Garden Photo of the Day

Stephanie’s Coneflowers

Celebrating the diversity of a beautiful native plant

By GPOD Contributor
close up of light pink coneflower

My name is Stephanie Stewart, and I live in Averill Park, New York.

Lately I’ve seen a lot about coneflowers (Echinacea species and hybrids, Zones 4–9) and I’m not surprised! They add color and texture and height to my gardens—and they are so easy to care for. Mine range in color from whites, to pinks, to neon orange and reds. Heights range from 8 inches to 36 inches.

I started buying coneflowers a few years ago after reading about them in Fine Gardening and have added a couple more each year.

Butterflies and bees love them, and so do I.

mix of various colored coneflowers
This looks to be ‘Cheyenne Spirit’, which boasts a great mix of colors on healthy, long-lived plants. And as you can see in this photo, the bees enjoy them as well.

close up of bright pink coneflowers
That’s an incredibly rich, saturated pink on this coneflower.

close up of classic purple coneflower
The classic, original Echinacea purpurea is still a beautiful plant well worth growing despite all the new hybrids in other colors.

hybrid coneflower with pink/orange flowers
Hybrids between pink Echinacea purpurea and the yellow Echinacea paradoxa allowed for the development of all these new varieties with brilliant colors.

close up of coneflowers with petals starting to unfurl
It’s beautiful to see how the look of the flower changes as the petals fully unfurl and open up.

close up of tall pink coneflowers
Many new selections of coneflowers are shorter, but taller forms like this add great presence to the garden.

close up of light pink coneflower
A perfect pink coneflower

 

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Comments

  1. janetsydoruk 08/01/2023

    I’m going to buy some. Really great.

  2. nicki_s 08/01/2023

    What a beautiful collection of coneflowers! I discovered Cheyenne Spirit this year via Fine Gardening and planted a few - the colors are amazing, and they change as the flower ages. Thanks for sharing your photos.

  3. btucker9675 08/01/2023

    Love them, too, and they are so tough as well as beautiful. Every time I remove a plant that just isn't working, I seem to replace it with a coneflower. Thanks for sharing your lovely collection!

  4. User avater
    simplesue 08/02/2023

    Oh I love Cone Flowers! You have such a nice variety!

  5. melvasanchez 08/16/2023

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