Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)

“This perennial is a hardy growing color-maker from the Great Plains where it’s deep purple flowers paint whole swathes of the landscape. 

I was traveling in NYC a few summers ago and stumbled onto this plant while walking The High Line, an innovative public park built on a historic freight rail line above Manhattan’s West Side. I was struck at the unique shape and flood of color it provided to the design. I’ve been a big fan of the High Line’s landscape architect James Corner (architect of the future Seattle waterfront) and Piet Oudolf, the garden designer of the High Line, and have a great appreciation for their naturalistic planting style.

The Purple Prairie Clover is not only a drought hardy color-maker, it’s also a super-charged, pollinizing machine. Attracting bees with it’s purple cone shaped blooms throughout the summer, making it very attractive to the eco-conscious PNW gardener.

This perennial isn’t easily available in the Seattle area so we worked with a local grower to source and bring this to the market here for the first time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.”
 

- Alex LaVilla, Perennial Plant Buyer – Swansons Nursery

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