Snowflake Candytuft is one of the great reliable pleasures of the early spring garden, smothering its low evergreen mound in a solid blanket of crisp white flowers that emerge even as the season is still finding its footing. The display is brief but glorious, creating a clean, bright carpet that works beautifully as a groundcover, edging plant, or tucked into a rock garden wall. After bloom, the tidy evergreen foliage takes over and holds the garden floor through every season with quiet, unpretentious presence. It asks very little once established—just full sun and excellent drainage—and handles drought, deer, black walnut, and poor soil with equal ease. The compact habit, under 12 inches tall, makes it a natural fit at the front of a border where you want early color without fuss. A foundational spring perennial that rewards its place year after year.

Big Blackhawk Bluestem brings the bold, sweeping drama of the prairie into the home garden. This stately native grass forms tall, upright clumps that climb to three to five feet, adding vertical structure and graceful movement wherever it’s planted. Native to the central and eastern United States, it thrives in full sun and lean, dry soil, growing tougher and more drought-tolerant with each passing season. As autumn arrives, its green blades take on warm coppery-bronze tones that catch the late-season light and persist into winter. Songbirds feed on its seed heads through the cold months, and it’s seldom browsed by deer. Plant it in sweeping masses on a sunny slope or as a living screen—it’s prairie grandeur at its finest.

Little Bluestem Sandhill grows tall, up to four feet, with powder blue leaves that widen as they rise. It thrives in full sun and dry to average soil, showing beautiful fall colors from creamy orange to purple.

Geum 'Mrs. Bradshaw' is a hardy, perennial plant known for its vibrant, semi-double, orange-scarlet flowers that bloom in late spring and summer. It's a popular choice for borders, containers, and rock gardens, and is relatively easy to care for. Deadheading spent flowers encourages more blooms, and dividing plants every few years helps maintain their vigor. 

Mature Height: 18-24 inches

Mature Width: 24 inches

Sunlight: Full sun to part shade

Soil Conditions: Well-drained soil

Whiteout Candytuft is smothered in stunning white flowers at the ends of the stems from mid to late spring. Its narrow leaves remain green in color throughout the year.

Ostrich Fern is a magnificent, large-scale native fern whose tall, gracefully arching fronds form an elegant vase shape that can reach 3 to 5 feet high and wide. The bold, shuttlecock silhouette is one of the most dramatic forms in the shade garden, creating a lush, verdant feel in moist woodland settings. As a Great Lakes native, it spreads steadily by underground runners to form impressive colonies and provides excellent cover and nesting habitat for birds. It thrives with consistent moisture and partial to full shade, with golden-yellow fall color adding seasonal interest. Deer and rabbit resistant, and notably Juglone tolerant.

Blue Emerald Moss Phlox carpets the spring garden with a wash of soft lavender-blue flowers that appear in such profusion they nearly hide the fine, needle-like foliage beneath. Low and spreading to under twelve inches, it is perfectly suited for rock gardens, wall tops, border edges, and slopes where its dense, semi-evergreen mat provides groundcovering beauty long after the flowers have faded. The vivid spring bloom draws butterflies just as the season opens, adding early pollinator value to its ornamental appeal. It asks for full sun and average moisture in well-drained soil—excellent drainage is the key to keeping it vigorous and healthy year after year. Deer and rabbits reliably leave it alone, and once established it needs very little attention. Shear it lightly after bloom to keep the mat tidy and encourage fresh, dense growth for the following year.

A stunning variety, featuring tri-color foliage of yellow, orange, and red, topped with contrasting violet-blue flowers; excellent when used in containers, as a groundcover, or in border fronts; tolerates any soil with good drainage.

Peachy pink petals have flags of dark pink just around the center of yellow stamen. Flowers are held closer to the foliage, creating a compact, rounded form that requires no staking. Mildew-resistant foliage stays attractive all season long. Perennial.

Blue Joint Grass is one of the more abundant native grasses on the continent. It blooms in late spring to early summer with pink-green seeds that are attractive but not highly ornamental. Spreading quickly by shallow rhizomes in moist to wet soils, Blue Joint Grass can help to stabilize stream banks.

Sombrero® Flamenco Orange Coneflower has masses of beautiful lightly-scented orange daisy flowers with dark red eyes and yellow tips at the ends of the stems from mid summer to early fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its pointy leaves remain bluish-green in color throughout the season.

A vigorous sedge that can grow in very diverse habitats; a tall, upright cultivar with attractive blue-green foliage; great in full sun or under the shade of large trees; suitable for rock gardens or as a groundcover but must have sufficient water

Deep green leaves with a wide, creamy white margin. The long, heart-shaped leaves have a slight twist at the end and are moderately corrugated. Lavender flowers.

Avalanche Reed Grass is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. The tan seed heads are carried on showy plumes displayed in abundance from late summer to late winter. Its attractive grassy leaves are creamy white in color with distinctive green edges. The foliage often turns tan in fall. It features bold plumes of rose flowers rising above the foliage in mid summer. The gold stems can be quite attractive.

Maiden Flame Grass brings sweeping, architectural presence to the sunny garden, its graceful arching clumps of narrow blades catching every breeze with a soft, rustling shimmer. Growing three to five feet tall, it becomes a bold focal point or a sweeping screen on a sunny slope, lending movement and rhythm to the landscape from midsummer onward. Pale feathery plumes emerge in late summer and persist beautifully into winter, when the seed-laden stems become a welcome resource for songbirds foraging through the cold months. It establishes readily in full sun with average moisture and needs very little attention beyond a single cutback in late winter to make room for fresh growth. Deer and rabbits reliably pass it by, and its tolerance for a range of soil conditions—including sites near black walnut trees—makes it broadly adaptable in the Midwest landscape. Plant it in generous masses where the plumes can catch the low light of a September afternoon.

Dense, glossy green foliage turns a splendid merlot color with cool winter temperatures. Clusters of delicate, bell-shaped, white summer flowers produce exceptionally large, red, ornamental berries that hold from fall through to spring. Works well as a foundation plant or groundcover. A delight in mixed holiday container plantings. Evergreen.

Happy Ever Appster® Stephanie Returns Daylily features bold peach trumpet-shaped flowers with chartreuse throats and a purple ring at the ends of the stems from mid summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its grassy leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Britt Marie Crawford Rayflower features bold panicles of gold daisy flowers at the ends of the stems from late summer to early fall. Its attractive large serrated round leaves remain deep purple in color throughout the season.

Bee Balm 'Pink Lace' is a compact, upright perennial that brings vibrant color to mid-summer gardens. Abundant heads of bright pink flowers rise above dense, rounded clumps of bright green foliage, creating a striking focal point. This variety boasts excellent disease resistance, making it reliable and low-maintenance. Perfect for massing in flower borders or as a pollinator-friendly addition to mixed plantings. Attracts bees and butterflies while maintaining a tidy, manageable form.

Early Birdâ„¢ Frosty Pinks is draped in stunning fragrant white frilly flowers at the ends of the stems from early spring to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive grassy leaves remain grayish green in color with hints of silvery blue throughout the year.

Spectacular purple with yellow centre spikes of pea-flowers rise from blue-green foliage in early summer; use this plant for its outstanding display of vertical flowers as an accent in the garden

Chicago Apache Daylily features bold scarlet trumpet-shaped flowers with gold throats at the ends of the stems from early to mid summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its grassy leaves remain green in color throughout the season.