We get it—gardening in the city can be tough. Across much of Chicagoland, dry, sandy soils, low organic matter, salt, and pollutants, can make it feel like nothing wants to grow.
But there is hope! The beauty of native plants is… many of them love these conditions. In fact, species that evolved in prairies, savannas, and rocky landscapes often prefer lean soils and coarse textures. Here are a few of our favorites that don't just survive in crummy urban soils—they thrive.
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Missouri Evening Primrose (Oenothera macrocarpa)
One of the toughest native perennials for hot, dry sites, Missouri evening primrose thrives where many other plants struggle. Its large, bright yellow flowers open in the evening and remain open into the morning, creating a dramatic display for both people and pollinators. Growing just 12–18 inches tall, it's perfect for borders, rock gardens, or tight planting strips where you want a little extra color without overwhelming the space.
Don't let its low-growing habit fool you—below ground, a deep taproot allows this plant to access water long after the surface soil has dried out. The evening blooms are especially attractive to sphinx moths, while bees often stop by the following morning before the flowers close.
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Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
A true classic! Everyone knows and loves butterfly milkweed. This plant is perfectly adapted to dry, sandy, and gravelly soils, developing a deep taproot that helps it withstand drought. Its brilliant orange umbel flowers have a long blooming period (nearly all summer long!) and attract a variety of native pollinators, but it’s probably best known for being a monarch magnet.
As monarch butterfly populations continue to decline, every patch of milkweed helps. Adult monarchs lay their eggs exclusively on milkweed, where tiny caterpillars hatch and munch on the leaves before forming a chrysalis and emerging as beautiful adult butterflies. It's one of the easiest ways to witness the incredible monarch life cycle right in your own backyard.
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Plains Oval Sedge (Carex brevior)
Plains oval sedge is one of those understated plants that quietly holds an entire planting together. Native to prairies and open woodlands, it thrives in dry, sandy, and nutrient-poor soils, forming tidy clumps of fine-textured foliage that soften the landscape and fill the spaces between flowering plants.
As we always say—don't skip the sedges! While they may not have showy blooms, sedges are ecological powerhouses. Their dense fibrous root systems help stabilize soil, improve water infiltration, and outcompete weeds, making them an ideal "living mulch" for low-maintenance landscapes.
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Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
Purple prairie clover is a nitrogen-fixing native that actually improves poor soils over time! How cool is that! Its unique magenta-purple flower spikes attract an impressive diversity of native bees throughout the summer. Even the way they bloom is unique– their floral spikes open up from top to bottom over the course of several weeks in various stages.
The plant itself is delicate and wispy, making it a great flower species to plant amongst low-growing sedges.
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Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Little bluestem is one of the most adaptable native grasses for urban landscapes, flourishing in dry, sandy, and nutrient-poor soils. Blue-green summer foliage turns brilliant shades of copper and orange in fall, providing year-round interest and valuable wildlife habitat. Little bluestem can grow about 3-4 feet tall, so it is best planted amongst other medium-height natives.
Like many prairie grasses, little bluestem spends its first few years investing heavily below ground, developing an extensive root system that helps the plant withstand drought. Its seeds feed birds through the winter, while the dense clumps provide shelter for beneficial insects and overwintering pollinators.
Putting it all together…
Ok, now that you have your 5 crummy soil-loving plants, how do you arrange them?
Instead of focusing on the exact placement of every plant, think in groups of 3–5 plants of the same species, repeating these clusters throughout the planting. More delicate species (in this case, the prairie purple clover) can be dotted throughout the planting to act as soft, vertical accents. Arrange plants in gentle drifts rather than straight rows, allowing them to grow together into a natural-looking community over time. Use sedges and grasses generously as the matrix that fills gaps, suppresses weeds, and ties the entire planting together. Pay particular attention to the mature height of each plant, and be sure to keep lower plants to the front and edges, and taller plants to the back.
You got this! Here is what we came up with…
Honorable Mentions
Want more than just 5 plants? Here are 6 more of our favorite “crummy” soil loving natives:
- Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum): Named for its nodding pink flower clusters, nodding onion adds delicate beauty to the summer garden while providing nectar for pollinators.
- Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum): One of spring’s most district flowers with its pink blooms and smoke-like seed heads, prairie smoke is one of the first flowers to bloom, giving waking pollinators much-needed support.
- Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium campestre): Not a grass, but a flower! Blue eyed “grass” has gorgeous blue, star-like blooms and thin, grass-like foliage.
- Ceanothus americanus (New Jersey Tea): A tidy, compact shrub perfect for formal and wild gardens alike. Their white summer blooms put on quite a show!
- Leadplant (Amorpha canescens): This slow-growing native shrub is worth the wait! Its silvery foliage and spikes of purple flowers make it as visually unique as it is ecologically valuable.
- Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis): One of the hardiest native grasses. Its graceful, fountain-like form provides year-round interest and is great for all garden types.