Flowering Perennials for Sun
Sunny season is blooming!
Perennials bring spring.
This article highlights some of our favorite flowering, sunny perennials. From our gardens to our prairies, these beauties are harbingers of warm months ahead.
We've also linked some additional plant selection resources at the end of this article.
Many of our showiest sun-loving native wildflowers occur in Southern Salish prairies. These ecosystems are rapidly declining. Supporting this biodiversity is very important and may be possible to support in a home garden or even porch planters.
It is very difficult to transform a Pacific Northwest lawn into a prairie or meadow. However, there are specific wildflowers that have good success rates in monitored garden settings. This article focuses on a few of these species.
Puget balsamroot
Balsamorhiza deltoidea
Exposure: Full to part sun
Soil moisture: Dry to moist, well draining
Salinity tolerance: Unknown
Fire tolerance: Unknown
Transplanting success: Unknown
Growth rate: Slow to moderate, takes multiple years to flower when seed-started
Form: Clumping, flowering perennial up to three feet with a deep taproot
Bloom color: Yellow
Drought-tolerant butterfly magnet! Puget balsamroot can be started from seed or transplanted. Seeds are edible, but are quickly picked off by birds. Click here for more photographs of this species on the University of Washington Herbarium website.
Common camas (opens in new tab)
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil moisture: Moist to dry, well-drained
Salinity tolerance: None
Fire tolerance: Medium
Transplanting success: High
Growth rate: Moderate
Form: Herb to 25 inches, from a deep bulb
Bloom color: Purple
Common camas is abundant in meadows of western Washington, most typically in the prairies formed on gravelly glacial soils. For best results, outplant in the fall when camas is dormant--bulbs generally don't transplant well when disturbed during the growing-season. Click here for more photographs of this species on the University of Washington Herbarium website.
Camassia quamash
White fawn lily (opens in new tab)
Erythronium oregonum
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil moisture: Moist to dry
Salinity tolerance: Unknown
Fire tolerance: Unknown
Transplanting success: Medium
Growth rate: Moderate
Form: Herbaceous perennial to 12 inches with segmented corm
Bloom color: White/yellowish
This species has distinctive, mottled leaves and showy white flowers in spring. Occurs in prairies, meadows and in moist woodlands. Click here for more photographs of this species on the University of Washington Herbarium website.
Oregon iris (opens in new tab)
Exposure: Sun to partial shade
Soil moisture: Moist to dry
Salinity tolerance: None
Fire tolerance: Low
Transplanting success: High
Growth rate: Moderate to rapid
Form: Herbaceous perennial to 30 inches, from slender rhizomes
Bloom color: Purple
This species occurs in South Sound prairies, meadows, pastures, along roadsides and in open forests. Leaves are narrow and tough and flowers are bluish purple. Click here for more photographs of this species on the University of Washington Herbarium website.
Iris tenax
Henderson’s shootingstar (opens in new tab)
Primula hendersonii
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil moisture: Moist to dry
Salinity tolerance: Unknown
Fire tolerance: Unknown
Transplanting success: High
Growth rate: Moderate
Form: Herbaceous perennial to 12 inches
Bloom color: Purple
A prairie perennial with basal leaves and showy, magenta to pink blooms that occur in spring. Click here for more photographs of this species on the University of Washington Herbarium website.
Early blue violet (opens in new tab)
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Soil moisture: Moist to dry
Salinity tolerance: Unknown
Fire tolerance: Unknown
Transplanting success: High
Growth rate: Moderate
Form: Herbaceous perennial to 4 inches
Bloom color: Deep violet
A species common in south Sound prairies, this will spread more slowly on dry sites. Blooms are blue-purple, small but showy and occur in spring or summer. Click here for more photographs of this species on the University of Washington Herbarium website.
Viola adunca
Plant Selection Resources
We have an abundance of native plant information right here on our website. Linked below are some specific resources that may be helpful in the plant selection process. Remember, new content is always being published on our blog, so stay tuned!
Want more? There are other rich online resources. For our Pacific Northwest region, we recommend the Washington Native Plant Society, the Burke Herbarium, and OregonFlora websites.
Curious about a Consultation?
We are happy to offer our consultation services to individuals, corporations, and agencies alike! Our team has expertise in ecosystem services, invasive plant management, erosion control, rain gardens and green stormwater infrastructure, restoration of numerous native ecotypes, and more. If you need help selecting plants for your project, reach out!