Native prairie garden 🌹🌸🌺🌷🌻🥀🌼🪻
These are the native prairie plants in my yard (~Zone 3a or USDA 2).
Most are from Prairie Originals.
2026 (see below!)
Why native prairie plants?
They are beautiful (colours! shapes!), resilient (heat! drought!), perennial (or re-seed themselves easily), and after a few years, need less maintenance than non-natives. They also feed and provide habitat for pollinators; feed/attract birds and butterflies; and store carbon in their deep roots.
Start from scratch as much as possibly (i.e. burn or smother or kill the grass and weeds already present). Go for spatial and vertical diversity: different species, different heights, and different blooming schedules. Group the same flower (3-5) close together to create a pollinator landing strip (look up “flower constancy”). Don’t skimp on native grasses. They provide valuable habitat and structure to a garden. Many plants are well-behaved and do not spread. You could try growing a spreader in a pot or other isolated area.
A few native plants are better than no native plants. You don’t have to give up non-native annuals and grass entirely!
Be patient - prairie plants take time to establish. The first three years they will “sleep, creep, and leap”.
Bonus points:
Remove invasive species (including dandelions)
Shrink your lawn - think of it an area rug rather than wall-to-wall carpeting.
Plant local tree species.
Buy from a reputable local source. Generic “wildflower” packages of seeds might not be wild in your area!