Blanket Flower
Gaillardia Aristata

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per square foot
sunlight requirements: 6-14 hours
look out for:
harvest notes: harvest flowers for arrangements
perennial

Gaillardia (common name blanket flower) is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, native to North and South America. It was named after a M. Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was a patron of botany. The common name may refer to the resemblance of the inflorescence to the brightly patterned blankets made by Native Americans, or to the ability of wild taxa to blanket the ground with colonies. Gaillardia is native to all parts of Florida and are very drought and heat tolerant, making them a great option for adding flowering plants to your annuals garden or general landscaping. Gaillardia plants stay low, under 1 foot tall fully grown, and flower constantly, and can be used for cut flower arrangements too. Pollinators love them and some butterfly species use them as a host plant. We cant recommend Gaillardia and its cousin, the double blanketflower enough, especially for beginners.