies, Fields, Sunny Wood Edges, and Savannas.

2. Wild Climbing Rose (Rosa setigera) - Wild Climbing Rose can climb into trees with branches up to 25 feet in height, while not overwhelming their host plant like an invasive vine would. In the open away from other trees and shrubs, they assume their own shrubby form that doesn't "attempt" to climb anything. Indigenous/Native roses such as Wild Climbing Rose aren't associated with the difficulty and pest issues of Ornamental Roses as they've been surviving in the wild on this continent without human intervention for millions of years. Their primary pollinators are a plethora of native bee species. Wild Climbing Rose adapts to Wetlands, Prairies, and Savannas naturally, and needs about 6 hours of direct sunlight or more to thrive. These plants are drought tolerant as well as wet soil tolerant.

3. Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and 4. Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris) - The pollinator attraction of Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris) gives them excellent standing with boosting and supporting native pollinator populations. Buttonbush produces both nectar and pollen attracting Butterflies, Bees, and Moths primarily. Native Roses, included Swamp Rose only produce pollen, and they're excellent sources of pollen for native bee species. In the few remnant wetlands that haven't yet been drained by human land changes, Swamp Rose and Buttonbush still often can be seen. Swamp Rose fires off large pink blooms that can be seen from afar while Buttonbush displays are more attractive closer up. Like many native thicket species, they bloom before the majority of wetland and prairie wildflowers, offering pollinator support when native most wildflowers are still building up energy to bloom. This is one reason why native shrubs and thicket species must be included in wetland, prairie, and savanna restoration projects - for balancing the pollen/nectar production of these ecosystems. Native thicket species also provide insect hosting abilities supporting native beetles, grasshoppers, katydids, caterpillars, and other vegetation consuming insects that differ from the species that herbaceous wildflowers and grasses host - adding insect diversity to the ecosystems they inhabit. Just Swamp Rose thickets alone can host over 100 species of moth/butterfly larvae (Caterpillars). In restoration, always research what native thicket species belong in the ecosystem you're restoring - this aspect of ecosystem restoration is the most often overlooked in present day!

5. Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) - this sumac is equally as dominant as Staghorn and Winged Sumac. Staghorn Sumac blooms in mid-Spring, Smooth Sumac blooms in early Summer, and Winged Sumac blooms in Mid to late Summer. The main condition native sumacs need to prosper is an abundance of sunlight. Fragrant Sumac is the only one of these listed sumac species that doesn't spread much through suckering. They all have reddish and orangish fall color. The two best and most sought sumacs by birds for their fruit are Fragrant Sumac and Winged Sumac. All of these native Sumacs can be used for flavored drinks or as sumac spice. Staghorn sumac shoots can be peeled and eaten as a native vegetable. All of these species of sumac are adapted to dry open grassland conditions as well as soil that is seasonally saturated. Out of all 5 native thicket species in this article; Smooth Sumac may support the largest quantity and diversity of native pollinators while in bloom.

For more information of this quality, check out our free online books at LoveNativePlants.com - these online books are made to be viewed on screens larger than a cell phone's. We also have an index of past educational posts on that website as well.

07/02/2025

Establishing a Patch of Mountain Mint - A Pollinator Powerhouse of a Native Wildflower

Slender Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium) is a perennial that branches in a way that creates a miniature bushy effect in its form. This plant is in the mint family but isn't one of the aggressive non-native mints many have grown to loathe in their gardens for being over aggressive. It grows easily in most soils and situations as long as it has full sun to partial sun, blooming most profusely in full-sun. It inhabits wetlands, moist to slightly dry soil prairies, moist meadows, gravelly areas along rivers, openings in woodlands, glades, and abandoned fields giving it a wide range of adaptability. The small white flowers attract many insects including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, skippers, and beetles. Mammals avoid browsing the minty foliage which also features a poisonous alkaloid. Slender Mountain Mint has great staying power, able to persist among tallgrasses and short grasses for the long-run in prairies/grasslands. The small seeds stay fertile in the seed bank allowing it to pop up in old-field habitats where it hadn't existed for decades. Other mountain mint species have wide ranging adaptations like Slender Mountain Mint. If you have the opportunity to plant more than one species in your native meadow, then do so as they will likely bloom at different times and be slightly adapted to different conditions strengthening the integrity of your seed mix. In pollinator gardens Slender Mountain mint is a foreground plant in most plantings. The bright white helps highlight other midsummer flowering plants like Purple Coneflower. The fine textured foliage looks excellent before and after blooming. The seed heads carry some interest into the winter.

Companion Plants in Native Plant Gardening: Golden Alexander, Sand Coreopsis, Penstemon digitalis, Penstemon calycosus, Ohio Spiderwort, Butterflyweed, Nodding Onion, Purple Coneflower, Great Blue Lobelia, Cardinal Flower, Rudbeckia fulgida, Prairie Dock, Early Goldenrod, Dwarf Goldenrod, Mistflower, Aromatic Aster

Germination Tips for Pots/Plugs: Cold Moist Stratify for 40 or more days then surface sow - compress into surface. Keep surface of soil moist for 10 to 20 days to induce germination.

To establish a meadow-like patch of any Mountain Mint species, purchase 1/4th or 1/2th ounce of mountain mint seed online. Work in the summer to prepare the area you'd like to establish by clearing the vegetation completely by fall using your preferred method. Mix the mountain mint seed with 1/4th or 1/8th ounce of Biennial Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) seed. This short-lived Black Eyed Susan will act as a ground cover (next year). Seed both species together over your prepared ground in late fall. Both species will vegetate the land the following spring/summer as seedlings. A Mountain Mint Patch is one of the greatest places to view the variety of pollinators in your area!

You can find our free online native plant books and categorized past educational articles at LoveNativePlants.com for further learning. The free online books are made to be viewed on screens larger than a cell phone's.

06/29/2025

Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) is aptly named - its high nectar production and bright color attract many types of butterflies. In this video there are 3 Native Butterfly species, can you name them? The most numerous of them all in this video are the Zebra Swallowtails which the butterfly lays its eggs on Pawpaw, and its caterpillar stage of life feeds on the leaves PawPaw. Being a species of milkweed, it is a host plant for the Monarch and Queen butterflies in addition to specific moth species. While it can grow well in moderate moisture conditions, it’s best adapted to drier soils where plants are shorter and it can compete well for sunlight. In pollinator gardens it’s best used as a foreground plant on the edge of the planting. Southern and Western Oriented full sun exposed slopes are excellent places to establish Butterflyweed.

Native/Indigenous Companion Plants for Butterflylweed: Downy Wood Mint, Sand Coreopsis, Calico beardtongue, Foxglove Beardtongue, Rudbeckia hirta, Rudbeckia fulgida, Tennessee Coneflower, Pale Purple Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Eastern Prickly Pear, Early Goldenrod, Nodding Onion, White Prairie Clover, Purple Prairie Clover, Slender Mountain Mint, Long-headed Coneflower, Hoary Vervain, Mistflower, Rough Blazing Star, Aromatic Aster, Smooth Blue Aster, Dwarf Goldenrod, Little Bluestem, Prairie Dropseed

Germination Tips for Plugs: Cold-Moist Stratify the seed for 30 to 40 days and then sow 1/10th of an inch below the surface.

Video by: Bean Native Nursery at 1210 Hedgerow Rd, Felicity, OH 45120
Commentary by: Indigenous Landscapes
-
If you'd like to learn how to create native meadows, you can use our instruction manual here: https://lovenativeplants.com/instructionalmanual

You can view our free online Native Meadowscaping book for more detailed instruction on establishing native meadows - view on a screen larger than a cell phone: https://lovenativeplants.com/ourbooks

06/27/2025

Native Plants coevolved with native insects and wildlife over millions of years to form ecosystems. Because of this, they're essential to the food chain and to having good biodiversity. Learn about a few plants native to the eastern half of the U.S. on this post. The Monarch Butterfly is one of the insects that evolved to be able to consume the vegetation of milkweed species as a caterpillar. Milkweeds and a few closely related plants like Honeyvine (Cynanchum laeve) are the only plants that Monarch Butterflies can reproduce on, making them essential to the population and reproduction of this species. Here's a few of the most commonly available Milkweed species and one more rarely available species:

Butterflyweed (Aslepias tuberosa) is the orange colored flower in this series. It may be the most popular due to its compact nature, drought tolerance, and unique orange color that is rarely replicated in other native plants. In general all of these milkweed species are highly attractive to butterflies, moths, small and large native bees, wasps, ants, flies, and beetles. Despite its small stature, Butterflyweed is one of the more commonly selected milkweeds to host the caterpillars. When Butterflyweed and Common Milkweed are blooming near each other at the same time; Butterflyweed tends to attract smaller native bees and smaller butterflies while Common Milkweeds tends to attract larger native bees and larger butterflies.

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is the toughest, most widely adapted, and largest milkweed of this grouping. It can grow in seasonal wet soils, moderate moisture soils, and drier soils. It is also the most fragrant and can be sensed from over 15 feet away if the wind blows right. Common Milkweed is aggressive in gardens through its rhizomes and should be planted by itself or with larger plants. Common Milkweed is also a native plant agricultural crop, made edible when any form of its tender (new growth) above ground growth is steamed, sautéed or boiled. This plant is not edible raw.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) arises from wet areas to provide a friendly pink color accented by white tips on the flowers. Both Common Milkweed and Swamp Milkweed are most favored by Carpenter Bees if they had to pick from this grouping of milkweeds. Swamp Milkweed also attracts butterflies, moths, bumble bees and smaller bees.

Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens) ranges widely throughout the eastern half of the U.S. but due to its unreliable seed setting - it's rarely available for sale. This may be the prettiest of these milkweeds, giving a deep purple flower to the early summer scene. It's also the most shade tolerant of these 4 milkweeds. If a grower were to cultivate multiple Purple Milkweeds raised beds, they could sell the rhizomes in the winter time helping make this plant more available to the public. Purple Milkweed runs with Rhizomes similar to common Milkweed except less aggressive.

If you'd like to learn how to create native meadows, you can use our instruction manual here: https://lovenativeplants.com/instructionalmanual

You can view our free online Native Meadowscaping book for more detailed instruction on establishing native meadows - view on a screen larger than a cell phone: https://lovenativeplants.com/ourbooks

06/25/2025

Native Plant Agriculture (NPA) is the implementing of edible native plants and native animals as the basis of a primarily perennial agricultural system while mimicking native plant communities in format. Black Raspberries, like Fox Grapes (Concord grapes) and Muscadine Grapes, are one of the few native fruit crops that have been used in modern agricultural systems. There are even a few cultivars that are pure Black Raspberry, non-hybridized, such as ‘Jewel’, ‘MacBlack’, 'Bristol' and ‘Munger’. Black Raspberries don’t require a full day’s sun exposure to yield well, adaptable to as low as 6 hours of direct sunlight for respectable yields. If you’re planning on growing them for wildlife food, they will attract mostly native birds in the early summer during their fruiting period.

Planting in the Residential Landscape
Black Raspberries perform best on Eastern, Western, or Northern faced slopes or flatter ground in the home landscape. If you choose to put them up against your house, they will tolerate every orientation except the Northside of your home as there isn’t enough sun for them on the Northside. They tolerate full sun within average moisture soils or higher moisture soils. They are also very tolerant of partial shade. The key to vigorous Black Raspberry growth and fruit production is providing them with 2 inches of water per month during summer droughts. Because they fruit in early summer before mid summer droughts take place; watering during the mid summer makes them more vigorous the following year as they’re able to store up more energy through drought-free summer photosynthesis. The thorns on Black Raspberry aren’t as formidable as wild black berries, so berry picking can be a bit more peaceful with this species. Still the thorns provide enough defense for the Black Raspberry thickets to be chosen by nesting native birds such as the Yellow Warbler (pictured).

The Rubus genus is widely used as insect host plants and their flowers are an essential nectar/pollen source in the spring landscape of moist prairies, fields, wetland margins, savannas, and open woodlands. They bloom at a similar time as many forest spring ephemerals that are in decline from White Tail Deer overpopulation, deforestation, and invasive shrub encroachment. So Black Raspberries help buffer the resources of early foraging pollinators with their highly accessible flowers during the mid spring. Blackberries and Raspberry species are known to support over 150 native moth/butterfly caterpillars. So not only do they provide this essential mid spring pollen/nectar - they also produce caterpillars throughout the summer that are foraged for by native birds.

Germination Tips: Black Raspberries require acid scarification to germinate well. This mimics the process the seeds would undergo if they were digested by an animal. After thoroughly crushing the fruit up, exposing the seeds mix the seeds into silty soil and let them sit until fall. In the fall, wash the silty soil away with water into a strainer leaving the seeds behind. Treat them with Sulfuric Acid for 15 minutes. Use retail strength Sulfuric Acid with goggles and chemical gloves and rinse this acid from the seed/fruit mash after the 15 minutes of submersion. Lastly, place the seeds in silty soil within a pot, buried halfway underground for the winter. Then in spring time rinse the silty soil away again, with a strainer thin enough to catch the seeds, separating them from the silty soil. Sow the seeds in early spring/late winter and expect germination in mid spring. This process can also be used for Blackberry species which mature later in the summer.

With Native Plant Agriculture restoring native trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants on cropland we have the opportunity to support biodiversity while still producing food for humans. To learn more about Native Plant Agriculture visit our website here: https://lovenativeplants.com/npa - there you'll find a free online book on Native Plant Agriculture that is to be viewed on screens larger than a cell phone's.

06/21/2025

Direct-Seed Establishing Native Wildflowers into your Landscape
These are freshly germinated Sand Coreopsis seedlings along the edge of the driveway. I mixed the seeds with compost, and sowed them on empty bare soil back in November of last fall. It's been 8 weeks since they germinated in April; they’re a few inches tall and wont need any maintenance all summer. By next year they will add late spring gold blooms to this passionflower planting while the passionflowers are still waking up each spring. This method described below is very low cost way of establishing native perennials directly into your landscape from seed.

Cost Savings
Compared to buying potted plants this is much easier (less maintenance and work), and direct seeding is 5% to 10% of the cost of establishing potted plants. For example these pictured Sand Coreopsis seeds cost $2 to $5 an ounce which covered the edge of this entire driveway-side bed. If the equivalent Sand Coreopsis plants were bought last $6.00 perennials it would take 20 to 30 potted Sand Coreopsis plants costing $120 to $180 to purchase from a nursery - and they would likely be weak cultivars as opposed to wild seedlings. With Smaller seeds like Cardinal Flower you can use small weights such as 1/8th ounces of seed, and with larger seeds like purple coneflower you can use larger weights such as 1 full ounce to cover the same space.

How to establish native perennials directly into the landscape from seed:
1. In late summer, remove the weeds/vegetation from the area you plan to establish new native perennials, and keep the area weed/vegetation free into the fall. - This opens a niche for the new plants to be.

2. In the early fall, mix the species of native seeds you'd like to establish into your landscape in to 1/4th 5 gallon bucket of compost. You can mix them separately for establishing 1 species in a specific area, or you can mix species together to establish multiple species in an area.

3. Apply the compost/seed mix to the surface of the soil you've cleared/prepared in step 1, and press the mix into the surface of the soil with your shoe and body weight.

4. Leave the spots be, without maintenance through the fall and winter until the following spring. If you see recognizable weeds coming up in the spots like dandelions, clover, or other common yard weeds you can pull those from the spots in the spring leaving the native seedlings behind to establish cleanly such as pictured.

Note: This method will work for 90%+ of native wildflower species. Some species have double dormancy though, and may not germinate until the following year. Scarifying most legume species like Baptisia and Senna speeds up their germination too or else they may not germinate the first spring.

If you'd like to learn how to do larger areas such as native meadows, you can use our instruction manual here: https://lovenativeplants.com/instructionalmanual

You can view our free online Native Meadowscaping book for more detailed instruction on establishing native meadows - view on a screen larger than a cell phone: https://lovenativeplants.com/ourbooks

06/19/2025

If you're interested in rebuilding/restoring the ecosystem on your land, you should consider learning about native plants! Native Plants are the foundation of all terrestrial ecosystems and their restoration allows for the coevolved insects and wildlife to thrive again. Here's a short profile on one native plant with a native range map provided at the end of the post’s pictures.

Sand Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) is adapted to all soil textures, sand, silt, and clay. It requires at least 4 hours of direct sunlight and is supremely drought tolerant; naturally surviving in naturally dry places/spaces/niches. To get it to persist in a native meadow, the meadow will have to be composed predominantly of dry soil adapted species which by nature are typically shorter species. This is a great species for front lawn meadows as they do not get very tall. In pollinator gardens they survive well in the foreground as edge plants.

While Sand Coreopsis packs a huge aesthetic value in the spring through it’s large gold flowers; they typically only live 1 to 4 years or so and require disturbance to sustain a population in a many native meadows environments. They are more persistent in drier meadows or landscapes with open spaces to seed into. The flowers are most preferred by small solitary native bee species and Hoverflies though large native bees and butterflies will also use the plants. Goldfinches and other seed eating bird species will eat some of the seeds as they mature in Midsummer. This plant can grow out of cracks in pavement, and where it naturally sustains itself in the wild it’s born in dry sandy soils or very rocky shallow soils. For this reason Sand Coreopsis is easier to keep going on the edges of pollinator gardens than in a highly competitive native meadow unless the meadow has naturally dry conditions. If you’re trying to impress neighbors quickly this flower will explode in its second year with a surprising amount of blooms.

Companion Plants: Baptisia australis var. minor, Native Yarrow (Pictured), Downy Wood Mint, Pale Purple Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Tennessee Coneflower, Black Eye Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida), Penstemon species (Pictured), Gallardia species, Butterflyweed, Nodding Wild Onion, Slender Mountain Mint, Virginia Mountain Mint, Long Headed Coneflower, Hoary Vervain, Mistflower, Aromatic Aster

Germination for Plugs: Cold Moist stratify for 30 days, and then sow 1/8th below the surface.

Learn how to make native meadows using our instruction manual and/or free Native Meadowscaping Book at the following links:
Native Meadow Seed Mix Instruction Manual
https://lovenativeplants.com/instructionalmanual

Free Native Meadowscaping Book (view this on a screen larger than a phone): https://lovenativeplants.com/nativemeadowscaping

Indigenous Landscapes

07/25/2025

07/10/2025

07/08/2025

07/05/2025

07/02/2025

06/29/2025

06/27/2025

06/25/2025

06/21/2025

06/19/2025

Address

Opening Hours

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Monday	9:30am - 3:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 3:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 3:30am