Flowers for the front of the border that help wildlife

 

If you have beds that are 4 feet or more deep, then you have the potential to add a vertical dimension to your garden, which can be achieved by planting low plants at the front to offset the higher plants at the back. Some of the woodland flowers fall back into dormancy by the middle of summer. If you plant those, have something else ready to take place later on in the growing season. The woodland plants are often spring flowering while those that need plenty of sunlight are summer flowering.

If you are doing some version of prairie style planting in your garden, it does not really matter what you have at the front of the border. In a typical suburban garden, the front of the border is actually important in setting the tone for the whole bed. People notice the details in this part of the garden. In general, I prefer to make the patches in the front of the border wider than the patches behind them. The flowers in short plants are often small and larger patches are needed to make them noticeable. If you are looking for really low plants that form carpets, then consider Houstonia or Calamintha arkansana or Antennaria.

	The large leaved plants in the foreground are Heartleaf Alexanders. Next to them are yellow flowered Lakeside daisy with Dwarf Lake Iris. Behind the Alexanders is a large patch of Prairie Smoke and a smaller patch of dark purple flowered Prairie Crocus. These are all plants that do well in full sun.

 

Perennials for the front of the border:

Name	Notes
Allium cernuum	Nodding wild onion has upside-down flowers to attract bumblebees.
Anemone patens	A spring flower that needs a well drained soil.
Antennaria sp.	The leaves of this plant hug the ground. It flowers in the spring on stalks 6 inches high.
Asarum canadense	A plant that is grown only for its foliage in the shade.
Asclepias ovalifolia	A low milkweed that does well in average partly shaded sites.
Asclepias verticillata	One of the lowest and daintiest milkweeds available. Needs dry sandy soil.
Baptisia bracteata	A mid-western prostrate Baptisia
Blephilia sp.	A low growing member of the mint family
Calamintha sp.	An excellent non-native front of the border plant that attracts hordes of pollinators.
Calamintha arkansana	A native calamint.
Callirhoe involucrata	A postrate plant with long summer blooms.
Dalea sp.	Purple prairie clover needs to be planted en masse at the front of the border to have any effect.
When Virginia Bluebells die back for the season, this White Wood Aster will take over.
Dicentra cucullaria	An ephemeral woodland plant that needs moist soils.
Eurybia divaricatus	A late flowering woodland aster.
Gaillardia sp.	Long summer blooming plant that can take heat and drought.
Gentiana andrewsii	A versatile plant with unusual closed flowers at the end of the summer.
Geum triflorum	Flowers do not open, but the seed heads provide interest. They attract bumblebees.
Prairie Smoke is a low growing plant that spreads slowly and acts as a living mulch. It looks good in large patches.
Geranium maculatum	Flowers in the spring for a few weeks. Plant en masse.
Hepatica acutiloba	Early to mid spring with seasonal moisture required.
Hydrophyllum sp.	Great plant for a shade garden. Flowers towards the end of spring.
Hymenoxys herbacea	A late spring yellow flower for sunny dry sand or rock gardens.
Houstonia longifolia	Flowers for a long time from early summer. It forms a carpet.
Iris lacustris	A rare and very low growing Iris that flowers in spring.
Liatris cylindracea	Great for xeriscaping.
Maianthemum canadense	A plant that carpets the floor of some woodlands. Looks best when grown en masse.
Maianthemum canadense
Mertensia virginica	A spring ephemeral that is eye-catching when planted en masse.
Monarda bradburiana	A mid-western plant that flowers in late spring.
Oligoneuron album	A goldenrod that looks like an aster. It attracts bees.
Phlox divaricata	Requires moist woodland soil.
Podophylum peltatum	A spring flowering woodland plant.
Pulsatilla patens	A spring flower that takes sun and dryness.
Sanguinaria candensis	A fantastic woodland flower that has large and striking flowers.
May Apple is a low growing plant that can form large patches. It has distinctive leaves and a beautiful flower that hides underneath.
Spigelia marilandica	A woodland flower of the Eastern United States that feeds hummingbirds.
Trillium sp.	A true woodland ephemeral.
Verbena simplex	A mid-summer perennial that does well in sandy soils.
Zauschneria garretti	A very low plant that flowers from mid-summer throught to frost. It attracts hummers.
Zizia aptera.	The plants are low but the flowerheads double the height. It is one of the first plants to flower in spring.