Bluebells, lilies, poppies, and more: These are the native wildflowers blooming near you

Written by: Jill Jaracz

The perfect yard with a green lawn and manicured garden is as American as baseball and apple pie—but that doesn't mean it's good for the land.

Lawns and gardens featuring non-native plants, flowers, and grasses require a great deal of water and fertilizer for maintenance. In drier areas of the country, lawn maintenance can drink up three-quarters of a household's annual water usage, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as much as half of all water used outdoors for activities like lawn care is wasted due to evaporation and runoff. Meanwhile, fertilizers and weed killers used to maintain non-native turf may contain harmful chemicals that run off into larger bodies of water and contaminate local ecosystems and drinking water.

Many gardeners have turned to native gardening, a technique incorporating plant species that occur naturally within an ecosystem, for a more eco-friendly take on the American lawn and garden. These plants then provide food for local wildlife, including butterflies, birds, and other animals native to a region. Pollinating insects, bees, and butterflies help the plants we eat bear fruit and vegetables, further providing a benefit to humans.

Native gardening reduces the need for fertilizer and pesticides, requires less water, and promotes biodiversity. For states that regularly experience moderate to severe drought, in particular, reining in water by gardening with native plants can more easily promote a healthier environment. Native gardening requires less maintenance, too: Homeowners don't have to spend as much time or money on mowing, weeding, fertilizing, watering, and maintaining lawn equipment.

For those interested in incorporating native grasses and plants into their yards, Texas Real Estate Source compiled a list of wildflowers native to various U.S. regions from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin. All flowers on this list have bloom times between August and December and are native to one of these six regions of the U.S.: Central Texas, Eastern Woodland, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Southwestern Desert, and Tallgrass Prairie. The flowers are grouped together by region, and the regions are shown in alphabetical order.

Melampodium leucanthum

Common name: Blackfoot Daisy

Native region: Central Texas, Southwestern Desert

Gaillardia pulchella

Common name: Firewheel

Native region: Central Texas, Tallgrass Prairie

Asclepias asperula

Common name: Antelope-horns

Native region: Central Texas

Calylophus berlandieri

Common name: Sundrops

Native region: Central Texas

Commelina erecta

Common name: Dayflower

Native region: Central Texas

Cooperia pedunculata

Common name: Rain Lily

Native region: Central Texas

Eustoma exaltatum

Common name: Bluebell Gentian

Native region: Central Texas

Glandularia bipinnatifida

Common name: Prairie Verbena

Native region: Central Texas

Lobelia cardinalis

Common name: Cardinal Flower

Native region: Central Texas

Ratibida columnifera

Common name: Prairie Coneflower

Native region: Central Texas

Cornus canadensis

Common name: Bunchberry Dogwood

Native region: Eastern Woodlands

Cypripedium parviflorum

Common name: Yellow Lady's-slipper Orchid

Native region: Eastern Woodlands

Cypripedium reginae

Common name: Showy Lady's Slipper

Native region: Eastern Woodlands

Linnaea borealis

Common name: Twinflower

Native region: Eastern Woodlands

Silene virginica

Common name: Scarlet Catchfly

Native region: Eastern Woodlands

Aquilegia formosa

Common name: Western Columbine

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Chimaphila umbellata

Common name: Pipsissewa

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Clarkia amoena

Common name: Farewell To Spring

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Eriophyllum lanatum

Common name: Oregon Sunshine

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Erythronium montanum

Common name: White Avalanche-lily

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Eschscholzia californica

Common name: California Poppy

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Eurybia integrifolia

Common name: Thickstem Aster

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Lilium columbianum

Common name: Wild Tiger Lily

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Penstemon newberryi

Common name: Mountain Pride

Native region: Pacific Northwest

Chamerion angustifolium

Common name: Fireweed

Native region: Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest

Aquilegia coerulea

Common name: Rocky Mountain Columbine

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Arnica cordifolia

Common name: Heartleaf Arnica

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Calochortus nuttallii

Common name: Sego Lily

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Caltha leptosepala

Common name: White Marsh-marigold

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Campanula rotundifolia

Common name: Bluebell

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Cardamine cordifolia

Common name: Heartleaf Bittercress

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Castilleja rhexiifolia

Common name: Splitleaf Indian Paintbrush

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda

Common name: Shrubby Cinquefoil

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Delphinium barbeyi

Common name: Subalpine Larkspur

Native region: Rocky Mountains

Baileya multiradiata

Common name: Desert Marigold

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Enceliopsis nudicaulis

Common name: Sunray

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Fallugia paradoxa

Common name: Apache Plume

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Hibiscus coulteri

Common name: Desert Rosemallow

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Kallstroemia grandiflora

Common name: Desert Poppy

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Mentzelia pumila

Common name: Dwarf Mentzelia

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Phlox tenuifolia

Common name: Santa Catalina Mountain Phlox

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Psilostrophe cooperi

Common name: Whitestem Paperflower

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Scabrethia scabra ssp. scabra

Common name: Badlands Mule-ears

Native region: Southwestern Desert

Anaphalis margaritacea

Common name: Western Pearly Everlasting

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Asclepias tuberosa

Common name: Butterfly Milkweed

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Coreopsis palmata

Common name: Finger Coreopsis

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Eryngium yuccifolium

Common name: Beargrass

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Euphorbia marginata

Common name: Snow On The Mountain

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Eustoma exaltatum ssp. russellianum

Common name: Texas Bluebell

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Glandularia canadensis

Common name: Sweet William

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Helianthus maximiliani

Common name: Maximilian Sunflower

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie

Iris versicolor

Common name: Large Blue Iris

Native region: Tallgrass Prairie