Garden Gram #13: Ten Things to Love About Coneflowers

The cheerful coneflower had me at hello.

For some reason, I’ve always thought of the coneflower (echinacea) as the quintessential New England cottage garden flower, even though really it’s a native prairie flower. (It is native to both the midwest and eastern central areas of the U.S.) Years ago, a surprise swath of purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea - one of the original natives) awaited me at a place I rented. When they came up and started blooming in the spring, I was so tickled.