Want to add a great flower to your garden? Consider Coneflowers, aka Echinacea. These tough perennials reach 2 to 4 feet in height and flower from midsummer through fall frost. Coneflowers attract butterflies and bees, love heat and are deer resistant. What more can we say?
Coneflowers prefer full sun and well-draining soil and are striking when planted in masses, especially as a mix of various colors. They make great cut flowers. Look how pretty they look in the Friendship Park Pollinator Sanctuary in Social Circle.
If you aren't familiar with coneflower in a garden setting, you may be familiar with it as a natural cold remedy. Purple coneflower has long been sought after for its cold-fighting properties, especially in teas. All parts of the plant are purported to have immune-boosting effects.
Once plants have finished blooming, remove spent blooms to help encourage a second round of blooms. As fall sets in, leave a few flower heads on the plant; the seeds provide food for many small birds. Goldfinches especially seem fond of sitting atop spent blossoms and picking away at the tasty seeds.
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