Native Annuals and Perennials

Choosing native plants is one of the best things you can do for your garden and local wildlife. They’re low-maintenance, naturally resilient, and create a thriving habitat for bees, butterflies, and birds right in your own backyard.

Using Native Plants In Your Garden

North Carolina is home to dozens of native annuals and perennials. From the vibrant blooms of the Eastern Redbud and the hardy beauty of the Coneflower to the lush greenery of Mountain Laurel and the charming charm of the Black-eyed Susan, North Carolina's native plants provide both visual appeal and essential resources for local wildlife.

Great blue lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica, is an herbaceous perennial that is native to eastern North America. It naturally grows in wet or moist habitats such as low fields, woods, stream banks, swamps and ditches.


Great blue lobelia blooms in late summer and into early fall. The flowers have three bottom lobes and two top lobes with the bottom lobes acting as a good landing pad for native bees. The flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds as well.

Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, is a native herbaceous perennial found in the central and eastern parts of North America.

From May to August, butterfly weed produces clustered cymes of yellow to orange blooms that attract a variety of bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

Butterfly weed and other milkweed varieties are the only larval food source for the monarch butterfly. Once-abundant, wild milkweed populations have steadily vanished from landscapes, contributing to a severe decline in monarch populations in the last 20 years.

American bellflower, Campanulastrum americanum is an annual or biennial wildflower native to moist open woods, moist meadows, streambanks and ditches in shady areas. Attractive to hummingbirds, each delicate blossom features a petal tube that elongates with age and a white ring at the throat.

American Bellflower is a lovely addition to a woodland garden where it will self-seed readily, without becoming a nuisance, and keep a charming presence.

Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium fistulosum, is a native herbaceous perennial typically found in the low moist ground of meadows, woods, and fields. It is an erect and clump-forming plant that usually grows to 4 to 7 feet tall. Its great height makes it a dramatic accent in the back of a garden.

In spring the basal ferny leaves appear along with a leafless arching stem bearing a row of fragrant white pantaloon-shaped flowers. It blooms in March and adds early interest to the garden. By summer the plant goes dormant.

Eastern Solomon's Plume, Maianthemum racemosum, is a perennial wildflower native to the piedmont, mountains, and coastal plain of North Carolina. In nature, it can be found growing in deciduous forests throughout the region as it prefers moist, well-drained, humus-rich soils. It does not do well during hot, humid summers in the southern states.

Tiny, fragrant, creamy white flowers appear at the stem ends in plumes in spring after the foliage dies down to the ground each fall.

Obedient plant, Physostegia virginiana, is an herbaceous perennial that is native to eastern and central North America. It is naturally found growing along river banks and riparian areas or in wet prairies, thickets, and swamps.

Hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies are some of the pollinators that are attracted to the plant's flowers, which bloom from late summer and into the fall.

Obedient plant is named as such because its flowers can be pushed into different positions and will stay where placed.

Stokes' aster, Stokesia laevis, is an herbaceous perennial that is native to the southeastern part of the United States. It's naturally found in pine savannas, coastal plains, and open woodlands from North Carolina down to Florida.

Stokes' aster can bloom as early as May and continues well into the summer. To prolong the flowering period, deadhead by removing spent flowers from the stem. The blooms are typically blue, purple or white in color. Since it is an aster, the flowers consist of a ray and disc flower structure with feathery disc flowers surrounded by notched ray flowers. Stokes' aster is a great nectar source for pollinators such as butterflies and bees.

Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis, is a multi-stemmed shrub native to the Eastern U.S. that can be naturally found growing in swampy areas, along ponds or streams, and in prairie swales. It can be planted in both full sun or in partial shade conditions and can reach a height of 5 to 8 feet tall. It has a long bloom time as it begins to bloom in June and continues until August.


Although the leaves do not have a very prominent fall color, the seed heads turn a vibrant red in early autumn and make a striking appearance in the garden. In the winter, the seeds of button bush are eaten by songbirds, ducks, as well as other waterfowl and shorebirds.

Foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia, is a herbaceous perennial that is native to the eastern half of North America. It can be found in moist forests and along stream banks.

In early spring, spiked inflorescences form right above the large, dark green and heart-shaped leaves of the plant. The flowers range from cream colored to light pink and will attract bees, butterflies and other insect pollinators.

Small, black fruits develop in early summer that can be dried and used for propagation. It is moderately deer resistant and provides excellent cover for frogs, lizards and other small wildlife.