In the golden days of summer, a prairie is in its glory. You can capture some of that glory for your garden by incorporating native prairie plants, according to Julie Janoski, manager of the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

The Schulenberg Prairie at the Arboretum is one of the oldest and most successful restored prairies in the Midwest, planted on a former farm field nearly 60 years ago.

“It’s a great place to see prairie and savanna plants in their natural context and get ideas for your own yard,” Janoski said. “And at this time of year, it’s just lovely.”

One of the things you’ll notice about prairie plants is they tend to be tall. A tall-grass prairie consists mainly of grasses, intermingled with flowers. “In a prairie, the plants hold each other up and move together like waves in the wind,” Janoski said. “In your garden, tall plants may need to be staked for support to keep them from flopping. Or you may choose cultivated varieties that have been selected to be more compact, with shorter stems.”

In choosing a cultivated variety of a native plant, pick one whose blooms are fairly similar to those of the wild species. “A major reason we garden with native flowers is to provide nectar and pollen for insects and other pollinators,” Janoski said. “If the flowers are too different in color or shape from the wild plant, they may not work as well for bees and butterflies.”

It’s also important to match a plant to your garden’s conditions. “Prairie plants will need full sun,” she said. “But some come from moist prairies and some from dry prairies, or prairies with different kinds of soil. Do some research to make sure you’re choosing a species that can thrive in your site.”

Here are just a few starter suggestions from Janoski for prairie plants that may work in a garden:

Blue false indigo (Baptisia australis): This large, showy, shrublike plant has gray-green leaves and spikes of blue flowers in May. White wild indigo (Baptisia alba) has white blooms. Some hybrids of Baptisia are more compact.

Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa):The pale lavender flowers of this plant are bee magnets. Several members of the genus Monarda are also known by the common name “bee balm,” so be sure you choose a species that fits your garden’s conditions.

Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa): The most vivid of the milkweeds that provide critical food for monarch butterfly caterpillars, this plant has broad clusters of tiny, bright-orange flowers.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis): This shrub has delightful spherical white flower heads, like tiny disco balls, in midsummer. It is a wet-prairie plant that needs moist soil and lots of space.

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis):Native to wet prairies, cardinal flower has vivid red flower spikes. It depends on hummingbirds for pollination.

Switch grass (Panicum virgatum): This native grass grows about 3 to 4 feet tall, with flower spikes that reach higher in late summer. The cultivar Northwind stands especially upright. Other prairie grasses that work well in gardens are little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis).

Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum): The leaves at the base are huge and wide, and in summer, stalks of bright-yellow flowers can reach up to 8 feet tall.

Pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida):With wispier, paler petals, this native coneflower has a different look than the more widely planted purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). Many hybrids and cultivated varieties of coneflower are available, often with colors and shapes totally unlike the wild species. For the sake of pollinators, it might be wise to choose plants with pink or purple blooms that are similar to wild coneflowers. “You want the bees and butterflies to be able to recognize them,” Janoski said.

For tree and plant advice, contact the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum (630-719-2424, mortonarb.org/plant-clinic, or plantclinic@mortonarb.org). Beth Botts is a staff writer at the Arboretum.