Native Plant Highlight! Lance-leaved Coreopsis.

Marisa Prevatt
Jun 22, 2020
2 min read

It's Pollinator Week (Mon, Jun 22, 2020 – Sun, Jun 28, 2020)! I want to celebrate this week by attempting to create an informative blog post each day! Wish me luck LOL. Today’s post highlights the Coreopsis lanceolata, the Lance-leaved coreopsis.

Lanceleaf Coreopsis blooms for weeks on end, creating an early summer display of golden yellow flowers. Butterflies and Bees are regular visitors. They will also attract songbirds that feed on the ripe seeds in late summer. It loves a full sun location thus ours lives in our west-facing front yard garden.

Every morning I walk my yard to observe the beauty and daily pollinator visitors. Today the Coreopsis was a flurry of activity. The native bees were busy collecting pollen from the blooms. These bees aren't aggressive at all, in fact they act like I am not even present. I am able to get so close and capture video of their activity and some great photos! Take a look at the video snippet to see these busy bees at work. It shows them collecting the pollen!!!

The Coreopsis definitely serves a dual purpose in our garden. It not only feeds the pollinators it also makes a wonderful cut flower. It adds a beautiful bright pop of color to cut flower arrangements. I am so proud to say that every flower pictured in this bouquet is Michigan native from our gardens! (List: Common Yarrow, Goats Beard, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, & Wild Bergamot-Bee Balm)

100% Native Cut Flower arrangement featuring Coreopsis.

The Coreopsis has many "jobs" from feeding bees, butterflies, AND birds to a beautiful cut flower in a vase! It is such a great addition to our native gardens. You should definitely get one for yourself!