Yes, wash your hands, but before that: get them dirty! One simple way to love on pollinators is to plant a pollinator-friendly flower. We love coneflowers! 

The purple coneflower, also known as echinacea, is one of the biggest bee attractors. Drawn to the flower for its beautiful color, bees forage on the nectar and pollen. Coneflowers bloom for a long time during mid-summer to fall, providing months of nectar for pollinators. Thank you to the research from The Old Farmer’s Almanac for insights into one of Blume’s most favored flowers.

Coneflowers are a North American perennial in the Daisy family. Specifically, the plant is native to the eastern United States, from Iowa and Ohio south to Louisiana and Georgia. They grow 2 to 4 feet in height with dark green foliage. They are fast growers and self-sow their seed profusely. These midsummer bloomers can flower from midsummer through fall frost!

Coneflowers have raised cone-like centers (hence, the name) which contain seeds that attract butterflies. Leave the seed heads after bloom and you’ll also attract songbirds! Coneflowers are tough little native flowers. 

Trouble-free, coneflowers are drought-tolerant, once established. They can take the heat. As native plants with prickly stems, they are more deer-resistant than most flowering plants.  The most common species available to gardeners is Echinacea purpurea, the purple coneflower. If purple doesn’t pair well with your garden’s color palette, don’t fret: coneflowers can be found in a range of bright or subdued colors.

Coneflowers are at home in a traditional garden or a wildflower meadow; they are striking in masses, especially as a mix of various colors. They’re sturdy, beautiful, attract pollinators and repel deer. What’s not to love!?