The Best is a Native

The best ornamental plant in our yard is a native plant.  I picked it up at a plant sale run by our local native plant society this past spring.

As instructed, I planted the  young green sprout in a sunny location without really knowing what it would turn into, besides having a vague idea of the flower shape. The name of the plant is three-lobed coneflower (Rudbeckia triloba).  It is a late bloomer. During the first part of the summer, it grew into a large, green, unremarkable plant on the rock slope next to our driveway.  Then August came and BOOM, it burst into flower.  For the past month, it has displayed more than a hundred bright yellow flowers with dark centers.  It is absolutely spectacular. 

Porcupine loves to watch the butterflies and bees that are attracted to the flowers.  In surprisingly short order, she has learned that flowers in the garden are for looking at and not randomly picking.  Although there are plenty of blooms, I can't bring myself to cut any of the coneflowers to bring inside.  They look so great where they are.

Don't let anyone tell you native plants aren't as attractive as exotic ornamentals.  I dare say our Rubeckia triloba is the best ornamental plant on our block (though not to my neighbors because that would be obnoxious).  I will definitely pick up a couple more next year.

 

Comments

[DJ]

Native always takes less work too! I love the yellow and black colors.