Echinaceae purpurea, commonly called coneflowers, are one of the best all star perennials. The generic names is derived from the Greek word, 'Echinos' meaning 'hedgehog' or 'sea urchin', referring to the spiny looking disc flowerhead in the center of the flower.
Echinacaeae is a staple for all summer gardens, especially if songbirds and fuzzy pollinators are your favorite garden visitors. Coneflowers resonate with prairies, they suite a cottage garden, rock garden and free from of garden design VS a manicured one. They come in many different colors, purple, pinks, reds, bright to subtle yellows and creamy whites. Here is some good info. on different types of Echinaceae: https://mtcubacenter.org/.../echinacea-mid-atlantic.../...
Other than being one of the best native perennials for pollinators and summer gardens, Echinaceae is also widely used for its medicinal properties. "The purple coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia, was the most widely used medicinal plant of the Plains Indians. It was used for a variety of ailments, including toothache, coughs, colds, sore throats, snakebite, and as a painkiller. H. C. F. Meyer used it as a patent medicine in the 1870s and introduced it to the medical profession. Recent scientific research (mostly German) on Echinacea species has shown that they possess immunostimulatory activity." https://www.jstor.org/stable/4255194
Two of my favorite perennials that blend in superbly with purple Echinaceas are, Lavenders and Yarrows. Together with coneflowers, the Yarrows and Lavender makes for a maintenance free powerful trio. They have gorgeous bold colors, they are one of the best staples for a wide variety of pollinators and, the aesthetic appeal they would add to a garden would be best described as colorful ephemeral beauty!
Comments