All hail the humble coneflower (Echinacea), one of the unsung heroes of the urban landscape.
When I first began growing native plants, I was attracted to the rare, hyperlocal ones with appealing origin stories: plants that are only found on a creek bank 10 miles away or some such silliness.
The problem with those specimens is that they are inevitably ill-suited for the harsh realities of city life: compacted soils, pissing dogs, pissing humans, careless drivers, overzealous mowers, etc.
Over time, I’ve come to appreciate the native plants that consistently prove their resilience, endurance, and dependability — the ones I can plant in any location under any conditions with the assurance that they will thrive.
One of those is the coneflower, which grows practically anywhere in the eastern half of North America. Butterflies and bees love it, humans find the blooms attractive, and I can easily grow it in a container outside my apartment door.
Beautiful!