Summer Meadow Garden Favorites

Tall grasses swaying in the breeze intermixed with late-blooming perennials, warm afternoons with ample pollinators, and seedheads ripening as the days grow shorter. The splendor of late summer is highlighted best in gardens that mimic a naturalistic meadow.

Yarrow, Asters, and Fescue light up this Bellingham wildflower garden in late July.

The growing trend of designing meadow gardens can be seen in the work of designers like Piet Oudolf, who pioneered the influential ‘New Perennial’ gardening style. The naturalistic feel of meadow gardens also reflects a growing desire of people to

connect with nature and rebuild wild spaces in urban areas.

Unlike the Great Plains of the midwest, the Pacific Northwest is not renowned for its wild meadows and grasslands. However, the Puget prairie grasslands ecosystem was once much more common in our region. Great examples can be seen today at the UBC Botanical Garden in Vancouver, B.C., or at the Mima Mounds Natural Area near Olympia, WA. Gardeners can take inspiration from these natural landscapes to create their own meadow garden highlighting PNW native plants. Here’s a few of our favorite meadow plants at Ferny’s Nursery:

Showy Tarweed surrounded by Winecup Clarkia in August. Look for starts of these annuals in Spring!

Madia elegans - Showy Tarweed: The luminous 1-2”, bright yellow flowers bloom for months in mid to late summer. It looks great mixed with pink clarkias and the seedheads of grasses.

Allium cernuum - Nodding Onion: This edible perennial adds elegance to any meadow with its gently nodding buds that open to light pink blooms in mid-summer.

Festuca roemeri - Roemer’s Fescue: A good choice for shorter meadows, thin soil, and even part shade. This cool season grass also adds a rich blue-green hue from fall through spring.

Clarkia spp. - Farewell to Spring: The many species of clarkia are all annuals and all bloom profusely through summer. My favorite is Winecup Clarkia, with its rosy-wine colored blooms.

Achillea millefolium - Yarrow: Few PNW native plants bloom for as long and provide as much to pollinators as Yarrow. Easy to grow in a range of soils, with blooms ranging from white to pink.

Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower: Although not technically a PNW native plant, this meadow staple is grown for its large, striking flowers and its dark, architectural seedheads.

Anaphalis margaritaceae - Pearly Everlasting: Blooming from July through November, this pollinator powerhouse is excellent filler and thrives on neglect; my type of plant! 

Tufted Hairgrass and Douglas Aster provide interest well into fall

Deschampsia cespitosa - Tufted Hairgrass: The stunning plumes of seedheads dance in the wind above the evergreen, narrow foliage that is a host plant to butterflies.

Symphyotrichum subspicatum - Douglas Aster: A prolific spreader and a good backdrop for shorter perennials. A late bloomer with abundant whitish to indigo-purple daisy-like flowers.

Camassia spp - Camas: Iconic west coast bulbous perennials that provide early season color, leaving behind attractive light brown seedheads. Dormant in the summer months.

Lupinus polyphyllus - Bigleaf Lupine: Nitrogen fixing and tolerant of wetter soils, this large perennial is famous for its spires of purplish flowers in late spring. An excellent habitat plant.

Sidalcea hendersonii - Henderson’s Checkermallow: Dark pink flowers resembling miniature hollyhocks bloom on upright stems throughout summer. It also makes a great cut flower.

Interested in learning more about growing your own meadow garden? Stop by Ferny’s Nursery for plant seeds, starts, and advice! Stay tuned for future classes and blog posts on growing your own meadow.