Coneflowers' many sturdy flower stalks bristle with glowing orange anthers on raised domes surrounded by colorful long ray petals. Native to the East, this relative of Rudbeckia is long-blooming in summer, heat tolerant, and perfect in meadow gardens and borders, adding a distinctively upright structure. Butterfly magnets, we often see pairs of fritillaries on the same blossom, sharing it with a bumblebee! They offer up seeds for goldfinches later in the season, so as summer progresses, stop deadheading to develop an abundance of ripe seeds. Protect with gravel mulch or evergreen boughs their first winter to increase overwintering success.