Beard-Tongue - Penstemon barbatus
Height: 12-24 inches.
Width: 12-18 inches.
Bloom: Pink, Rose-Purple, June-Aug.
Cultivars: 'Elfin Pink', 'Rondo', 'Prairie Dusk', 'Dark Towers'.
Notes: Must have very good drainage for success.
Globe Thistle - Echinops bannaticus
Height: 3-4 feet.
Width: 2-3 feet.
Bloom: Blue, July-Aug.
Cultivars: 'Blue Glow'.
Notes: Steel blue hedgehog-like flower. Good cut flower, flowers easily dried.
Blanket Flower - Gaillardia x grandiflora
Height: 18-24 inches.
Width: 12-24 inches.
Bloom: Reds, yellows, June-Sept.
Cultivars: 'Arizona Apricot', 'Arizona Sun', 'Baby Cole'.
Notes: Deadheading will prolong bloom through the season. Divide every 2-3 years.
Purple Cone Flower - Echinacea purpurea
Height: 2-3 feet.
Width: 18-24 inches.
Bloom: Pink, Magenta, White, July-Aug.
Cultivars: 'White Swan', 'Magnus', 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' 'Cheyenne Spirit', 'Prairie Splendor'.
Notes: Dependable, showy, wide color choices. Deadhead for repeat bloom.
Yarrow - Achillea millefolium
Height: 18-24 inches.
Width: 18-24 inches.
Bloom: Yellow, pink, red, white, July-Aug.
Cultivars: 'Strawberry Seduction', 'Sunny Seduction', 'Peachy Seduction', 'Moonshine'.
Notes: Flattened clusters of flowers above silver gray foliage.
False Indigo - Baptisia australis
Height: 3-5 feet.
Width: 2-3 feet.
Bloom: Blue,yellow, purple, May-June.
Cultivars: 'Midnight Prairie Blues', 'Solar Flare', 'Purple Smoke'.
Notes: Very large plant, sweet pea like flowers above blue green foliage. Attractive seed pods.
Threadleaf Coreopsis - Coreopsis verticillata
Height: 18-24 inches.
Width: 24-30 inches.
Bloom: Yellow, June-Aug.
Cultivars: 'Moonbeam', 'Golden Showers', 'Zagreb'.
Notes: Very fine textured foliage. Cut back faded flowers to encourage rebloom through fall.
Baby's Breath - Gypsophila paniculata
Height: 18-24 inches.
Width: 18-24 inches.
Bloom: White, Pink, June-Sept.
Cultivars: 'Bristol Fairy'. 'Pink Fairy'.
Notes: Masses of tiny flowers on long stems above basal leaves. Repeat bloom is encouraged by cutting old flower stalks to the ground.
Perennial Salvia - Salvia nemorosa
Height: 18-36 feet.
Width: 18-24 inches.
Bloom: Violet blue, white, June-Aug.
Cultivars: 'May Night', 'Blue Hill', 'Snow Hill', 'Marcus'.
Notes: Cut back in mid-summer to encourage rebloom. Needs very well drained soil for best growth.
Sea Holly - Eryngium planum
Height: 2-3 feet.
Width: 2-3 feet.
Bloom: Steel blue, July-Sept.
Cultivars: 'Big Blue', 'Blue Glitter', 'Blue Hobbit'.
Notes: Interesting spiky foliage and blue thistle-like flowers. If picked when fully open and dried, flowers retain their color.
Black-Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia fulgida
Height: 24-30 inches.
Width: 18-24 inches.
Bloom: Yellow, July-Sept.
Cultivars: 'Goldstrum', 'City Garden', 'Little Goldstar', 'Viette's Little Suzy'.
Notes: Dependable perennial version of Black-Eyed Susan. Long bloom season.
Goldenrod - Tiarella cordifolia
Height: 18-24 inches.
Width: 18-24 inches.
Bloom: Yellow, Aug-Sept.
Cultivars: 'Cloth of Gold', 'Crown of Rays'. 'Golden Fleece', 'Fireworks'.
Notes: Good late season bloom. Not the cause of hay fever or fall allergies.
Arkansas Amsonia - Amsonia hubrichtii
Height: 3-4 feet.
Width: 2-3 feet.
Bloom: Blue, May-June.
Cultivars: 'Butterscotch', 'Lemon drop'.
Notes: Fine needle-like foliage, small blue flowers early. Good fall color.
