Great Perennials To Help You Save The Planet.

It's time to change the giant flat green lawn concept.

Lawns are man made deserts that do nothing but make our yards look tidy and reduce the amount of work we have to do. They actually increase emissions as lawn mowers are especially bad, have no filters and throw out a lot of unwanted chemicals, and we use them every week! Sometimes more than once a week and every home that has a lawn does this! Its time we rethought that issue.

While lawns should not be done away with completely they should be rethought. An area just around the house to pick up breezes and keep the house cool is reasonable but do you really need all the rest of the lawn? Most likely not.
Instead plant some perennial beds. These plants take almost no care but grow much taller so help to increase the oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide around you home and on the planet. If chosen well they can produce some lovely flowers which will increase the number of butterflies and humming birds you attract and reduce the amount of work you need to do as there is less mowing.

Your new plants only need to be mown down once a year, best done in early spring as this gives the pollinators somewhere to hide and overwinter. Mow before the plants start to reemerge and you are done again for the year. Less mower emissions, more life for the planet.

Below is a list of hardy perennial plants that once planted need little or no care, just enjoy the flowers and more time not mowing.

Tall flowering plants that can be cut or mown down in fall or early spring.

Anise Hyssop	Agastache foeniculum	Perennial loved by pollinators goldfinches love the seeds. Easy grow mow down
Bee Balm / Oswego Tea	Monarda didyma	Perennial Beats out the weeds spreads tall lovely flowers pollinators love it.
Brown Eyed Susan	Rudbeckia triloba	Self seeding annual. Grow between other plants for color and filler.
Butterfly Weed	Asclepias tuberosa interior	Perennial. Hates being moved. Needs cold to germinate. low growing beautiful
Catnip / Catmint	Nepeta cataria	Pollinator magnate. short lived perennial, will reseed, easy mow down
Coneflower - narrow leafed	Echinacea angustifolia	Perennial, lovely flowers beloved by native bees and butterflies. Great cut flower too. easy mow down
Coneflower Purple	Echinacea purpurea	Perennial, lovely flowers beloved by native bees and butterflies. Great cut flower too. easy mow down
CulversRoot	Veronicastrum virginicum	Perennial, tall white flower spikes attract different pollinators. Easy grow hardy mow down.
Evening Primrose - Common	Oenothera biennis	Long blooming, tough biennial, will self seed. Needs removing by hand. Loved by pollinators and butterflies
Fennel, Bronze & Green	Foeniculum vulgare	Perennial, lovely smoky foliage flowers attract different pollinators, great aroma, edible leaves and seed. Easy mow down.
Goat's Beard	Aruncus dioicus	Tall Perennial great flowers, likes some shade. May need to cut stalks by hand. Large impressive flower spikes.
Joe Pye Weed	Eupatorium maculatum	Can get very tall and dramatic. May need hand cutting stems to tall and strong. Impressive and butterflies love it.
Late Figwort	Scrophularia marilandica	Hardy perennial pollinator magnate, flowers not showy but interesting easy mow down
Lemon Balm	Melissa officinalis	Short perennial, great aroma easy care mow down.
Mallow Common	Malva sylvestris	Short lived perennial masses of flowers grows to small shrub in one year, dies back in winter. May need hand cutting of stems.
Marshmallow	Althaea officinalis	Perennial Tall velvet like leaves, purple flowers. Pollinators love it. Edible leaves and flowers easy mow down. Does not need a marsh to grow.
MeadowSweet	Filipendula ulmaria	Shorter but tall white flower spikes impressive. Easy mow down
Motherwort	Leonurus cardiaca	Tall aromatic plant, flowers not that obvious but loved by pollinators. Easy mow down.
Mountain Mint	Pycnanthemum pilosum	Tall long flowering pernnial pollinators love flowers that bloom later. Easy mow down.
Rose / Swamp Mallow	Hibiscus moscheutos	Huge pink flowers very impressive, does not need swamp but wants some water, likes moist ground. Impressive, would need hand cutting stalks are large and toubh.
Sunflower - Tickseed	Bidens aristosa / Bidens polylepis	Flowers much later than others. Self seeding annual very showy for late fall. Easy mow down
Sunflowers, Perennial	Helianthus maximiliani	Perennial flowers late in year, very tall with masses of smaller sunflowers. Stems are tough need bush hog to mow down.
Swamp milkweed, Pink Milkweed	Asclepias incarnata	Help the monarchs. Perennial lovely pink flowers easy mow down.
Tansy	Tanacetum vulgare	Tough long lasting tall bright yellow flowers. Easy cut or mow down, Wonderful grow and forget plant, just enjoy.
Tarragon - Russian	Artemiesia dracunculus	Perennial. Tall mostly green flowers insignificant, but very aromatic and edible. Easy mow down.
Wormwood/Abstinth	Artemisia Absinthium	Perennial. Tall silvey foliage insignifcant flowers. Tough stalks need to be hand cut in fall. Hardy easy grow.
Yarrow - White	Achillea millefolium	Shorter very tough perennial. Comes back every year, beats out weeds flowers and loved by pollinators. Easy mow down great for meadows. Comes in white or colors.
Elecampane	Inula Helenium	Tall dramatic plant large leaves, needs lots of space. May need tall flower stalks but by hand.

Bushy flowering plants that stay all winter long. Some easy pruning in spring may be required.

Hyssop	Hyssopus officinalis	Short lived perennial shrub. Stays green all winter lovely blue flowers loved by pollinators.
Lavender	Lavandula angustifolia	Semi hardy to zone 6 may need some mulching. Beautiful flowers beloved by pollinators and people. may need some pruning for best results.
Peppermint	Mentha x piperita	Low ground cover easy grow, spreading aromatic.
Sage	Salvia officinalis	Hardy evergreen lovely flowers. Semi shrub
Spearmint	Mentha Spicata	Low ground cover easy grow, spreading aromatic.

Spring flowers. Pretty much take care of themselves

Columbine	Aquilegia spp	Late spring flowering for semi shaded areas. Grows anywhere, seed and forget.
Money Plant/Honesty	Lunaria annua	Beautiful purple flowers late spring partly shaded areas. Biennial seed and forget takes care of itself.
Motherwort, Siberian	Leonurus sibiricus	Annual. Will grow tall. Polinator magnate easy grow and forget, easy mow down. Will grow from early spring until frost.

Pretty much take care of themselves

Blackberry Lily	Iris domestica	Perennial, tall flower spikes offers drama mow down inwinter.
Mullein	Verbascum thapsus	Tall bright yellow flower spikes long flowering. Biennial flowers in second year. Huge sliverly leaves persist in winter, dont cut down first year leaves second year plants easy to remove. Will self seed.
Oxeye daisy	Leucanthemum vulgare	Ideal for meadows spreading perennial masses of white daisy flowers in late spring. easy mow down after flowering.
Rose Campion	Lychnis coronaria	Silivery foliage all year bright pink flowers in late spring early summer. Full sun grows any well drained soils. Seed and forget. Short lived perennial will self seed.
Woad	Isatis tinctoria	Short lived perennial semi evergreen tall spikes yellow flowers late spring. Pollinator magnate. Cut down flower spikes and forget it.

Need slightly different care

Senna-American	Senna marilandica	Flower spikes are on tough stalks so will need to be cut down manually. The seed pods make great winter interest.
Valerian	Valerian officinalis	Flowers in early summer so cutting down flower spikes after that makes it look cleaner

Shade Or Woodland Plants

American Spikenard	Aralia racemosa	Taller woodland plant great flowers, cut down in fall
Black cohosh	Cimicifuga ramosa.	Tall woodland plant, takes care of itself. flowers in summer brightens woodlands.
Cardinal Flower	Lobelia cardinalis	Bright red flowers semi shade needs ideal for rain gardens.
Celandine - Greater	Chelidonium majus	Bright yellow flowers in late spring. Great for dappled woodlands.
Good King Henry	Chenopodium bonus henrius	Shade loving "spinach"! Perennial easy grow.
Lady's Mantle	Alchemilla mollis	Semi shade masses of green leaves and light green flowers. Likes water.
Wood Betony	Stachys officinalis	Low growing woodland plant purple flowers in summer.

Low Ground Cover Plants

Bugleweed	Ajuga reptans	8" (cm) flower spikes in late spring. Ground cover or mix in shady lawn.
Chives -Garlic	Allium tuberosum	Pollinator magnate.Full sun, masses of white flowers in late summer and autumn sow and forget will beat out weeds and cover whole areas. Self seeds.
Clover - White	Trifolium repens	Great for lawns, helps keep up nitrogen levels and feed grass. Keeps rabbits on the lawn and out of flower beds.
Pennyroyal	Mentha pulegium	Full sun bright pink flowers, can be mown very aromatic.
Self-Heal	Prunella vulgaris	Low growing exceptional herb with blue flowers. sow and forget
Thyme, Common	Thymus vulgaris	Full sun bright pink flowers, can be mown very aromatic and edible.
Thyme, creaping	Thymus pulegioides	Full sun bright pink flowers, can be mown very aromatic and edible.
Winter aconite	Eranthis hyemalis	First to flower in late winter. Flowers first then leaves which vanish by summer. Ideal for woodland areas
Woodruff sweet	Galium odoratum	Low growing ground cover semi shade.

Janice Hazeldine PhD is the owner and head grower of Floral Encounters an organic Medicinal Herb farm that is also a designated sanctuary for pollinators.