For Your Yard: Colorado Native Plants
15 Bird Friendly, Drought Resistant, Native Plants for Your Yard
For her certification project, Denver Audubon Naturalist Jan Gorski created a list of 15 plants (12 flowering, 3 grasses) that are native to Colorado, easy to grow, and excellent for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. Below are her recommendations, with extensive information. Communications Coordinator Cassandra Cordova included names of these plants from surrounding Native tribes. Remember when shopping to use the botanical name, as common names vary from region to region. For more information, visit our Native Plants for Birds page!
All photos copyrighted by Jan Gorski.
Resources and References
Native Language Resources:
Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho, Ute, Lakota, Navajo, Zuni
Bee Balm:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2
Blanketflower:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Prairie Coneflower:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Rocky Mountain Penstemon:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Showy Milkweed:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Butterfly Milkweed:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2
Prairie Zinnia:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Kinnikinnick:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Oregon Grape:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Rabbitbrush:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Blue Grama:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3
Sideoats Grama:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3, Reference 4, Reference 5, Reference 6
Little Bluestem:
Data Sheet
Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3, Reference 4, Reference 5