Garden Spaces: Plans for a Native Strip Garden

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• Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). Black-eyed Susans are one of our most beloved wildflowers. They’ll show their sunny faces reliably throughout the summer and reach 2½ to 3 feet. There are both annual and perennial forms of this flower.

• Dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides). Compact fountain grasses include ‘Hamelin’ and ‘Little Bunny’ and the taller ‘Moudry’ (about 3 feet), with brown-black flowers. Cut these back to about 8 inches in late winter or early spring.

• Evening primrose (Oenothera missouriensis). Be sure to choose this low-growing evening primrose, also called Ozark Sundrops (as some others in the genus get tall and rangy and are very aggressive). This perennial with cheerful yellow flowers usually grows less than a foot tall.

• Flax (Linum usitatissimum). This carefree herb, which grows to about 20 inches and comes in both annual and perennial forms, adds its pretty blue flowers to the summer garden.

• Little bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium). This grass has attractive blue-green leaves and fluffy white seed heads in the fall; it grows to about 3 feet.

• Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima). Also called wire grass, this perennial has a soft, elegant look and is hardy to about Zone 7. It grows 1 to 1½ feet and seems to dance in the wind. Remove unwanted seedlings in spring; the seeds tend to spread around.

• Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). These daisy-like flowers on 2-foot perennial plants are now available in hybrids and varieties that intensify the colors.

• Ruby grass (Melinis nerviglumis). Annual ruby grass, including the lovely ‘Pink Crystals’, is named for the tint of its fluffy seed heads. Stays under 2 feet or so.

• Sage (Salvia spp.). Beyond the common garden sage (S. officinalis), and its multi-colored varieties, there are many other garden-worthy salvia species and hybrids. These include tropical salvia (S. coccinea, an annual or short-lived perennial, including the dwarf ‘Lady in Red’), the perennial S. greggii in its many forms, and hybrids such as ‘Indigo Spires’ and ‘Mystic Spires’, with intense blue-purple spikes of flowers through the summer. Shear the plants back in midsummer and late winter to keep them tidy. All are about knee-high.

• Violet (Viola missouriensis). For shady areas under trees, try this carefree perennial, a ready reseeder. It grows to about 6 inches.

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