Blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata) is a great native plant to use in any landscape or perennial garden. Its multicolored flowers make it a great companion plant to complement any red, orange or yellow flowering perennials. Blanket flower is a medium sized perennial, growing up to 3 ft tall and wide. Flowers are round daisy-like blooms of golden yellow with dark red bases and a bronze center. This flower has fuzzy stems, arugula shaped leaves and the inch long petals have 3-toothed tips. With some deadheading it can bloom all summer long, starting in June and flowering through September.

Blanket flower is a prolific seeding plant which makes it a great addition to seed mixes used in restoration projects or in wildflower meadows. Plant in dry, well draining soil or sow seeds on bare soil mostly raked in or scattered. Seeds need sunlight to germinate, but don’t always need cold stratification. Gaillardia is a drought tolerant perennial that can grow in a variety of sun exposures, ranging from full sun to part shade. This plant supports native bees and attracts butterflies, but its most intriguing visitor is the colorful Schinia moth. The moth uses Gaillardia as a host plant and camouflages itself within the flowerheads because the moth is often also red and yellow in appearance.

Gaillardia aristata is found throughout the western United States, including the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. It can be found growing wild in the North and Northeastern parts of Oregon. Blanket flower grows in many habitats, including prairies, sagebrush grasslands and coniferous forests.