This late April to early June bloomer is more often grown for its silver, woolly textured foliage that forms an attractive ground cover over time. This native is great for soil stabilization on sunny banks, rock gardens, or near boulder outcroppings and prefers dry, poor, well-drained soils. Pussytoes does best in full sun but will tolerate part shade, and you can divide this plant in spring for more plants. Small fuzzy white flowers appear over the foliage on 12” high stalk

This little plant is one of our favorite spring time bloomers, with flowers that look like the Truffula tree from Dr. Suess! This small, sun loving plant is common in the prairies of southwestern Minnesota and is a tough contender for high heat and drought prone areas of the landscape. These natives grow approximately 12" high and spread through rhizome that will eventually form a thick groundcover. They will bloom in mid spring and last well into summer, attracting goldfinch

This mid-late April bloomer is a charming little native to the prairies and open woodlands of southeastern Minnesota. Blue-Purple flowers that reach widths of 1.5” wide rise above the small birds’ foot shaped foliage in the spring. This native likes drier, sandy soils that have are acidic and well drained. These plants can be short lived however, they seed very freely. Birds-foot Violet attracts bees and butterflies and uses ants to help disperse their seeds.

Isopyrum Biternatum also known as the “False Rue Anemone”, is another early bloomer. This plant blooms in the early spring and requires partial shade. This low maintenance flower is easily grown in medium, well-drained rich humusy soils. You can find Isopyrum Biternatum in some shaded deciduous wood areas. This plant is often seen growing in large colonies.

Claytonia Virginica is another early bloomer. This plant blooms in the Early Spring. Claytonia Virginica requires full sun to partial shade and is best grown in medium moisture, well-drained soils. It prefers organically rich and fertile soils. Claytonia Virginica naturalizes easily by bulb offsets and self-seeding. Mass in rock gardens, woodland gardens or meadow areas. The flowers close at night or on cloudy days. Closed flowers and buds nod down and become erect when the f

Calthus Palustris is another native plant that blooms in the early spring. The common name for Calthus Palustris is “Marsh Marigold”. This beautiful bright-yellow plant requires full sun to partial shade and does well in wet to boggy soils. You can find this plant in shallow waters or at the margins of a pond or water garden. The Calthus Palustris does well in the garden with Turtlehead and Sweet Woodruff as companion plants. The Calthus Palustris is also an edible plant and

The Erythronium Americanum is among one of the first plants to bloom in the early spring. Another common name for this plant is the, “Yellow Trout Lily”. This plant blooms in early to mid-April with a yellow flower needing part shade to full shade. You can find this plant in moist rich woods, thickets and along streams. The Erythronium Americanum does well in the garden with moist soils in shaded areas. The plant may be grown from the seed but will not flower for 4-5 years. T

The Hepatica Americana is one of the first plants to bloom in the early spring. It has fuzzy, leafless stalks bearing pink, lavender, blue, or white flowers. The Hepatica Americana likes partial shade along with well-drained soils. You can find the Hepatica Americana in upland wooded areas near trees and shade. Hepatica Americana is best used in woodland gardens or shaded gardens, due to their shade tolerance. Plant care is rarely needed for this plant if the right growing co

The Pasque Flower has leaves that re-emerges in the early spring before the flower blooms. The Pasque Flower blooms for many weeks in the early spring making it an ideal plant for early blooming bulbs. The Pasque Flower requires full sun or partial shade. The Pasque Flower is a tundra loving plant and can be found in grasslands areas with alkaline soils and limestone origins. The Pasque Flower is a hardy and self-sufficient plant. When planting the Pasque Flower, plant them i

Here in the Minneapolis area, there have been a few BUZZ words that have been attracting peoples interests lately. Words like Pollinator Friendly, Pollinator Gardens, Rain Gardens, and Native Plants. As a Landscape Designer I couldn’t be happier to receive so much positive feedback from this type of vocabulary. Native plants serve a number of functional purposes when assigned to the right application in the landscape. At a bare minimum, most Flowering Natives attract desirabl