Here is a list of native plants that are good for the Denver area that Alex of westernnativeseed.com was so nice to email to me, so I thought I’d share!
From Alex: I may have overlooked a few species, but here is a list of natives to the region or adapted to it:
Download Denver Native Plants PDF »
Note: This is not a complete list of all native plants for the Denver area, this is a list of natives that they have seeds for at: westernnativeseed.com
Another great resource for plants that thrive in Denver and the Front Range from the Colorado Native Plant Society:
Low-Water Native Plants for Colorado Gardens PDF
Other ways to get Native Plant Seeds in Denver:
Go to a Denver Native Plant Seed Swap!
Northern Colorado Native Seed Swap
Bolster your bird-friendly garden this fall with native seeds!
Saturday, October 23, 2021
10:00am – 1:00pm Mountain
Fort Collins, Colorado
Wolverine Farm Publick House
316 Willow St, Fort Collins, 80524
Learn more at:
rockies.audubon.org/events/northern-colorado-native-seed-swap
frontrangewildones.org
peopleandpollinators.org
You can also go to your local garden nursery or shop and ask them about native plants and seeds. The more of us who ask our local nurseries about native plants for the area, the more likely they’ll add Native Plant Sections – just like they’ve added xeric plant and rose sections. Wouldn’t it be great if every garden center and nursery had a large section of natives plants, shrubs and trees that thrive in the area? Not only do they benefit wildlife, native plants are also much easier to care for and look beautiful, too. It’s a win-win.
Colorado Native Plant & Seed Sources »
A growing list of native plant and seed vendors from Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference & Wild Ones Front Range Chapter.
Colorado Native Plants Society’s Resources »
Find a lot more info on native plants with all their various documents for native plants in Colorado.
Read this book:
Nature’s Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy
It is an amazingly interesting read that will inspire you to plant natives to support birds and other wildlife and create your own Homegrown National Park in your own landscape! Many of the plants he mentions are more suited to the east coast, so keep this in mind when reading it – but the same idea applies anywhere you live, plant native plants for your region and you’re bound to bring in more birds, butterflies and bees.
Note: This is the same list as in the graphic above, in text format for easy copying and pasting or searching.
Find seeds for all of these Denver native plants listed here at: www.westernnativeseed.com
Grasses
Achnatherum hymenoides ‘Paloma’ Indian Ricegrass
Andropogon gerardii ‘Kaw’ Big Bluestem
Bouteloua curtipendula ‘Vaughn’
Bouteloua gracilis ‘Hachita’ Blue Grama
Buchloe dactyloides ‘Texoka’ Buffalo Grass
Elymus elymoides ‘Pueblo’ Bottlebrush Squirreltail
Hesperostipa comata Needle & Thread
Koeleria macrantha Junegrass
Nassella viridula ‘Cucharas’ Green Needlegrass
Panicum virgatum ‘Blackwell’ Switchgrass
Pascopyrum smithii ‘Arriba’ Western Wheatgrass
Pleuraphis jamesii Galleta
Poa fendleriana Mutton Grass
Poa secunda ‘Sims Mesa’ Sandberg’s Bluegrass
Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Badlands’ Little Bluestem
Sorghastrum nutans ‘Cheyenne’ Indian Grass
Sporobolus airoides Alkali Sacaton
Sporobolus cryptandrus Sand Dropseed
Wildflowers
Achillea millefolium occidentalis ‘Eagle’ Western Yarrow
Amorpha canescens Leadplant
Asclepias incarnata Swamp Milkweed – wet areas
Asclepias speciosa Showy Milkweed – wet areas
Berlandiera lyrata Chocolate Flower
Castilleja integra Indian Paintbrush
Cleome serrulata Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
Coreopsis tinctoria Plains Coreopsis
Dalea candida White Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea Purple Prairie Clover
Delphinium virescens Prairie Larkspur
Engelmannia peristenia Engelmann’s Daisy
Erysimum capitatum Wallflower
Hedysarum boreale Utah Sweetvetch
Helenium autumnale Sneezeweed – wet areas
Helianthus annuus Annual Sunflower
Helianthus nuttallii Marsh Sunflower – wet areas
Helianthus petiolaris Plains Sunflower
Helianthus pumilus Foothills Sunflower
Heliomeris multiflora Showy Goldeneye
Ipomopsis aggregata Scarlet Gilia
Liatris punctata Dotted Gayfeather
Linum lewisii Maple Grove Blue Flax
Lupinus pusillus Ant Money
Mimulus guttatus Yellow Monkey Flower – wet areas
Mirabilis multiflora Wild Four ‘O Clock
Monarda fistulosa Wild Bergamot
Monarda pectinata Beebalm
Oenothera caespitosa Stemless Evening Primrose
Oenothera elata Riparian Primrose
Oenothera pallida Pale Evening Primrose
Oligoneuron rigidum Stiff Goldenrod
Opuntia macrorhiza Twist Spine Prickly Pear
Oxytropis sericea Silky Locoweed
Penstemon angustifolius Pagoda Penstemon
Penstemon grandiflorus Shell Leaf Penstemon
Penstemon secundiflorus Orchid Beardtongue
Penstemon virgatus Wand Beardtongue
Polanisia dodecandra Clammyweed
Ratibida columnifera Prairie Coneflower
Ratibida columnifera pulchra Mexican Hat
Rudbeckia hirta Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia laciniata ampla Cutleaf Coneflower – wet areas
Sphaeralcea coccinea Scarlet Globemallow
Symphyotrichum laeve Smooth Aster
Tetraneuris acaulis Goldflower
Thelesperma filifolium Green Threadleaf
Tradescantia occidentalis Western Spiderwort
Verbena hastata Blue Vervain – wet areas
Shrubs
Atriplex canescens Fourwing Saltbush
Ericameria nauseosa Rubber Rabbitbrush
Krascheninnikovia lanata Winterfat
Rhus trilobata Skunkbrush Sumac
Ribes aureum Golden Currant
Yucca glauca Spanish Bayonet