Native Plants at Home - The Side of the House

On Monday, I posted photos of the flower beds in the front of our house.  Today I want to share some images from the south side of our house.  Two-thirds of this space is sunny throughout the day.  The other (western) third of is shaded by a large Honey Locust Tree.  This side of the house faces a side street, so it is highly visible to the public.  We have observed many people stopping along the sidewalk to admire the flowers and have had frequent positive comments from pedestrians and drivers who have stopped while we were working in the garden.

There are some advantages and disadvantages inherent with growing native plants in this location.  One advantage is that this area warms up earlier in the spring and stays warmer in the fall because of the southern exposure and the reflected heat from the house.  A disadvantage is that the area dries out really fast and even drought tolerant plants will sometimes look wilted.  I don't generally advocate watering native plants, but I will on occasion turn a sprinkler on this area during really hot and dry time periods.

Here are three photos, starting with the third closest to the rear of the house (the west) and moving toward the front (east) of the house.  Right now there isn't much blooming.  This garden really shines in the late summer and fall when the majority of prairie/grassland plants come into bloom.

Here are the same photos with some plants labeled.  Other flowers that are not visible or labeled include Swamp Milkweed, White Avens, Missouri Ironweed, and Ohio Goldenrod.