The High and Dry Native Garden Kit is contains nine different drought tolerant plants to thrive in drier areas of your landscape. The species in this collection have light requirements from partial to full sun. Once they are established in their new home, they will thrive in conditions from medium-dry to drought. (Please note that, like any plant, these will need occasional watering for a few weeks after planting.)
The bloom times, textures and blossom colors for this collection vary throughout the growing season, providing some color and interest from May through October.
Design and Planting Tips:
- Allow at least 1' to 1.5' sq ft for each plant in your garden plot, ex: 4' x 4', or 3' x 6', etc.
- Prepare your garden site (follow the link for details as well as information about plant spacing)
- A location with full sun to partial sun
- All plants selected will grow in dry to medium conditions
- Group plants of the same species together
- Consider the height of each plant. Position taller plants at the back and shorter plants at the front
Kit Contents: 8 varieties, with 2 of each (16 total plants), all listed below with details. An image of each plant can be found to the left, pictured in the order listed:
2- Eastern Prickly Pear
2- Beebalm
2- Butterfly Milkweed
2- Lavender Beardtongue
2- Pale Purple Cone Flower
2- Sand Coreopsis
2- Showy Goldenrod
2- Yarrow
Eastern Prickly Pear (Opuntia cespitosa)
Light: full sun
Soil Type: Sandy, well-drained
Soil Moisture: moist to dry
Size: 6-12" tall; 12-18" wide
Bloom Time: June-August
Bloom Color: Yellow, Yellow w/ red-orange centers
Attracts: Native Bees, Butterflies, Birds
Pollinator Benefit: particularly good for native bees according to the Pollinator Partnership
Beebalm/Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Dry to Medium-Wet
Soil Type: Thrives in a wide range of soils: acid to lime, rich to poor, sand to clay
Height: 4'
Bloom Time: July through September
Bloom Color: Lavender, pink
Resistance: Deer, Drought, Black Walnut
Attracts: Butterflies, bees, hummingbirds
Pollinator benefit: Excellent nectar source
Butterfly Milkweed (Aesclepius tuberosa)
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium, Medium-Dry, Dry
Height: 2'
Bloom Time: June-August
Bloom Color: Orange
Attracts: Butterflies and native bees
Resistance: Deer
Pollinator benefit: Larval host for Monarch butterfly, Grey Hairstreak, Queens; good nectar plant. Help save the Monarch butterfly!
Lavender (Hairy) Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Sun Exposure: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil: Well drained
Height: 1' to 3'
Bloom Time: June, July
Bloom Color: Pink, purple
Attracts: Hummingbirds, butterflies
Larval Host: Chalcedon Checkerspot, the Baltimore Checkerspot, and Edith's Checkerspot butterflies
Pollinator benefits: Excellent nectar source for butterflies, native bees, and hummingbirds; Xerces Society rates this as having Special Value for Native Bees and Bumble Bees
Pale Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea palida)
Sun: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Dry, Moist
Drought Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Moist to dry, acid or lime soils, preferably rich
Height: 3'
Leaf: Green
Flower: Flowers 3 to 5 inches across.
Bloom Color: Pink, Purple
Bloom Time: Jun, July
Bloom Notes: Color ranges from a pink so pale it almost appears white to rose.
Attracts: Butterflies, Native Bees, Hummingbirds
Pollinator Benefits: Xerces Society notes Special Value to Native Bees; Larval host to Silvery Checkerspot Butterfly
Sand Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
Sun Exposure: Full
Soil Moisture: Medium-Dry, Dry
Height: 2 ft
Bloom Time: May, June, July, August
Bloom Color: Yellow
Resistance: Drought
Attracts: Butterflies and Bees
Pollinator Benefit: Good nectar source
Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry, Medium
Soil Type: Loam, Sand
Height: 1'-3'
Bloom Time: August, September, October
Bloom Color: Yellow
Resistance: Deer
Attracts: Butterflies, native bees, birds
Pollinator Benefit: Late season nectar source; value to native bees for pollen and nesting materials; migrating Monarchs. Keystone plant that supports 177 different species!
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Sun: Full Sun to Part Shade
Height: Up to 3'
Moisture: Dry
Soil: Grows in a variety of soil conditions, sand, loam, clay
Bloom Time: July-September
Bloom Color: White-Pink
Attracts: Pollinators, butterflies, moths, birds
Drought Resistance: High
Pollinator Benefits: Xerces designations: Special Value to Native Bees (Recognized by pollination ecologists as attracting large numbers of native bees.); And Supports Conservation Biological Control (A plant that attracts predatory or parasitoid insects that prey upon pest insects.)