Homegrown Beauty
The Downtown Enhancement Project on Fayetteville Avenue has transformed our city’s heart into a vibrant, inviting space for both residents and visitors. Through the thoughtful design of sustainable landscapes, we’ve created a beautiful, walkable corridor filled with colorful flowers, native plants, and lush greenery. The landscaping enhances the shopping experience and provides a welcoming atmosphere that attracts both business and butterflies. By blending aesthetics with environmental stewardship, this project celebrates the unique beauty of Alma while supporting local commerce and fostering a connection to nature. Whether you’re strolling through downtown or shopping local, the new greenery offers a refreshing, peaceful place to enjoy the best of Alma.
Look below for more information on the plants you may find downtown.
Plant Lists
Annuals (2024)
- Buddy Purple Gomphrena (Gomphrena globosa ‘Buddy Purple’)
- Orange Flame Marigold (Tagates patula)
- Asian Garden Celosia (Celosia argenta ‘Asian Garden’)
- Lantana (Lantana camara)
- Shrimp Plant (Pachystachys lutea)
Perennials and Self-Sowing Annuals
- Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)
- Glade Onion (Allium stellatum)
- Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens)
- Ozark Bluestar (Amsonia illustris)
- Prairie Pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta)
- Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
- Powis Castle Artemsia (Artemsia arborescens ‘Powis Castle‘)
- Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Snow Flurry Heath Aster (Aster ericoides ‘Snow Flurry‘)
- October Skies Aster (Aster oblongifolius ‘October Skies‘)
- Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)
- Cream Wild Indigo (Baptisia bracteata)
- Ohio Horsemint (Blephilia ciliata)
- Side Oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
- Purple Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata)
- Dittany (Cunila origanoides)
- Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
- Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
- Blanket Flower (Gaillardia puchella)
- Rose Verbena (Glandularia canadensis)
- Pardon Me Daylily (Hemocrallis ‘Pardon Me‘)
- Dwarf Crested Iris (Iris cristata)
- Floristan Violet (Liatris spicata ‘Floristan Violet’)
- Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
- Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
- Gardenview Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma ‘Gardenview Scarlet’)
- Walker’s Low Catmint (Nepeta faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’)
- Roundleaf Groundsel (Packera obovata)
- Brand’s Phacelia (Phacelia giliodes)
- Morris Berd Phlox (Phlox glaberrima ‘Morris Berd’)
- Clustered Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
- Hairy Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum verticillatum)
- Longhead Coneflower (Ratibida columnifera)
- Showy Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullvantii)
- Purple Knock Out Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata ‘Purple Knock Out’)
- Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)
- May Night Salvia (Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’)
- Lucerne Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium ‘Lucerne’)
- Suwannee Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium ‘Suwannee)
- Golden Fleece Goldenrod (Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’)
- Western Ironweed (Vernonia baldwinii)
Grasses and Sedges
- White Tinged Sedge (Carex albicans)
- Cherokee Sedge (Carex cherokeensis)
- River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
- River Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
- Prairie Dog Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum ‘Prairie Dog‘)
- Shenandoah Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah‘)
- Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides)
- The Blues Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium ‘The Blues‘)
- Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
Shrubs
- Rose Creek Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora ‘Rose Creek’)
- Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
- New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
- Munchkin Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
- Shrubby St John’s Wort (Hypericum prolificum)
- Dwarf Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
- Little Henry Dwarf Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
- Goldflame Spirea (Spirea x bumalda ‘Goldflame’)
Trees
- Rising Sun Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Rising Sun’)
- Skyline Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Skycole’)
- Tuscarora Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica ‘Tuscarora’)
- Tupelo Tower Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica ‘Tupelo Tower’)
- Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis)
- London Plane Tree (Platanus x acerifolia)
- Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
- Village Green Zelkova (Zelkova serrata ‘Village Green’)