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| Photo Credit: Lane Greer |
| You can depend on a burst of summer color from the spikes of cardinal flower. |
Long days, fireflies and thunderstorms – summer’s here! And along with summer comes some patriotic holidays: Memorial Day, Flag Day, and the 4th of July. Let their tunes and festivities serve as an inspiration in the garden! “Ev’ry heart beats true ’neath the Red, White and Blue.” I’ve picked three favorite summer-blooming native perennials whose red, white and blue flowers will have you humming the tune of “You’re a Grand Old Flag” in the garden!
Red: Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Height: 3-5 feet
Spread: 2 feet
Zones: 3-9
Blooms: July-October In the heat of summer, the vivid red spikes of cardinal flower bring a rocket of color to the garden. This wildflower is native to the eastern US, from southeastern Canada south to Florida and west to eastern Texas and Minnesota. The brilliant-red tubular flowers are found in a spiked cluster 2-4 feet tall. Cardinal flower likes wet to moist soil (often found in the wild near streams) and grows in shade to full sun. Not only is this native beautiful to look at, it’s useful, too: The plant is a nectar source for hummingbirds, its chief pollinators. White: Yucca/Adam’s needle (Yucca filamentosa)
Height: 2-10 feet
Spread: 3 feet
Zones: 4-9
Blooms: June-September | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Lane Greer | | The large, white flower spike of the yucca is an eye-pleaser, but the filament-covered leaves also add a great textural element to the garden. |
Yes, there is a yucca native to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic! Yucca filamentosa, also known as Adam’s needle, bear-grass, Spanish-dagger and more, adds summer interest to the garden with its 2- to 10-foot flower stalk, displaying large, white, bell-shaped blooms. Found in the wild on sandy beaches, dunes and old fields, yucca is an evergreen plant with spike-shaped, evergreen leaves. It likes full sun and well-drained soil. The plant is also useful: Native Americans used it many different ways, including for food, medicine, cordage and soap. It’s also used as a nectar source for hummingbirds and its main pollinator – small, white Yucca moths.
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| Warnings |
- There are fines for removing plants from state and federal parks, as well as fines for disturbing or removing protected plants from any land that’s not your own! In other words: Get your native plants from a reliable source.
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| Definitions |
- Native: A plant that was already growing on this continent prior to European settlement.
- Naturalized: A non-native plant that can now be found growing wild in native plant communities.
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| Resources |
- The North Carolina Botanical Garden has a great list of native plant sources.
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