(Isopyrum thalictroides)
Native Alternatives:
EASTERN FALSE RUE ANEMONE. Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae). Genus: Enemion, Isopyrum (E. biternatum). Height: 1 foot. Ornamental Attributes: Blooms April to May. Creates “large drifts of pretty little white flowers with miniature columbine-like leaves. . . . Striking when planted with Virginia Bluebells;”53 RUE ANEMONE. Genus: Thalictrum (T. thalictroides). Height: 4–8 inches. Ornamental Attributes: An entire month of clusters of cup-shaped pale pink and white anemone-like flowers March to May. Cultivation: Light/heavy shade. Well-drained soil. Nature Note: Rue anemones’ pollen primarily attracts small bees and beneficial flies.
BLOODROOT, p. 28. Also see native alternatives to CROCUS, p. 27.
Eastern false rue anemone (Isopyrum biternatum)
Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)
Nonnative:
FLOWERING ONION, ORNAMENTAL ONION. Family: Lily (Liliaceae). Genus: Allium. Origin: Asia, Europe, North Africa. Height: 8 inches to 6 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Late spring to early summer purple, white, pink or yellow dome shaped flowers on leafless stems. Cultivation: Sun. Well-drained soil.
Ornamental onions
Native Alternatives:
MEADOW GARLIC, WILD GARLIC, WILD ONION. Family: Lily (Liliaceae). Genus: Allium (A. canadense). Height: 1–3 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Clusters of pink, lavender, or white flowers on leafless stems May to July. Clusters of tiny black seeds in fall. Massed plantings create stunning effects. Cultivation: Sun. Dry, medium, or wet soil. Nature Note: Attracts bees and flower flies.
More Native Alternatives:
See section beginning with NODDING PINK ONION, Summer, p. 154. Also: GOLDEN ALEXANDERS, p. 33; MILKWEED, pp. 70, 109, 144, 156–57, 171; PURPLESTEM ANGELICA, p. 34.
Meadow garlic (Allium canadense)
Nonnative:
FORGET-ME-NOT, TRUE FORGET-ME-NOT. Family: Borage (Boraginaceae). Genus: Myosotis (M. scorpioides). There are many species. Origin: Europe, Asia. Height: 6–8 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Yellow-eyed blue flowers. Cultivation: Sun. Moist or wet soil. Invasiveness Note: Naturalized or invasive throughout the Midwest.
Forget-me-nots (Myosotis scorpioides)
Native Alternatives:
NARROWLEAF BLUE-EYED GRASS. Family: Iris (Iridaceae). Genus: Sisyrinchium (S. angustifolium). Cultivation: Average garden soil; PRAIRIE BLUE-EYED GRASS (S. campestre). Dry soil. There are many species. Height: 4–12 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Deep blue flowers with a yellow eye from May to July and beyond can turn a prairie landscape “into a sea of blue.”54 Ephemeral grasslike foliage. Cultivation: Sun. Tolerate light shade; WHITE BLUE-EYED GRASS (S. albidum). Note: Some species of blue-eyed grass are endangered or threatened in parts of the Midwest. Nature Note: Blue-eyed grass is pollinated by nectar- and pollenseeking bees and flower flies. The flowers of this genus “close up overnight and on rainy days, presumably when their pollinator stays home.”55
White blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium albidum)
More Native Alternatives:
ANEMONE, p. 11; BLUETS, p. 32; RUE ANEMONE, p. 42; SPRING BEAUTY, p. 65; WILD COMFREY, p. 27.
Nonnative:
FOXGLOVE, PURPLE FOXGLOVE, COMMON FOXGLOVE. Family: Snapdragon/Figwort (Scrophulariaceae). Genus: Digitalis (D. purpurea). There are cultivars and hybrids and other species. Origin: Europe, Central Asia. Height: 2–4 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Cup-shaped biennial cream or purple flowers. Cultivation: Partial shade. Rich moist soil. Semi-sheltered location; GRECIAN FOXGLOVE (D. lanata). Origin: Europe. Height: 4–5 feet. Invasiveness Note: These and other nonnative foxgloves are naturalized or invasive in parts of the Midwest.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Native Alternatives:
LARGE BEARDTONGUE, LARGE FLOWERED BEARDTONGUE. Family: Snapdragon/Figwort (Scrophulariaceae). Genus: Penstemon (P. grandiflorus). Height: 2 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Showy profusion of large (almost 2 inches) showy pink/lavender long-blooming (about 4 weeks) spikes of flowers May to July. Bluish-green leaves clasp pale waxy stems. Cultivation: Sun. Dry soil; PALE BEARDTONGUE (P. pallidus). Height: 1 foot. Ornamental Attributes: Purple-lined one-inch white or cream flowers; SHOWY BEARDTONGUE (P. cobea). Height: 2 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Large (2-inch) purple flowers; TUBE PENSTEMON, WHITE WAND PENSTEMON (P. tubaeflorus). Height: 3 feet. Ornamental Attributes: White flowers. Also see Summer: BEARDTONGUE, p. 181; PURPLE FALSE FOXGLOVE and other native snapdragons, p. 121. Penstemon Cultivation: Requirements vary per species. Note: Some of these Penstemon species are endangered or extirpated in parts of the Midwest. Nature Note: The Xerces Society recommends Penstemon species as nectar plants for adult butterflies. Hummingbirds seek the small insects the flowers attract plus the nectar, as do sphinx moths and long-tongued bees, including honeybees. Penstemon hosts
