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Helenium autumnale

Common Sneezeweed has daisy-like flowers with distinctive, fan-shaped rays and prominent, raised centers. The flowers bloom from late summer until frost in colors ranging from yellow to reddish-brown to orange. The tall plants add vertical texture to gardens, but may need to be staked. Pinch back plants in early June for bushier growth with more blooms. The common name is based on the former use of its dried leaves to make snuff, which was inhaled to cause sneezing. Sneezeweed has special value for native bees. Use Sneezeweed in the back of borders or beds, wildflower gardens, and naturalized areas.

Gazania rigens

Gazania is an annual with trailing stems and daisy-like flowers, which bloom from summer into fall. Its bright yellow-orange flowers close at night and may not fully open on cloudy days. It tolerates hot, dry conditions and prefers sandy soil. Remove the spent flowers to encourage more blooming. Excellent in hanging baskets as well as in beds and borders.

Gaillardia x grandiflora

Blanket Flower has daisy-like, tri-colored flowers with yellow-orange petals and dark red centers. It has a long bloom time, from June-September, and makes an excellent cut flower. Butterflies benefit from the nectar, and finches eat the dried seeds. Blanket Flower prefers moist soil, but will tolerate some drought. Use in borders, cutting gardens, or mixed container plantings.

Epimedium spp.

Barrenwort not only tolerates shade, it prefers it! Attractive mounds of medium-green foliage on wiry stems spread through rhizomes (underground stems). Plants bloom in spring in a variey of flower colors (purple, pink, orange, yellow, or white). The leaves turn attractive shades of yellow, red, or bronze in the fall. The shape of the flower resembles a bishop’s hat, inspiring the common name. Plants do best in moist, well-drained soil, but will tolerate drought and competition with tree roots. Excellent choice for any shady garden area, including border-fronts, path edges, woodland gardens, rock gardens, and under trees.

Coreopsis tinctoria

Golden Tickseed is a brightly colored, long-blooming annual. The daisy-like flowers, which are yellow-orange with dark-red centers, bloom June-September. The flowers are good fresh-cut. The nectar is attractive to butterflies, native bees, and other beneficial pollinators, and the seeds attract birds. This plant aggressively self-seeds, but that can be minimized by removing spent flowers, which also encourages more blooms. The common name originated from the resemblance of the seeds to ticks. Plant Golden Tickseed in masses in borders, wildflower gardens, or naturalized areas.

Celosia argentea

Celosia is a long-blooming annual with plume-like, vividly colored flowers on erect stems. The flowers bloom throughout summer and into fall, and are good fresh-cut or dried. This plant thrives in hot, humid weather. Use massed in beds and borders, as an edging plant, or in containers.

Bracteantha bracteata

Strawflower is an annual, which blooms June to frost in a variety of colors (yellow, orange, red, pink, and white). The daisy-like flowers have a straw-like texture. It is an “everlasting,” meaning it retains its color and shape when dried. Strawflower is excellent for both fresh-cut and dried flowers. Use taller varieties in beds or borders and shorter ones as edging plants or in containers.

Asclepias tuberosa

Butterfly Weed is a long-blooming, drought-tolerant, wildlife-friendly perennial. Its showy, bright orange flowers bloom in flat-topped clusters, June-August. The nectar is attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds; it has special value for native bees. The flowers are followed by attractive seed pods, which are used in dried flower arrangements. Butterfly Weed is a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), Queen (Danaus gilippus), and Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus). Butterfly Weed does not have milky sap like other milkweeds; however, like other milkweeds, the leaves contain cardiac glycosides. When ingested by Monarch butterfly larvae feeding on the leaves, these substances make them (and the adult butterflies) toxic to birds and other predators. This plant’s deep tap root makes it difficult to transplant once established. Use Butterfly Weed in sunny borders, meadows, rain gardens, and butterfly gardens.