Every spring, certain plants show up everywhere. You see them in your neighbor's yard, at the farmers' market, in every native plant forum you follow. By summer, they're sold out.
This year, three plants are headed there fast: narrowleaf milkweed, anise hyssop, and mountain mint. If you've been thinking about adding any of them, now is the time to move. Native plant nurseries are already running low on popular species, and peak planting season hasn't even started.
Here's what you need to know about each one.
Why These Three? Why Now?
Gardeners are planting natives at a pace nurseries weren't prepared for. Demand for regionally sourced, pesticide-free plants is outpacing supply in most parts of the country. At the same time, monarch populations are still in serious decline, and water restrictions keep spreading across western states.
These three plants aren't just popular. They solve real problems. They handle drought once they're established, they hold up against deer, and they bring in more pollinators than almost anything else you could plant. That combination is hard to find, and gardeners who've figured that out are buying early.
Narrowleaf Milkweed: The Monarch Plant That Won't Take Over Your Yard
If you've avoided milkweed because common milkweed got out of hand, narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) is worth a second look.
It grows 2 to 4 feet tall, with soft needle-like leaves and pale lavender to white flower clusters. It blooms from early summer through late fall, which gives monarchs a long window to find it. And unlike common milkweed, which spreads through aggressive underground rhizomes, narrowleaf milkweed forms modest colonies. It spreads, but it stays manageable.
It is an essential host plant for monarch caterpillars. No milkweed, no monarchs. That's not an overstatement. Monarchs can only lay eggs on milkweed, and their populations have dropped more than 80% since the 1980s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Narrowleaf milkweed won't fix that on its own, but every patch helps.
It grows well in full sun and adapts to sandy loam or clay soil. Once it's in the ground and established, it needs almost no water. That makes it a practical choice for western gardeners dealing with dry summers or watering restrictions.
Anise Hyssop: One Plant, Two Reasons to Grow It
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) has been called a "wonder honey plant" by beekeepers, and that reputation is well-earned. Its 3- to 6-inch blue flower spikes bloom all summer and pull in butterflies, bumblebees, honeybees, hummingbirds, and moths. If you want activity in your garden, this plant delivers it consistently.
But here's what makes it different from most pollinator plants: the leaves are edible. They carry a mild anise flavor and work well in herbal teas, salads, and cooking. That combination of wildlife value and culinary use is what's driving its surge in popularity. It's showing up in pollinator gardens and edible landscapes at the same time, which means demand is coming from two directions.
Anise hyssop does best in full sun with well-drained soil, but it tolerates partial shade better than many native alternatives. It's drought-tolerant once established and deer-resistant. For anyone new to growing natives, this is one of the easiest ones to start with. It's forgiving, it looks good, and it works.
Mountain Mint: The One That Researchers Couldn't Stop Talking About
Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum species) spent years being overlooked. That's changing fast, and there's data behind it.
Penn State researchers tracked pollinator visits to native plants over three years. Clustered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) drew more pollinator activity than any other plant they studied. Every single year of the study. The researchers wrote that when mountain mint bloomed, "the plant seemed alive with activity." Three years in a row. That's not a fluke.
Most mountain mint species share a few traits: strongly scented leaves that deer won't touch, bloom periods that run a month or longer in mid to late summer, and minimal care once they're settled in. After their first season, they run almost entirely on rainfall.
Clustered mountain mint blooms for six weeks or more and produces small white flowers edged with pink. Its native range covers about 60% of the United States, from Maine to Florida, which means it adapts to a wide range of climates and conditions.
If biodiversity is the goal, mountain mint is the plant to build around.
How to Actually Get These Before They Sell Out
Native plant nurseries stock up in late winter and early spring, but the window closes fast. Once gardeners start planting in earnest, the popular species go quickly.
A few things to know before you buy:
Buy from regional nurseries when you can. Plants grown for your specific climate and soil conditions will establish faster and do better long-term. A nursery in your region will stock varieties selected for local conditions.
Ask about pesticides before you buy. Plants treated with neonicotinoids can harm the very pollinators you're trying to support. Reputable native plant growers know exactly what they've used and will tell you directly. If a nursery doesn't know, that's your answer.
Starting from seed is cheaper and gives you more options. Narrowleaf milkweed, anise hyssop, and mountain mint all grow well from seed. Start them indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date and they'll have enough time to bloom in their first season.
How to Set Up Your Pollinator Garden for the Full Season
The most effective pollinator gardens don't just bloom in one burst. They have something going from early spring through late fall, which means pollinators can count on them all season.
These three plants fit together well for exactly that reason. Anise hyssop blooms through summer. Mountain mint carries through mid to late summer. Narrowleaf milkweed runs from early summer to late fall. Plant all three and you're covering a long stretch of the season with plants that actually work.
Plant in clumps, not single specimens. Pollinators find and use grouped plants much more efficiently than scattered ones. A cluster of five mountain mints will outperform five individual plants spread across your yard.
All three are perennials. They come back every year, and their root systems get stronger each season. In the second and third year, they need even less from you.
Ready to Plant?
Camas Pollinator Supply carries seeds for all three of these. If you want to get ahead of the spring rush, now is the time to check stock. Head to our Amazon store and grab what you need while it's available.
Which of these are you planning to grow this year? Drop it in the comments. Gardeners figuring this out together get better results than any of us do alone.