Bare patches in a perennial border can feel like unfinished chapters in your garden’s story. Thankfully, incorporating the fastest growing perennials is an easy solution to the problem—and it comes with the added bonus of making life better for the birds and bees, too.
If you’re tired of seeing bare soil before your established favorites take off, choosing fast-growing native plants is one of the most gratifying ways to knit your garden together. Particularly as pollinator populations fluctuate, selecting plants that fill space and feed bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects creates a healthier backyard ecosystem.
Perennials that grow quickly not only provide color and texture sooner, but they also suppress weeds, improve soil stability, and help create a sense of fullness that makes a garden feel intentional. When rooted well, these plants establish dense foliage or abundant blooms year after year, which ultimately reduces the need for replanting or frequent maintenance.
Why Native Perennials Excel at Filling Garden Gaps
If you’re hoping to fill gaps and unsightly bare patches quickly, then look to native garden plants first. Uniquely adapted to their local regions, they’re often tougher, easier to grow, and more attractive to native pollinators than ornamental imports.
Choosing natives keeps your outdoor space vibrant and full of life, often with minimal fuss once they’re settled. With so many great options available at nurseries and native plant sales, there’s no reason to let bare patches stick around.
Here are seven fast-growing, pollinator-friendly native perennials that can help you fill bare patches and create a lush, buzzing garden that feels complete quickly.
1. Bee Balm (Monarda didyma)
If you want something that fills space quickly and brings your garden to life with pollinators, bee balm is hard to beat. This native perennial forms generous clumps that bulk out borders in a season or two, making it ideal for plugging gaps fast.
Its bold, shaggy blooms are a magnet for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, while its vigorous growth means it won’t leave you waiting long for visual impact. Bee balm thrives in sunny spots with reasonably moist soil and will happily naturalize if left to its own devices. Just be sure to provide good air circulation to prevent powdery mildew.
2. Milkweed (Asclepias spp.)
Perhaps best known as the mandatory host plant for monarch butterflies, milkweed also produces nectar-rich flowers that attract a wide range of pollinators. Many butterfly species, bees, and beneficial wasps visit milkweed blooms throughout the summer. Helpful and stunning, milkweed grows up quickly from plugs or potted plants, providing an upright presence that fills vertical space beautifully in a mixed perennial border.
3. Coreopsis (Tickseed)
A classic prairie native, coreopsis produces bright golden, daisy-like flowers that attract bees and butterflies, blooming abundantly throughout the season. It self-seeds readily, helping to thicken planting areas over time. These plants grow quickly in full sun and well-drained soil, making them downright perfect for filling in sunny gaps in beds and borders.
4. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
A favorite in native plant gardens, the purple coneflower is hardy, long-blooming, and excellent at attracting pollinators of all kinds. Once established, it produces abundant blooms that can help cover bare patches and build volume in perennial borders. It also tends to self-seed gently, filling in surrounding space naturally over subsequent seasons.
5. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow’s feathery foliage and clusters of flat flower heads offer a distinct texture that fills mid-garden gaps beautifully, not least of all because it’s one of the fastest growing perennials available. Tolerant of heat and drought, yarrow spreads to make dense clumps that help unify your planting scheme. Bees and other beneficial insects are frequent visitors to its blooms, and its long season means you’ll enjoy color and activity from summer into fall.
Note: Caution should be taken when growing yarrow, as in the right conditions, it can become overly aggressive and may require monitoring to stay within its designated boundary.
6. Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
Heralded as a vital ecological asset by conservationists, native goldenrod is a nectar powerhouse for late-season pollinators and a fast grower in sunny spots. It produces tall, plume-like sprays of yellow flowers that quickly fill vertical gaps and add late-season color and life to your planting scheme just as other summer flowers begin to fade.
7. Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)
If you’ve got low, bare patches that need covering fast, creeping phlox is a brilliant go-to choice. This native perennial forms a dense, spreading mat of evergreen foliage that quickly knits together empty spaces, especially along borders, slopes, or pathways.
In spring, it bursts into a carpet of color (ranging from soft pinks and purples to blues and whites) that looks stunning and attracts early-season pollinators like native bees and butterflies. Once established, it’s highly drought-tolerant and low-maintenance, making it a reliable choice for gardeners who want maximum ground coverage with minimal effort.
Maximize Success with Fast-Growing Perennials
Filling bare spots with some of the fastest growing perennials does more than just improve the aesthetics of your landscape; it creates a helpful habitat for wildlife, reduces room for opportunistic weeds, and builds a sense of continuity from season to season. By leaning into native, pollinator-friendly plants like these, you’ll help support crucial insect populations that keep local ecosystems thriving.
Whichever species you choose, be sure to plant them in groups or drifts for the greatest visual impact. Take care to apply a layer of mulch to help retain moisture as your speedy perennial plants get established, and take the time to enjoy watching both your garden and its buzzing visitors flourish.