Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) has the coolest flower that you might never see. A single, stunning maroon flower is hidden beneath the emerging leaves at the base of the plant – and is rarely glimpsed without special effort. A very attractive low groundcover for shaded areas, it grows in clay soils, too. The rhizomatous roots are edible with a spicy ginger-like flavor.

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) is one of the first prairie flowers to bloom in spring. Each flowering stem holds three nodding, pink flowers. Once they are fertilized the real show begins as the nodding blooms turn upright and burst into wispy pink plumes. The feathery pink seed heads never fail to charm, and the "smoke" effect can last a month or longer.

Cream False Indigo (Baptisia bracteata) is rare in the wild due to loss of habitat to agriculture, but this revered plant should hold a place of honor in every prairie garden. Very long lived, it grows to form an impressively large mound, producing a bubbling fountain of cascading, creamy yellow flowers. Beloved by bumlebees.

Meadow Blazingstar (Liatris ligulistylis). You may have heard it call a "Monarch magnet" and the rumors are true. This Liatris blooms late in the summer when the Monarch population is high, and always seems to attract a mob of monarchs - along with many other pollinators. A 'must have' if you love supporting the Monarchs.

Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum). This icon of the tall grass prairie is so named because the remarkable basal leaves tend to orient on north-south axis. A mature plant can produce more than a dozen 4" flowers on a towering vertical stem, and the large central taproot can extend 15 feet into the ground. Individual plants have been known to live upwards of 100 years.