Transform a sunny slope with pale pink Echinacea pallida, golden Rudbeckia, purple Liatris spicata, Little Bluestem, and Prairie Dropseed. These native flowering perennials and ornamental grasses create a colorful display from early summer into autumn, with graceful seedheads, coppery foliage, and natural movement extending the garden's seasonal beauty.
Imagine a sunny hillside overflowing with elegant pale pink coneflowers, golden-yellow daisies, and vivid purple flower spikes. Fine-textured native grasses weave between the blooms, catching the breeze and softening the planting. Inspired by the beauty of North American prairies, this colorful combination transforms a challenging slope into a naturalistic garden full of movement and life.
Five native species create the display: Echinacea pallida (Pale Purple Coneflower), Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa (Showy Black-Eyed Susan), Liatris spicata (Dense Blazing Star), Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem), and Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed).
Main plants used: Echinacea pallida, Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa, Liatris spicata, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sporobolus heterolepis.
Echinacea pallida brings an unmistakable prairie character with slender, pale pink petals that droop gracefully around prominent coppery-orange cones. Its elegant flowers attract pollinators, while the seedheads provide interest after flowering.
Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa adds cheerful golden-yellow daisies with dark centers. Its abundant summer-to-autumn flowers create bright ribbons that contrast beautifully with the softer coneflowers.
Liatris spicata introduces vivid purple flower spikes that bloom from the top downward. These vertical accents attract bees and butterflies and bring rhythm to the planting.
Two native grasses complete the composition. Schizachyrium scoparium develops upright blue-green foliage that turns coppery red in autumn, while Sporobolus heterolepis forms graceful, fine-textured mounds with airy flowering stems.
Together, the flowering perennials and grasses create a lively contrast of colors, shapes, and textures, with visual interest continuing well beyond summer.
Inspired by this planting? Save the plants below to your Garden Collection, then use our Garden Design Tool to explore seasonal interest and calculate planting quantities for your own garden.
Create a colorful prairie hillside with pink coneflowers, golden daisies, purple Liatris, and graceful native grasses.
Approximate visual proportions, not plant quantities.
Arrange Echinacea and Rudbeckia in overlapping drifts across the hillside. Repeat Liatris in smaller vertical groups, then weave Little Bluestem and Prairie Dropseed between the flowers. Follow the natural contours of the slope rather than planting rigid rows.
Early summer brings pale pink coneflowers, followed by purple Liatris and golden Rudbeckia daisies. The display continues into late summer, while the grasses develop airy seedheads. In autumn, Little Bluestem turns coppery bronze, and both grasses provide winter structure.
| Hardiness |
3 - 8 |
|---|---|
| Climate Zones | 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Exposure | Full Sun |
| Season of Interest | Summer (Early, Mid, Late) |
| Maintenance | Low |
| Water Needs | Low, Average |
| Soil Type | Chalk, Loam |
| Soil pH | Acid, Neutral, Alkaline |
| Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
| Characteristics | Cut Flowers, Showy |
| Tolerances | Drought, Deer, Dry Soil |
| Attracts | Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Birds |
| Landscaping Ideas | Banks And Slopes, Beds And Borders |
| Garden Styles | Butterfly Garden, Informal and Cottage, Pollinator Garden, Prairie and Meadow |
| Hardiness |
3 - 8 |
|---|---|
| Climate Zones | 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Exposure | Full Sun |
| Season of Interest | Summer (Early, Mid, Late) |
| Maintenance | Low |
| Water Needs | Low, Average |
| Soil Type | Chalk, Loam |
| Soil pH | Acid, Neutral, Alkaline |
| Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
| Characteristics | Cut Flowers, Showy |
| Tolerances | Drought, Deer, Dry Soil |
| Attracts | Bees, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Birds |
| Landscaping Ideas | Banks And Slopes, Beds And Borders |
| Garden Styles | Butterfly Garden, Informal and Cottage, Pollinator Garden, Prairie and Meadow |
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Echinacea pallida (Pale Purple Coneflower) | N/A | Buy Plants |
| Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa (Showy Black-Eyed Susan) | N/A | Buy Plants |
| Liatris spicata (Blazing Star) | N/A | Buy Plants |
| Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) | N/A | Buy Plants |
| Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie Dropseed) | N/A | Buy Plants |
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