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Northeast Wildflowers for Raingardens.
Aquilegia canadensis is a small delicate wildflower known to many of us here in the midwest as Bleeding Heart. It is, however, more commonly called
Red Columbine.
This is a modest little wildflower, just one to two feet high. Bleeding Heart flowers early in the spring until high summer and prefers rocky outcrops.
Asclepias tuberosa
is an encredible orange wildflower also called Pleurisy Root. Butterfly weed grows one to three feet tall and late in the summer. Asclepias tuberosa is great attractor of butterflies and is used by the Monarch larvae as a host plant. This wildflower has been and still is widely used for treating respiratory illnesses as can be assumed by it second common name so always be cautious with your pets around these flowers.
This is a very fragrant, minty wildflower that may be more familiar to you as Bee Balm, Bergamont, or Horsemint. It has brilliant red flowers like cardinal flower. It is a modest three foot tall, a perfect height to complement most gardens. As its name implies it is used to make a fragrant tea, that can help stomach cramps and restlessness. Oswego will attract just about any pollinator.
Ruby-throat.org
recommends this plant as the top ten attracters of Ruby-throated hummingbirds. One word of caution, like many members of the mint family this one can spread quickly and widely. Also known as New York Ironweed, this Northeast wildflower tends to grow in thickets along stream banks. Ironweed is a hardy flower that grows in a variety of conditions so fear not if your garden should get too dry. The purple aster-like flowers are another lover of the butterflies. New York Ironweed grows to a variety of heights, 3 feet all the way to 7, so it may need to be cut back like Joe-Pye to create more of a bush.
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