Use this page to explore the types of plants growing in the meadow garden at 12247 N. Lipan Ct. in Westminster, Colorado, which went under construction in Spring 2020.
Meadow Garden
Foliage plants
Prairie sage, Artemesia ludoviciana
Attributes: A graceful, silver-leafed spreading perennial that adds a sharp color contrast in a garden. A native grassland plant, prairie sage spreads freely but does not out-compete larger perennials, making it a useful companion plant in a meadow garden that fills gaps and discourages weeds but is easy to control. It can spread by up to a foot per year but mostly sticks to gaps between other plants. It can survive without supplemental irrigation, even in very dry climates, but grows more densely with irrigation.
Source: Collected wild on the Colorado foothills on private property with permission from the owner
Artemesia ‘Silver Mound,’ Artemesia schmidtiana
Attributes: Silver Mound Artemesia is a popular spreading filler plant with silky-soft foliage and deeply fringed, furry silver leaves. After becoming established in its first year, it begins to creep outward on trailing stems that root into the surface of the soil, forming a dense mat. It can spread a foot in diameter per year. It needs full sun and has similar drought tolerance to native Artemesias, but Artemesia schmidtiana is native to Japan and has been selectively bred into the popular commercial form. It rarely if ever goes to seed.
Source: Widely available in garden centers
Lamb’s ear, Stachys byzantium
Attributes: A fast-growing, robust groundcover with furry silver leaves. Stems root where they contact soil and plants can reseed freely. Tolerant of full sun to full shade and any soil type. Blooms mid-summer with light purple flowers, but is often grown as a foliage plant for a color and texture contrast. It is an ideal fill plant for new gardens since its fast growth covers ground quickly as other perennials mature. It can spread aggressively, but does not return when pulled. When grown among other plants, the population will naturally reduce where other plants fill in.
Source: Widely available in garden centers in both blooming and non-blooming cultivars
Variegated maiden grass, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’
Attributes: A large, well-defined clump-forming grass with sturdy stems and broad, creased blades. Breaks dormancy in May and grows up to 3 feet tall by the end of the summer. Originates in East Asia but is moderately drought tolerant nonetheless. Lose clumps spread outward in all directions by about 6 inches per year unless constrained by pavement or other plants. Produces attractive seedheads in August but does not reseed aggressively. A deep rooted plant, it can survive happily through moderate dry spells but prefers occasional deep watering in Colorado.
Source: Widely available in garden centers
Little bluestem grass, Shizachyrium scoparium
Attributes: Native across the entire U.S. except for Nevada and the West Coast, little bluestem is a hardy and drought-tolerant bunchgrass that forms a dense clump. It breaks dormancy in May or June and produces turquoise or blue tinted leaves and stems. Seedheads appear in late summer and stems turn bronze in cold weather. Although it is a Colorado native species, it tends to appear more frequently near natural streams in the Front Range and does better in the garden with occasional deep watering. In Eastern Colorado and in places with moderate precipitation it is a dominant grass species.
Source: Seed collected in fall from a local colony growing in Westminster open space. The population probably came from grass seed mixes municipalities apply for erosion control when land is re-graded by nearby construction. Widely available in garden centers.
Indiangrass, Sorghastum nutans
Attributes: Common in tallgrass prairies across the great plains and Midwest, Indiangrass is a tall, long-lived grass that forms dense clumps and produces showy 6-foot yellow seedheads in late summer. Clumps remain very compact.
Indiangrass covers broad areas in states that receive more precipitation, but in this region it tends to grow wild within 50 feet of streams and lakes rather than dry fields. It thrives in the garden with sporadic, deep irrigation.
In undisturbed, non-compacted prairie soils that have never been cultivated, indiangrass roots have measured growing as deep as 25 feet! However, cultivation, construction or tilling changes soil making it harder for plants to root deeply. In compacted clay soil near developed neighborhoods, 2-5 feet of root depth is more realistic. As deep roots periodically turn over (a portion of the roots die each year as new ones grow), Indiangrass is a useful species for taking carbon from the atmosphere and building up organic material in soil, which helps improve soil at a deep level to benefit other plants by helping them root more deeply as well.
Source: Seed collected from a local colony growing in Westminster open space, the population probably came from grass seed mixes municipalities apply for erosion control when land is re-graded by nearby construction. Widely available in garden centers.
Feather reed grass, Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerester’
Attributes: A cool-season bunch grass, feather reed grass greens up early in the season and produces amber seedheads in early summer. It is grown for texture and structure, with sturdy, highly-vertical stems that reach 3 to 4 feet tall. It is more shade tolerant than other ornamental grasses. Seedheads are usually left in place after they dry for texture and movement in late summer and fall. It tolerates drought, but needs some irrigation on the Front Range to avoid early dormancy. Because part of its ornamental value comes from dead stems, it remains attractive even when unirrigated.
Source: Widely available in garden centers
Flowering plants
Early spring, March-April:
Waterlily tulip, Tulipa kaufmanniana
Attributes: Kaufmanniana tulips are some of the first tulips to emerge in spring, on short, sturdy stems leading to remarkably large, multicolored flowers with a variety of color options. In cloudy weather or at night they close into long, thin teardrops that are usually more deeply pigmented on the outside. Waterlily tulips, nicknamed because their flowers resemble waterlilies, are highly resistant to deep freezes and survive happily under snow, although unseansonable hot weather in early spring will shorten their blooming season. Among tulips they are among the better perennializers, multiplying prolifically in place. They are usually beginning to fade by the time other tulips open. They typically do not need to be irrigated because soil is still wet with snowmelt when they grow, and there are few other plants and trees in leaf to compete for moisture.
Greigii tulips
Greigii tulips are a class of tulips that typically bloom earlier than others, and are remarkable for the lacy crimson patterns on the leaves. Ours are often grazed heavily by rabbits, which can delay their blooms but they typically survive. Because they are strong perenializers, they can usually overcome the challenge.
Tulipa fosteriana ‘Yellow emperor’
Attributes: Fosteriana tulips bloom after Kaufmaniana tulips and slightly before Darwin tulips. Like Kaufmaniana tulips they are also strong perenializers. They have large, showy flowers and go dormant before hot weather occurs, so they need little to no supplemental irrigation.
Source: Available in some garden centers and catalogs as fall-planted bulbs
Tulipa fosteriana ‘Purissima blonde’
Attributes: Has unique variegated leaves
Source: Available in some garden centers and catalogs as fall-planted bulbs
Mid spring, April to early May:
Darwin tulip ‘Van Eijk’
Attributes: Darwin tulips have large flowers and perennialize well, gradually multiplying into clusters. They do not spread by seed. Thriving off of melting snow in cool spring temperatures, they do not need much supplemental irrigation here because they go dormant before hot weather.
Source: Widely available as bulbs in garden centers and catalogs
Darwin tulip ‘Apricot Impression‘
Attributes: Somewhere on the threshold between pinks and oranges, they go well with a wide range of other plants. Like other Darwin tulips, they perennialize.
Source: Widely available as bulbs in garden centers and catalogs for fall planting
Species tulip Tulipa tarda
Attributes: A short, stemless species tulip producing a small rosette of leaves and cluster of 3-inch flowers from each bulb. Like many species tulips, Tarda multiplies freely and can also spread by seed. Seedlings grow large enough to bloom in their third year. Originating on the dry plateaus of central Asia, the native climate is very similar to Colorado and they do not need supplemental irrigation when planted among rocks or near paths that collect runoff.
Source: Denver botanic gardens fall bulb sale, available in some bulb catalogs as well
Species tulip Tulipa praetans ‘shogun’
Attributes: A mid-height, single-stemmed tulip that blooms alongside showy Darwin tulips with a cluster of medium-sized flowers at the top of each stem. Multiplies to form clusters. Needs little to no supplemental irrigation. Native to central Asia in climates similar to Colorado’s high plains.
Source: Bulb catalog
Single late tulips
Attributes: Single late tulips are the most popular class of tulips for planting in public gardens in very dense, spectacular mass-plantings. They have been in cultivation for centuries, and are available in the widest array of colors and shades, including multicolored patterns and streaks and deep purple, almost black petals. However, in most garden settings they do not return reliably year to year, dwindling after the second or third year. Spacing the tulips farther apart reduces the competition for light and nutrients so it can help them return, but usually isn’t enough to get them through more than a couple seasons. For public gardens this is no problem; they are grown as annuals, then pulled out and discarded when they’re done, to be replaced by annuals. We’ve found a few varieties that return a little better than others, and they extend the season and tolerate heat, which tends to make the Fosteriana and Darwin tulips wither early. So we sometimes scatter them around here and there.
Source: Widely available from garden centers and catalogs as fall-planted bulbs
Late spring to early summer, May-June
Allium aflatunense ‘Purple sensation’
The genus Allium includes onions, garlic, leeks and chives, but many species are purely ornamental. All alliums are technically edible but Purple sensation has no onion taste or smell and has no culinary value. Purple sensation is one of the most popular and common ornamental cultivars, with long-lived globes of purple flowers. It is native to central Asia and grows in Colorado with little to no supplemental irrigation. Bulbs multiply in place and also reproduce by seed. Leaves emerge in March, then die as the flowers begin to bloom.
Source: Widely available in garden centers and catalogs as fall-planted bulbs
Late spring to early summer, May-June
Camassia
Attributes: Native to meadows and valleys in the Pacific Northwest, Camassia is related to Agave and Yucca, but grows from a bulb. It enjoys the cool, wet, mild spring but goes dormant before the rains clear up in summer, which is the typical climate pattern in Oregon and Washington. In Colorado’s Front Range it will reliably return year to year, but if weather is too hot in spring the blooms will open and fade in a short time. It performs better in a partially sheltered spot and where it can enjoy a bit of runoff moisture from gutters and pavement that are tilted in its direction.
Source: Available in some garden centers and catalogs as fall-planted bulbs
Bearded iris, Iris germanica
Attributes: Iris germanica is native to dry regions in the Mediterranean, but was hybridized and popularized in Germany centuries ago. There are now more than 25,000 named cultivars, many passed down as heirlooms and traded by gardeners so they can be very difficult to identify. Despite being cultivated in rainier Northern European climates, it retains its drought-tolerant nature. In rainier regions it is susceptible to fungal disease so leaves are often cut back after they bloom, but that isn’t necessary in Colorado. It adapts well to many soil types and needs little to no supplemental irrigation in Colorado. Clusters of bearded iris can still be found surviving and expanding through the decades around abandoned gardens and farmhouses on the Front Range with no human assistance. Although it is completely xeric, bearded iris will grow more vigorously with occasional water and by being divided every 3-4 years.
Source: Family heirlooms and trading, bearded iris is widely available in garden centers as well. When purchasing as packaged rhizomes in department stores, be sure to check that rhizomes are still alive.
Blue indigo, Baptisia australis
Attributes: A large, robust perennial with waxy compound leaves that forms a mounding vase shape on tall stems. The shape and growth habit of Baptisia is reminiscent of a clump of peonies. Tall spikes of showy pea-like flowers in late Spring. Baptisia comes in a variety of colors and different cultivars attain different heights, but most are big and very long-lived. They take 2-3 years to become fully established, and can reach heights of 3 to 4 feet and expand outward by a few inches per year to eventually reach several feet in diameter. They are extremely deep-rooted, and fix nitrogen with symbiotic bacteria in their roots, sharing it with other plants when the leaves fall and decay. Native to the central Great Plains where they grow among tall grass, they’re able to gradually shove other plants aside. They thrive in heat and can easily withstand a drought, though they grow better in Colorado with occasional irrigation.
Source: Available at garden centers
Siberian iris, Iris sibirica
Attributes: Iris sibirica is a tall, thin cousin of bearded iris, a little less tolerant of drought, a little slower to multiply, but much more tolerant of standing water. In fact, some gardeners use it as a semi-or aquatic plant on the edges of ponds or even submerged in shallow water. It grows more aggressively when wet, but can survive in dry or occasionally-irrigated soils, especially if soils are made of water-retaining clay amended or top-dressed with a bit of compost. Siberian iris blooms at the tail end of the bearded iris blooming season, and may go to seed in the garden.
Source: Available in garden centers
Salvia ‘May night,’ field sage, Salvia sylvestris
Attributes: Salvia sylvestris hybrids, known shorthand as “salvias,” are popular in Colorado waterwise gardens with an increasing number of colorful cultivars. Each plant grows into a small, dense clump with a deep taproot or central cluster of roots, so they are drought-tolerant in clay soil, but can wilt in dry spells without occasional deep watering. “May night” is a particularly vigorous and drought-tolerant cultivar. In spring spring the cluster erupts from a small area into to a 2 to 3 foot diameter globe with dozens to hundreds of upright spikes containing thousands of individual flowers. They are frequented by pollinators. Native to west-central Asia, field sage thrives in dense clay and the powerful roots can help break up clay to improve the permeability. Reseeds freely.
Source: Widely available in garden centers
Sedum kamtschiaticum
Attributes: Like cacti, orchids and bromeliads, sedums employ an advanced form of photosynthesis, opening pores in their leaves at night to absorb carbon dioxide, storing it, then closing their pores during the heat of the day. This dramatically reduces their need for water. For this reason, hardy sedums are a favorite plant for green roofs and rock gardens with thin soil that often dries quickly. They also propagate incredibly easily: cuttings can be stuck in the ground at any time of year and will stay alive until they are able to root.
Sedum kamtschiaticum has an oblong, serrate, succulent leaf and forms a cluster of stems emerging from a central point with a thin taproot, producing an attractive mound of leaves and flowers about a foot across and 4 inches high. Where stems contact soil they will root and develop additional growth centers. The roots only penetrate a few inches and are not aggressive, so sedums make nice low-growing groundcovers that don’t out-compete other garden plants. However, they will prevent seedlings from becoming established and therefore reduce weeds. Sedum kamtschiaticum blooms in early summer with bright yellow flowers, and makes an ideal border plant framing paths and walkways.
Source: Widely available in garden centers
Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Penstemon strictus
Attributes: Penstemon strictus is native to the Rocky Mountain West in dry clearings or slopes growing in short grass. Extremely hardy and drought-tolerant, it forms a 3-inch mat of purple-green evergreen leaves and stems that hug the ground through winter. In spring, the leaves turn bright green and the plants erupt into a cluster of long, vertical, 30-inch blue-purple flower spikes in June. It is very long lived and easy to propagate by division. Most penstemons resent clay soil or crowding by other plants and can be killed by too much irrigation—in the wild you typically find penstemons growing in patches of bare sandy soil or rocks away from other plants. But Penstemon strictus is one of the most tolerant of a typical garden setting, as it often grows among Ponderosa pines and sagebrush in areas that are naturally covered in 6 to 12 inch blue grama grass. It is a magnet for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
Source: Seasonally available in garden centers
Foxtail lily, Eremurus
Attributes: Eremurus, or foxtail lily, is an exotic, very showy plant that has been promoted heavily at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It comes from the same family as Agave and Yucca, although its growth habit is more like that of a bulb. In winter it is completely dormant, then in spring a highly-symmetrical spray of soft 18-inch leaves emerges from the crown. Tall, impressive flower spikes shoot up in June.
It is native to the high steppes of Central Asia (similar to the climate in Colorado) and is a relatively drought-tolerant plant, although it likes a cool wet spring. It emerges from a bizarre-looking tuber that resembles a starfish spread flat just under the soil surface. It resents being waterlogged and is best planted in a small mound of soil (4 inches high is sufficient) to prevent ice forming around the crown in winter, unless the garden bed is already mounded or sloped. New plants sometimes wait until their second growing season to bloom, but the plant will eventually form a cluster with several flower stalks.
Source: Plant catalogs or specialty garden centers. Caution: This must be planted in fall, although some vendors try to sell bare-rooted plants in spring, which results in a low survival rate.
Summer: July, August
Fernleaf yarrow, Achillea filipendulina
Achillea filipendulina, or fernleaf yarrow, is a large, clump-forming type of yarrow native to Eurasia that grows 2 to 6 feet tall depending on the cultivar and produces large, long-lasting umbels of yellow flowers. It does not spread underground like its popular relative, Achillea millefolium, but clumps will slowly enlarge by a few inches in diameter per year and plants will reseed. It is very drought tolerant and clay tolerant, and if it is watered often some of the taller varieties will grow too tall and flop over. It likes full, intense sun to avoid flopping. It begins blooming in early to mid summer and continues producing flowers until frost. Native birds, particularly finches, like to stand on the dead flower stalks and pick at the seeds through winter.
Source: Seasonably available in garden centers. Check the tag for the cultivar’s height and growth habit; plants get much bigger in the ground than they do in containers.
Clustered bellflower, Campanula glomerata
Attributes: Clustered bellflower is a very-showy tall spreading groundcover with 18 inch stems and dense clusters of bright purple flowers from June to August. A vigorous spreader, it can overwhelm other plants over time unless they are tall and vigorous enough to hold their own. Otherwise, it is best planted in a confined area surrounded by sidewalks or other barriers. However, unlike its invasive cousin creeping bellflower, Campanula rapunculoides, it does not reseed aggressively or spread into lawns and natural areas. It is tolerant of drought, but not xeric, and will wilt in hot dry weather without supplemental irrigation. It blooms best in full sun, but can grow in shade.
Source: Ours is an heirloom shared by family members for many years. It is occasionally available in garden centers.
Yarrow ‘Vintage violet,’ Achillea milefolium
Attributes: A compact, long-blooming yarrow that produces pinkish purple flowers on 14 inch stems and spreads at a moderate rate, about 6 inches per year in all directions. It is heavily grazed by rabbits in our garden. Achillea milefolium is native across the Northern Hemisphere in an extremely broad range of climates and soil types, from sea level to well above the tree line, and from Southern California to the arctic. Different conditions may change the growth habit. Where yarrow grows native on the dry plains without any irrigation, it is a low, sparsely-flowering groundcover waiting for a rainy year to take off and bloom intensely and set seed. In the High Rockies, it blooms more reliably and is one of the most common wildflowers blooming in late summer. This cultivar is bred to be more lush than the wild type and is moderately tolerant of shade.
Source: Yarrow cultivars are widely available in garden centers. Read the tag description to assess individual traits.
Yarrow ‘Desert eve,’ Achillea milefolium
Attributes: A shorter, yellow-flowered cultivar of Achillea milefolium growing about a foot tall, Desert Eve spreads slowly (four inches per year in all directions) and is more drought-tolerant than other garden yarrows and less tolerant of shade. Finely-textured leaves have a slight, blue/white glaucous coating, indicative of sun-intensive plants. In shade it will languish and may die completely. It blooms continuously from June to frost.
Source: Yarrow cultivars are widely available in garden centers. Read the tag description
Yarrow ‘Firefly Peach Sky,’ Achillea millefolium
Attributes: Firefly peach sky is a tall, highly vertical yarrow hybrid with stiff 25 to 30 inch stems and peach-apricot flowers that fade to yellow as they age. It blooms mid-summer and can last through fall. Like other yarrows it is very drought tolerant. Clumps spread on underground stems at a moderate pace, expanding 4-6 inches per year in all directions. Ours is heavily grazed by rabbits.
Source: Available in garden centers
Daylily Stella d’oro, Hemerocalis hybrid
Attributes: A miniature daylily growing to about 1 foot tall, Stella d’oro multiplies quickly into dense clusters of plants that resemble tufts of grass and bloom from June to frost, with a peak blooming season in July. They tolerate a range of conditions but perform best with full sun and moderate water, and are great as a border plant. Clusters expand by no more than 1 inch in all directions per year at the base, and are easy to divide and spread around.
Source: Widely available in garden centers
Butterfly weed/Butterfly flower, Asclepias tuberosa
Attributes: A striking, brilliant plant with electric orange flowers that is native to North America from the East coast through Arizona. It grows slowly in the first year as it develops a long taproot that can find water reserves deep in soil, and can take off when established, forming a 2 by 2 foot mound that is very long-lived if sited properly. A type of milkweed, it is a host to monarch butterfly caterpillars and a great source of nectar for pollinators.
Like other milkweeds, Asclepias tuberosa does not emerge in the spring until the soil heats up, so won’t sprout until May or June. Some gardeners trying this plant for the first time worry their plants are dead in spring, but when it begins growing summer, it can progress very quickly. This makes it a good companion for spring bulbs or other early-spring plants. After blooming, it forms cottony seeds that can form seedlings around the garden the next summer. It can survive with no supplemental irrigation but prefers occasional deep watering. It does not like to be waterlogged and is very difficult to transplant because of its deep roots with few root branches.
Source: Available in some garden centers
Drumstick allium, Allium sphaerocephalon
Drumstick allium is another popular ornamental onion species that produces only the mildest onion scent when leaves are crushed. Growing from small fall-planted bulbs about a half inch in diameter, it sprouts in early spring and produces sparse, lanky foliage no thicker than a blade of grass. During the spring it gradually develops a stem and produces a single, egg-shaped compound blossom containing hundreds of small bright purple flowers that open in July. On a barely-visible stem, the 2 to 3 foot flower clusters seem to hover magically above the summer garden. After the first year, they will begin to multiply, both by divisions and from seed. Plants go dormant immediately after flowering.
Source: Bulb catalogs in fall
Sea holly, Eryngium
Attributes: Grown for its texture and color, Eryngium is a large genus with species around the world that have been hybridized for ornamental use. “Flowers” are actually composed of bracts, or blue to purple floral leaves that are colorful like petals, with tiny flowers clustered in cones just above them. As is typical of bracts, they last a longer time than most flowers do. The bracts and flowers are very prickly but the lower leaves are large and waxy with fewer prickles around the edges. They grow as low groundcovers through spring until the flower stems begin to shoot up in June and bloom in July. Growing from deep, fleshy roots, they are drought-tolerant and perform well in hot weather and clay soil. They spread moderately underground. Height varies by cultivar.
Source: Available in garden centers
Korean mint, Agastache rugosa
Attributes: A tall and deeply rooted plant, Agastache rugosa has highly aromatic leaves and forms a tall, narrow pillar of many stems with extremely long-lasting, furry lavender flower spikes. It grows up to 40 inches tall but the cluster stays narrow, so it’s a good backdrop for color and texture among more delicate plants. Blooming begins in the heat of the summer and continues through frost. It produces large amounts of nectar. It is more tolerant of water than other Agastache, and prefers some irrigation, though can grow happily through long dry spells.
Source: Available in some garden centers
Daylily ‘Surprisingly Pink,’ Hemerocallis
Attributes: When I planned the meadow garden, I was hoping to stay away from pink flowers in summer—we have enough of that in other places in the yard, including lots of fuschia Delosperma just across the path. I like the combination of blues, purples, yellows and oranges with the silver leaves of lamb’s ear and Artemesia. However, there were some daylilies in this garden along with Russian Sage when we bought the house. I let them stay the first year and liked the way they blended with the other colors—the daylilies are pink but not obnoxiously pink, so they got to stay.
The showier daylily hybrids seem to multiply much more slowly than some of the old-fashioned cultivars and the plain yellow kinds. These must have been here for quite a while. They thrive on moderate moisture, so locating them towards the edges of the garden beds helps them benefit from runoff from the paths and face less competition from the aggressive roots of the larger plants.
I’m not 100 percent sure I identified the cultivar correctly but it looks pretty close.
Source: These were here when we bought the house. Daylilies of all kinds are widely available from catalogs and garden centers.
Orienpet lily ‘Altari,’ Lillium hybrid
Attributes: There are a lot of flowers that are referred to as “lilies” in their common name, but the true genus, Lillium, is limited to a much shorter list of species and hybrids that are identifiable as having the same basic growth habit. They grow from bulbs composed of open layers of scales (resembling a lotus blossom or one of those “Blooming onions” at Applebees) and each bulb grows into a single, vertical stem with a cluster of flowers at the top. In other words, “daylilies” (from the family Asphelodaceae), “peace lilies” (from the family Araceae), “Lily of the valley” (from the family Asparagaceae) and so forth are not true lilies.
True lilies are native to woodland climates around the world, although they’ve been extensively cultivated. In general, they are extremely showy garden plants that like climates with abundant moisture and rich, fertile soil. Those conditions are easy to replicate in gardens but are sometimes challenging in the lower elevations of Colorado if you don’t want to water a lot.
Of the various lilies, Orienpets are one of the grandest: a hybrid between oriental lilies and trumpet lilies, they grow extremely large, taking a few years to get established and reach their full size. Initially I was planning this as a more heavily irrigated garden, but when I realized how many plants I wanted to put in it and how much water they will take, we went in a different direction. So there’s one corner of the garden that gets a little bit more water than the rest. In any case, they do get started when temperatures are cool and these are robust enough to develop some deep roots that can pull them through the hot days if they can’t be wet all the time.
Orienpets are incredible, growing up to 7 feet tall when fully established, but it’s a bad idea to rely to heavily on them for your garden here. True lilies are only capable of producing a single stem from each bulb per year, and that means that a late frost that nips them as they emerge, a June hailstorm that decapitates them, a hungry rabbit that chews off the base to eat the taller leaves, or a manic dog that barrels into the garden and knocks them over cancels the entire year. They are hardy enough that the bulbs can usually return to dormancy and try again the following spring, but if something only makes it to bloom about half the time, you don’t want to make it the backbone of your summer garden.
In any case, they are very pretty, and they are available from garden catalogs as fall bulbs.
Russian Sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia
Attributes: An extremely popular plant for xeriscaping, Russian sage is a large, fast-growing, spreading shrubby perennial that produces strongly aromatic silvery leaves and a grand, diffuse spray of small purple flowers from midsummer until frost. Generic types reach 4 to 5 feet tall but dwarf varieties are available. It can spread far through deep underground stems so is best if it has a big area to play in. Individual crowns tend to die after 2-4 years but the offsets will continue the cluster; in that sense it is better if the garden style is more open and allows plants to move around. It is very popular with bees and pollinators. Native to very dry parts of central Asia, it can get by in Colorado with no supplemental irrigation.
Source: Widely available at nurseries or garden centers; be sure to read the tag to identify the cultivar and its size.
Globe thistle, Echinops ritro
Attributes: Globe thistle is one of the most classic “meadow garden” plants because its unique flower shape and long-lived flowers add valuable textural contrasts with other flowers. The iridescent light blue flowers are complimentary with almost any other color in a garden. The lacy, deeply-lobed leaves do look a bit like thistle (although the spines are softer), so the plants look better from a distance buried in the other plants. They could be confused for a weed in late spring and summer when they emerge, but the flowers, which begin to appear in late summer, are worth it. They are drought-tolerant and very easy. They form clumps over time, and various cultivars grow to different heights.
Source: Available at garden centers
Maximilian sunflower, Helianthus maximilanii
Attributes: If you’ve ever looked at a showy, tall, heavily flowering sunflower plant and wished there was a perennial version, this is what you want. Helianthus maximilanii, Maximillian’s sunflower, is not only a tall and showy perennial but it’s native to Colorado’s high plains as well as eastern central and eastern North America. Adapted to survive here on natural precipitation only, it grows taller with supplemental moisture. Cultivars range from 4 to 6 feet tall and emerge from a clump of stems connected by underground roots, reaching blooms in early fall. The cluster spreads outward underground by about 6 inches each year. Some cultivars are bred to start blooming sooner but most will start in September and go till frost. After blooming, the seeds are attractive to birds.
Source: I found some wild plants going to seed on a creekside in Westminster, and these are also available in nurseries.