Idaho Natives

The Wild Bergamot Monarda is the best bee balm for dry locations and produces beautiful violet blooms that have a wonderful scent! This variety has great mid-summer blooms, later than any other Monardas. The Wild Bergamot will attract a large amount of butterflies, bees and hummingbirds!

Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’, often called White Swamp Milkweed, is a selected form of the native Swamp Milkweed long found along wetlands, marsh edges, and moist prairies across North America, where it has served for generations as an essential host plant for monarch caterpillars. This cultivar stands out for its showy clusters of pure white, vanilla-scented flowers that bloom in midsummer, contrasting beautifully with its upright stems and narrow, deep-green leaves.

Looking like a plucked daisy, this Rudbeckia sports long, thin green sepals and a giant, pointy deep purple to black cone (the size and shape of a large strawberry)! Wonderfully attention-getting in the garden, 'Green Wizard' is also welcome as an Everlasting, where its ultra-strong stems support these stylish cones for months on end, adding interesting texture and tall vertical effect to bouquets, centerpieces, and decorations of all types.

Spotted Joe Pye Weed, is a distinctive perennial native to North America's moist meadows and woodlands. Named after Joe Pye, a Native American herbalist, this plant has a rich history in traditional medicine. It is recognized for its tall, elegant growth, typically reaching heights of 4 to 6 feet, and its unique spotted stems that give it its common name.

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) is a native perennial with slender spikes of blue-violet flowers from summer into early fall. It performs best in moist soil in full sun to partial light and fits naturally into rain gardens, wet meadows, and pond edges. The flowers support butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects, and the tall stems are suitable for cutting. Established plants commonly reach about 4 feet tall.

The Showy Asclepias is just like its name, a beautiful showy plant that is an excellent nectar sources for butterflies and hummingbirds! This Butterfly Weed variety is similar to Common Milkweed, but its pinkish-purple flowers have longer petals that taper more and are covered with fine hairs. The Showy Asclepias will attract butterflies and hummingbirds, especially Queen and Monarch butterflies. This plant is aggressive and should be thinned every year.

Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) is a moisture-loving native perennial with blue-violet flowers and upright, sword-shaped foliage. It grows well in bog gardens, rain gardens, and along pond margins in full sun. The flowers support pollinators, while the spreading rhizomes form attractive colonies in consistently moist soil. Mature plants generally reach about 30 to 36 inches tall.

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a native North American prairie grass with a rich history as a foundational species in tallgrass ecosystems, valued for its resilience and ecological benefits. It features fine-textured, upright blue-green blades that turn striking shades of red, orange, and bronze in the fall, reaching about 2–4 feet tall. Adapted to a wide range of soils, it thrives in full sun with minimal water or fertilizer once established, making it ideal for xeriscaping and low-maintenance landscapes.

This flower mixture is for pollinator conservation in the western United States and southwest Canada. The eastern planting boundary would be a line straight south from the eastern borders of North and South Dakota. It contains a balanced blend of native annuals and perennials that provide nectar and pollen throughout the growing season.

June Grass, also called Prairie Junegrass and formerly Koeleria cristata, flowers early in North American upland prairies. Silvery-green seed plumes turn tan by midsummer, giving dry plantings fine texture. Birds can feed on the small seeds and use the tufted grass for cover. Choose full sun and lean, sandy or gravelly soil.

Blue Joint Grass is a widespread North American wetland grass with a long natural role in streamside and meadow plant communities. Pink-green summer seed heads rise above rhizomes that help hold damp soil in place. Its dense growth offers cover for wetland insects and birds, and it can spread quickly across restoration sites. Give it full sun to partial shade and moist to wet ground.

Nodding Onion brings the history of wild edible onions to North American meadows and open woods; its bulbs and leaves have been used like chives. Hooked stems carry pink to lavender flower clusters that hang downward, allowing bees to reach nectar while hovering below. The onion scent helps deter deer, and bulbs slowly form new offsets. Grow this perennial in sun or light shade and medium to moist, well-drained soil.

Narrowleaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) is a western North American perennial with narrow leaves and rounded clusters of pale pink flowers. It thrives in full sun and dry, well-drained soil and is well suited to native meadows and pollinator plantings. The foliage serves as a monarch caterpillar host, while the flowers provide nectar for bees and butterflies. Mature plants typically reach about 3 to 4 feet tall.

Carex comosa is a large tufted wetland sedge. The narrow leaves are lime green and shiny. In late spring triangular culms rise above the foliage to 5’ bearing large chartreuse bottlebrush shaped spikes. Attractive warm brown seed spikes follow. This bold sedge flourishes in sun or part sun in damp or wet sites. Plants prosper in difficult wet mucky soils or even in shallow water.

The Sneezeweed Helenium produces a numerous amount of beautiful, large, daisy-like yellow flowers that bloom in the late summer and early autumn! Despite its common name, this variety presents no problems for most allergy sufferers.

The Canada Wildrye is a cool-season bunchgrass grain variety that can be found throughout Canada and the U.S. except in the southeastern states. It is typically found in prairies, open woods, fields and disturbed sites. This grain tends to be short-lived but provides quick stabilization for erosion control seedings, and it makes a good, early successional component of prairie mixtures. The Canada Wildrye provides quality forage for livestock and wildlife.

Goldilocks produces fluffy double golden blooms with warm, darker centers. This compact selection flowers quickly and supplies abundant summer color in sunny beds, containers, and cutting gardens. Regular harvesting encourages branching and keeps new buds developing.

Water Horehound is native to nearly all of the contiguous United States and has long occupied open marshes, fens, and wet meadows. Although it belongs to the mint family, its foliage lacks the strong mint scent; small white flowers sit in the leaf axils. Those flowers can serve small pollinating insects, while the stems add cover in wetland habitat. Give it sun or partial shade and moist to wet soil.

Rice Cut Grass has a wide history across world wetlands and is native to North American floodplains and pond margins. Its sharp-edged leaves explain the common name and can form dense stands. Least Skipper larvae use the grass, adults feed in its habitat, and waterfowl eat the seed. Plant in sun or partial shade on wet, preferably silty soil.

Torrey's Rush is a North American wetland perennial with round flower clusters near the tops of slender stems. Its named species has long occupied marshes, wet prairies, and pond or river margins. Fast-spreading rhizomes help stabilize shorelines and create cover for wetland insects and small animals. Give it full sun and consistently moist soil.

Fowl Manna Grass is one of North America's most widespread wetland grasses, occurring from shaded woodland pools to open marshes. Its airy panicles and soft foliage provide cover for small animals. Geese graze the leaves, and the moth Elachista irrorata uses it as a host plant. Grow it in sun or shade on moist to wet soil.

Blunt Spike Rush is a small North American wetland native with a different life history from many rushes: it is an annual that reseeds. Upright stems and compact seed heads offer cover for frogs and perches for dragonflies. Aquatic beetles, leafhoppers, and shore flies also use its wet habitat. Sow in full sun on mud or consistently wet soil.

Brown Fox Sedge takes its name from the fox-tail appearance of its midsummer seed heads. This abundant North American native grows across wet meadows and other moist open habitats. Fruiting clumps provide bird forage and cover for small wetland animals. It adapts to sun or partial shade and soils ranging from wet to moderately dry.

Awl-fruited Sedge has several long-used names, including Prickly Sedge and Fox Sedge, reflecting its pointed seed heads. It is native to North American riverbanks, floodplain forests, and marshes and establishes quickly in disturbed wetlands. Caterpillars feed on the foliage; woodcocks, ducks, and swamp sparrows eat the seeds. Plant in sun or shade with reliably moist to wet soil.

Lance-fruited Oval Sedge has also been called Broom Sedge, a name linked to its broom-like fruiting form. It belongs to sunny North American marshes, floodplains, and wet sandy ground. Moths and skipper caterpillars use the foliage, while waterfowl, songbirds, turtles, and small mammals eat the seeds. This clumping, cool-season perennial suits wetland gardens and restoration sites.

Broad-leaved Woolly Sedge is native to North American wet meadows and mineral-rich wetlands, where calcareous soil is common. Its broad, softly textured leaves and June seed spikes distinguish it from finer sedges. Native sedge foliage can host insects, while its seeds contribute to wetland bird forage. Plant it in sun or partial shade with consistently moist to wet, often alkaline soil.

Common Lake Sedge is a historic component of North American lake margins and marshes, spreading through underground rhizomes. Its tall stands provide wetland cover, and its leaves host Broad-Winged Skipper and brown butterfly caterpillars. Waterfowl and songbirds eat its seeds, while some wetland mammals browse the roots. Reserve this vigorous sedge for large, wet restoration sites.

Porcupine Sedge is a native of North American fens, marshes, sedge meadows, and wet prairies, also known as Bottlebrush Sedge. Its bristly seed heads give the common names their character. Wetland insects use its foliage and waterfowl forage for sedge seeds among the stems. Grow it in full sun and wet soil that may flood for short periods.

Plains Oval Sedge, historically also called Shortbeak Sedge, occurs across North American open ground, from dry disturbed sites to seasonally flooded margins. Golden-brown oval seed spikes stand above a compact mound in fall. Like other native sedges, it contributes seed and cover to birds and habitat for small insects. Its wide moisture tolerance makes it useful in sunny or partly shaded restoration plantings.

River Bulrush has long occupied shallow-water margins of North American lakes, rivers, and marshes; older botanical names placed it in Scirpus and Schoenoplectus. Its tall stems and spreading rhizomes make dense cover for wetland invertebrates and waterbirds. This vigorous perennial is suited to large restoration areas rather than a small ornamental bed. Grow it in full sun with consistently wet soil or standing water.

Nodding Bur Marigold is a native annual of North American wet meadows and marsh edges. Its old names Beggar's Tick and Sticktight recall the hooked seeds that cling to passing animals. Golden, sunflower-like flowers feed bees, butterflies, skippers, and moths; later, ducks and songbirds eat the seeds. Plant in full sun and wet to moist ground, where it can reseed naturally.