15 of the Best Plants for Creating a Meditation Garden At Home
You can meditate in any outdoor space—even your backyard. Learn more about plants that stimulate your senses through color, scent and texture.
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Showy Milkweed
Native Americans used the fibers of Asclepias speciose to make ropes and nets; in the garden, it attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.
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Blood Grass
The flame-like red tips on this drought-tolerant grass (Imperata cylindrica) intensify in hue through the growing season.
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Red Beebalm
Hummingbirds are drawn to these red-flowering natives (Monarda didyma), and their leaves offer a minty fragrance.
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'Karl Foerster Reed Gras'
In a sensory garden, feathery grasses tempt visitors to touch and engage with the plants.
Related: 12 Fragrant Flowers That Bring Natural Aromatherapy to Outdoor Spaces
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Blazing Star
This prairie native (Liatris spicata) brings vertical interest to a garden. Plus, its purple spikes draw bumblebees and butterflies.
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Pale Purple Coneflower
Plant purple or yellow varieties of this prairie icon (Echinacea). The dainty pale purple coneflower (E. pallida) blooms in June while its deeper purple cousin (E. purpea) blooms in July. For yellow blooms, try gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) and cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniate).
Related: 12 Top Midwest Perennial Flowers
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Sunflowers
These taller flowers (Helianthus) create vertical interest at eye level. Try both annual and perennial varieties.
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Swamp Milkweed
Pink clustered blooms draw a plethora of pollinators to this Monarch host plant (Asclepias incarnata).
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Garden Phlox
These large purple flowering clusters (Phlox paniculata) attract butterflies and hummingbirds and offer a spicy vanilla-clove perfume.
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Ohio Spiderwort
The blue-violet flower clusters (Tradescantia ohiensis) open in the morning and close by afternoon.
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Sedum
These succulents, aka stonecrops, take heat well and add low-growing texture to rock gardens and borders.
Related: 15 Easy Midwest Groundcovers
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Sea Holly
The silvery leaves and blue blooms of Eryngium stand out in perennial borders and add striking texture to arrangements.
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Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa lures legions of monarchs and queen butterflies.
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Little Bluestem
This textural blue-green grass (Schizachyrium scoparium 'Standing Ovation) turns a striking crimson in fall and is an important food source for wildlife.
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Spike Speedwell
The deep blue-purple flowers of 'Royal Candles' attract both hummingbirds and butterflies.
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Labyrinth mindfulness garden
Heady herbs, dewy leaves and whirring bees wind through Annamarie Fernyak's meditation labyrinth in Ohio, created with the plants featured in this slideshow and others.
Related: How Your Garden Can Help You Achieve Ultimate Mindfulness