A rock garden is a perfect way to try native plants on a small scale. A single native plant does not get lost in a rock garden as it might in a garden landscape. Choose plants that are low growing and thrive in a sunny location with well-drained soil. Since prairie plants have seasonal bloom, select at least one variety for each season.
For starters, mix some of these in with your existing rock garden perennials:
Spring:
- Tradescantia tharpii, Shortstem spiderwort
- Oenothera macrocarpa, Missouri evening primrose
- Penstemon digitalis, Smooth Penstemon
- Callirhoe involucrata, Purple poppy mallow
- Echinacea angustifolia, Narrow-leaf Coneflower
- Verbena canadensis, Rose verbena
- Clematis fremontii, Fremont’s clematis
Summer:
- Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Weed
- Dalea purpurea, Purple Prairie Clover
- Rudbeckia missouriensis, Missouri Blackeyed Susan
- Liatris aspera, Button Blazing Star
- Liatris punctata, Dotted Blazing Star
- Vernonia lettermanii ‘Iron Butterflies’
Fall:
- Schizachyrium scoparium, Little Bluestem
- Aster oblongifolius ‘October Skies’, Aromatic Aster
- Aster ericoides ‘Snow Flurry’, Heath Aster
- Solidago nemoralis, Gray Goldenrod
- Solidago rigida, Rigid Goldenrod
- Sporobolos heterolepis, Prairie Dropseed