Hanging baskets are usually used only for annuals that get replanted each year, as perennials spending the winter in containers often are too exposed to freeze-thaw cycles and drying cold to have their roots survive. (Hanging baskets also dry out frequently in summer and may need daily - or twice daily - watering.)

Maryland does not have many native annuals that are widely grown and available for purchase. Plus, since the typical non-native annuals used in many gardens (petunias, geraniums, etc.) have been bred for decades to have larger and showier flowers than their wild cousins, the blooms on our native annuals might seem too subtle to gardeners by comparison, at least for aesthetic use since they won't be very visible at a distance. Of course, these plants do have at least some value to wildlife, but less information is available about their care in garden settings since they are so rarely planted. If you wanted to research which annuals to consider and where to find some for sale, here are a few species that might be of interest, though they are not all short-growing and may flop over as they mature:

• Black-eyed Susan (specifically Rudbeckia hirta, since several Rudbeckia species are called Black-eyed Susan)
• Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)
• American Bellflower (Campanula americana) - annual or biennial (living for two years before self-seeding)
• Smooth Beggarticks (Bidens laevis)

As for perennials (and a few annuals), you can explore the Commercial Native Plant List, which contains information for several hundred native plant species. Some are more commercially available than others.

A compact cultivar of Rudbeckia hirta might be the most practical choice, both for ease of sourcing it and its comparatively long bloom time. Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata) might also work, although it only flowers for a couple weeks in mid-spring; it will gradually creep and drape over the side of the basket. Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata), Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis or R. caroliniensis) and various Fleabane species (Erigeron) might work, though of the those three, Ruellia has the longest bloom time (but it's not a profuse bloomer like the unrelated true petunias).

North American native options include Zinnia elegans as a long-blooming annual native to Mexico that is popular with pollinators like butterflies and bees; some cultivars may stay short enough to fit within a basket without flopping over. Lantana camara is native to part of the American tropics and is similarly loved by bees and butterflies, and it develops into a bushy plant by the time fall frosts kill it.

Miri

Miri,

You're welcome!
If you need a broader plant palette to consider, several widely-sold annuals that are non-native but non-invasive do attract pollinators like butterflies, moths, bees, and hummingbirds. In addition to the aforementioned Lantana and Zinnia, examples include:

• Cuphea (common names vary, and include Bat Flower and Cigar Plant; they're popular with hummingbirds)
• Verbena (Verbena bonariensis in particular can be weedy from seed, but others are well-behaved)
• Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena)
• Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana)
• Starflower (Pentas)
• ornamental Sages (Salvia species) - particularly popular with hummingbirds
• Marigold (Tagetes) - mainly just the non-double-flowered forms, where you can see the center of the flower instead of a solid ball of petals

Miri