Bring Florida's natural beauty home with four colorful native plants. Golden Leavenworth's Tickseed flowers from spring through summer, lavender-blue Stokes' Aster blooms in summer, and scarlet Salvia attracts hummingbirds through the warm months. Pink Muhly Grass crowns the display with billowing rose-pink plumes in fall, creating spectacular seasonal interest.
Imagine a Florida garden filled with golden daisies, lavender-blue flowers, brilliant red blooms, and clouds of soft pink grass shimmering in the autumn sunshine. This colorful native planting transforms a simple sandy walkway into a welcoming garden that feels relaxed, abundant, and wonderfully connected to the surrounding landscape.
Four Florida natives create the display: Coreopsis leavenworthii (Leavenworth’s Tickseed), Stokesia laevis (Stokes’ Aster), Salvia coccinea (Scarlet Sage), and Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly Grass). Together, they provide cheerful flowers through the warmer months, attract pollinators, and finish the season with a spectacular display of rosy grass plumes.
Natural stone edging, a winding sandy path, and a simple cottage give the garden an easygoing Florida character. The planting looks generous without feeling overly formal, with repeated flower colors tying the entire border together.
Main plants used: Coreopsis leavenworthii, Stokesia laevis, Salvia coccinea, and Muhlenbergia capillaris.
The beauty of this garden comes from combining contrasting flower shapes with a carefully timed display. Leavenworth’s Tickseed creates cheerful ribbons of yellow along the path, while Stokes’ Aster introduces broad, lavender-blue daisies that bring a cooler note to the planting.
Scarlet Sage provides a completely different shape. Its slender red flower spikes rise above the lower perennials, attracting hummingbirds and bringing vivid color to the border. Repeating the sage in several groups helps carry the eye through the garden.
Pink Muhly Grass is the finishing touch. For much of the year, its graceful green foliage provides structure without competing with the flowers. Then, in fall, airy pink-purple flower panicles transform the clumps into soft, glowing clouds.
The sandy walkway adds an important visual contrast. It gives the colorful planting room to breathe, while the low stone edging keeps the generous drifts looking intentional rather than untidy.
Create a colorful Florida native border with pollinator-friendly flowers, naturalistic drifts, and spectacular pink ornamental grass in fall.
Approximate visual proportions, not exact plant quantities.
Place Pink Muhly Grass toward the middle and back of the border, leaving enough space for its arching foliage and fall plumes. Repeat Scarlet Sage in groups between the grasses for bright red accents. Use Stokes’ Aster in slightly more moisture-retentive pockets, then weave Leavenworth’s Tickseed along the sunny path edges for a relaxed, flower-filled foreground.
Spring brings the first yellow Tickseed flowers and emerging Scarlet Sage. Summer introduces the lavender-blue blossoms of Stokes’ Aster, while Scarlet Sage continues attracting hummingbirds. In fall, Pink Muhly Grass steals the show with its airy pink plumes, creating a beautiful contrast with lingering flowers and foliage.
| Hardiness |
8 - 9 |
|---|---|
| Exposure | Full Sun |
| Season of Interest | Spring (Late), Summer (Early, Mid, Late), Fall |
| Maintenance | Low |
| Water Needs | Average |
| Soil Type | Loam, Sand |
| Soil pH | Acid, Neutral |
| Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained |
| Characteristics | Cut Flowers, Showy |
| Native Plants | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Southeast, United States |
| Attracts | Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds |
| Landscaping Ideas | Beds And Borders |
| Garden Styles | Butterfly Garden, Informal and Cottage, Pollinator Garden |
| Hardiness |
8 - 9 |
|---|---|
| Exposure | Full Sun |
| Season of Interest | Spring (Late), Summer (Early, Mid, Late), Fall |
| Maintenance | Low |
| Water Needs | Average |
| Soil Type | Loam, Sand |
| Soil pH | Acid, Neutral |
| Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained |
| Characteristics | Cut Flowers, Showy |
| Native Plants | Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Southeast, United States |
| Attracts | Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds |
| Landscaping Ideas | Beds And Borders |
| Garden Styles | Butterfly Garden, Informal and Cottage, Pollinator Garden |
Recreate this garden. Specify the percentages you would like to have of each plant and input the dimensions of your garden space.We'll give you a shopping list so you know how many plants you need.
| Plant | Quantity | |
|---|---|---|
| Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly Grass) | N/A | Buy Plants |
| Salvia coccinea (Scarlet Sage) | N/A | Buy Plants |
| Stokesia laevis (Stokes Aster) | N/A | Buy Plants |
| Coreopsis leavenworthii (Leavenworth's Tickseed) | N/A | Buy Plants |
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Create a membership account to save your garden designs and to view them on any device.
Becoming a contributing member of Gardenia is easy and can be done in just a few minutes. If you provide us with your name, email address and the payment of a modest $25 annual membership fee, you will become a full member, enabling you to design and save up to 25 of your garden design ideas.
Join now and start creating your dream garden!
