Plants with purpose.
Five of these six species have grown in New England for thousands of years. The sixth, Purple Coneflower, is native to eastern North America and is thriving here at its northern range edge. Tap any plant to learn more.
The iconic spine of this planting, bold and upright with rosy-purple petals that sweep back from a spiny bronze cone glowing in afternoon light. Blooms for up to two months, then holds its seed head through winter as both a sculptural form and a bird feeder.
The magic thread woven through the whole planting. In late summer it erupts into an airy haze of reddish-purple, a cloud of color that seems to hover above the soil. Catch it in late afternoon light and it practically glows. Landscape designers call this a matrix plant and we think of it as the soul of the design.
The fall showstopper. Blazing upright wands of golden-yellow at the exact moment the season turns. Unlike its sprawling cousins, Showy Goldenrod stays tight and disciplined, reading as an elegant vertical exclamation point. Pairs naturally with New England Aster for a classic late-season combination that has played out in Maine meadows for thousands of years.
The mid-summer bridge. Lavender-pink ragged blooms with a distinctive spiky texture that contrasts beautifully against the bold forms around it. Crush a leaf and you get a wild oregano scent. It is in the mint family and the connection is unmistakable, and hummingbirds cannot resist it.
The workhorse and among the first to bloom. Flat-topped white flower clusters sit on fine, fernlike foliage, providing a strong horizontal texture that anchors all the vertical energy around it. Yarrow acts as a landing pad, with wide flat blooms perfectly designed for smaller bees and beetles that cannot access tubular flowers.
The closer of the season, with deep purple-pink daisy flowers that erupt just as everything else begins to fade. A final burst of color echoes the Coneflower from midsummer and brings the season full circle. One of the most important late-season plants in the Northeast, it provides critical fuel for pollinators preparing for winter.
These six species collectively support a remarkable number of pollinator species native to the Northeast. Here are the ones most likely to visit this planting.
Maine's most visible pollinator. Her long tongue reaches Bergamot's tubular flowers that shorter-tongued bees simply cannot access. A single colony visits millions of flowers in a season.
Specialist native bees that are among the first to emerge in spring. Several Andrena species are aster specialists and depend on Symphyotrichum pollen almost exclusively to feed their larvae.
Small, metallic bees that are often the first you'll notice on Yarrow's flat flower heads. Their size makes them perfectly suited to the open, accessible architecture of flat-topped blooms.
Solitary cavity-nesting bees that carry pollen on their abdomen rather than their legs. Watch for the tell-tale semicircular cuts they make in nearby leaves to line their nests.
The most iconic migrating butterfly in North America, passing through Maine each fall on its way to Mexico. Goldenrod and Aster are critical fueling stops, and without late-season nectar the migration fails.
Maine's largest butterfly, with a 4-inch wingspan. Drawn strongly to Bergamot and Coneflower, it is one of the most striking visitors this planting will attract.
A small orange and black butterfly that uses Symphyotrichum asters as a host plant. It lays eggs directly on New England Aster leaves and the caterpillars feed on the foliage.
A fast-flying native skipper confirmed in Maine. Delaware Skippers use native bunch grasses as larval host plants, making plantings like this one potential breeding habitat rather than just a nectar stop.
Maine's only breeding hummingbird. Wild Bergamot's tubular lavender flowers are one of its preferred nectar sources. They typically arrive in May and migrate south in September.
A clearwing moth that hovers like a hummingbird and is easily mistaken for one at dusk. Wild Bergamot is its host plant. If you see one here, it's one of the more remarkable sightings this planting can produce.
Goldfinches time their nesting to coincide with Coneflower seed production. In fall and winter you may see them clinging to the dried seed heads of Coneflower and Goldenrod. That is exactly why we leave them standing.
Often mistaken for bees, hover flies are important pollinators that favor flat, open flowers. Yarrow is a particular favorite. Their larvae prey on aphids, making them a form of natural pest control as well.
This planting was designed so that color, texture, and life are present from spring through the first hard frost and into winter.
We intentionally leave seed heads standing through winter. Coneflower and Goldenrod seed heads feed Goldfinches and Chickadees when other food sources disappear. The dried stems also provide nesting material and look genuinely beautiful under a dusting of snow.
Every choice in this planting was deliberate. They go together like an Argenta Generic American Lager and The Bayside and Fries from Hank & Artie's. Here's the thinking behind it.
Each species in this planting occupies a distinct depth zone underground. There is no competition. Every plant has carved out its own territory in the soil column, which is one reason this palette works so well together in a confined container.
The fact that you are reading this means you noticed the planters, thank you! That is how it starts: curiosity, then excitement, then a single plant in a pot on a porch. Wild Heart Nativescapes designs and installs native plantings for homes, businesses, and spaces like this one throughout Maine. We'd love to help you get started!
