Showy Milkweed is a superhero for the monarch butterfly, which lays its eggs on the leaves. When the caterpillars hatch, they munch on the milkweed. It also brings beautiful pink flowers that bees and other pollinators love.

This plant is native to the Okanagan and does great in dry, sunny places. It supports important wildlife like monarch butterflies and does not need much care once it is established. For the Syilx/Okanagan peoples, native plants like milkweed are part of traditional ecological knowledge and care for the land.

The Show Milkweed can grow about 4 feet tall and can spread out about 2 feet wide.

In Indigenous traditions, the plant’s sap or fibers were used for making string or rope.

Showy Fleabane grows little daisy-like flowers that bloom for a long time and attract native bees and butterflies. It helps keep the garden bright and buzzing with life!

This wildflower grows naturally in the Okanagan’s dry grasslands and open areas, so it is used to the local climate. Fleabane is super low-maintenanc and its long blooming period helps pollinators all season.

Showy Fleabane can grow about 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

Showy fleabane is drought tolerant, disease resistant, and readily re-seeds. This plant is also mildly toxic to domestic animals and is commonly confused with Showy Aster, another BC native wildflower.

Prairie Smoke grows soft pink flowers in spring and then turns into fluffy “smoke” seed heads that look like fairy hair or pink mist. It feeds early-season pollinators like native bees.

Prairie Smoke is perfect for dry Okanagan gardens and one of the most loved prairie plants for how unique it looks. It is often used in pollinator gardens, and its roots have been used in Indigenous medicine to make tea for treating colds, flus, and fever.

Prairie Smoke can be about 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide.