Echinacea, commonly called Purple Coneflower, has been gaining popularity in recent years. There are many new cultivars being introduced each year, each supposedly better than the last. Sometimes the old "Tried & True" is a good reference point. This species is native to the prairie lands of the central United States and offers a delicate and subtle beauty very fitting to our Midwestern gardens. The narrow pink petals dangle from the base of the bronze central cone and seem to dance as the plant moves in the wind. A relatively new cultivar, aptly named 'Hula Dancer' has even paler and narrower petals and truly looks like a tiny willowy hula dancer as it waves gracefully in the garden breeze.

In addition to Echinacea pallida we also have our Midwestern native Echinacea purpurea, with its somewhat stockier leaves and flowers. And, of course, we have some of the many "new & improved" cultivars (some in small quantities) including 'Mac N Cheese', 'Tomato Soup', 'Pink Double Delight', 'Razzmatazz', 'Fragrant Angel', 'Meringue', 'Kim's Knee High', 'Ruby Star', 'White Swan', 'Double Decker', 'Sundown', 'Sunrise' and others.

All Echinaceas are excellent for attracting butterflies to the garden and the seedheads are a favorite food source for Goldfinches.