I would try one of the Eupatoriums. They are generally taller than 4' but strong-stemmed, some should be hardy in your zone, AND they will attact butterflies.

Other suggestions for a "wind block" would be a tall grass, e.g. a Miscanthus of some sort.

Cheers.

i would suggest butterfly bush. they get very tall, can be kept at the height you want, comes in tons of colors and is drought tolerent in my garden.

some butterfly weeds also get very tall. I'll think of a few others and post again later.

Another shrub suggestion would be Spice Bush or Lindera benzoin. It's very sturdy and is a host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail.
Joann

hi gain -- one other suggestion is to post this question over in the butterfly garden. i'd bet they have a billion suggestions for you :)

j.

Butterfly bush, Buddleia, may not be hardy for you. Eupatoriums should be as will most grasses. E. joicus variegatus is a terrific plant and a real butterfly magnet.

I don't need anything that attacks butterfly's - I have that. I'm looking for a beautiful large plant.

Thanks

Buddleia has been hardy for my Z:4 garden but needs to be mulched well for winter. It also dies back to the ground each year, regrowing in the spring but has never gotten over 3-3 1/2 feet tall.

How much wind? Do you live on the prairie? Grasses are great in the wind. Eupatorium, Joe Pye Weed, can be trimmed if you don't want it more than 4 ft tall. Some varieties do not get that tall. How about Venusta 'Queen of the Prairie' with its pink plume. Cup flower is a tall native plant. Innula?

E. joicius variegatus is also a beautiful plant--attracting butterflies is just a plus.

Grasses are a great idea. You don't have to worry about them falling over and there are many varieties. Day lilies also come to mind - they're pretty tough. Phlox, goldenrod, hollyhocks and coneflowers would work also. Rudbeckia nitida, "Herbstsonne" is also a tall sturdy plant. I've never had any one of these plants topple unless it was an unusually hard, driving rain. I also love my Helianthus "Lemon Queen". I cut mine back and it still gets to be over 5 feet tall, otherwise it would top 7 feet. I use this as a backdrop to my lily garden behind my pond. It blooms later and spreads rapidly and is covered in lemon yellow blooms. It resembles a large shrub from a distance. In fact I've had people mistake it for such. Try to keep it between 4 and 5 feet tall or it can fall over high winds. I cut mine back a few times in early summer to contain its height. It's a show stopper when in bloom.

If you want butterflies, look no farther than eupatorium Joe Pye. I have a huge one in the middle of one bed and it is covered with butterflies when in bloom. The monarchs swarm to it. Mary

Here's a couple shots of stuff that 'anchors' the corners of my (messy) gardens. Pay no attention to the lack of mowing on this particular day:

"Red Prince" Weigela:
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To the right there's an "Alfredo" bush in this shot

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This one is just various tall 'stuff' like bee balm, milkweed, and phlox...probably not what you're looking for...
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To the far right in each of these pictures, you'll see a Ninebark (the dark brown shrubby thing)...
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...and this one has the Spirea way in the back right corner

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Another shrub is this Golden Rose of China bush that in this pic was 3 seasons old (planted mere 'sticks' and it's doing fabulous...have a whole row of them 'guarding' our front property line). May be a little big for what you're looking for, though at I believe 6x6 mature size.

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I don't have a pic of my dwarf lilac...can't remember if it's a Japanese or Korean one, but it's cute & lovely lavender. Currently checking in at only about 3', and not sure how tall it'll eventually be since again, I'm not sure which nationality it is ;)

Maybe some of these helped, maybe not, but figured I'd throw them out there for you.

How about persicaria polymorpha? Grows 5-7 feet, has fluffly white flowers in July & August, hardy to zone 4, tolerates a wide range of soil and is not invasive. What more could you ask.

You want a focal point or an anchor, I believe. Let's push the boundaries a bit, not having seen your over all design. I see you are zone 5, so it gets cold and the garden gets bare several months out of the year. What about a simple, classy obelisques or other structure with a repeat blooming clematis? Or zephrine Drouin which blooms throughout the season? (Sorry my spelling is so horrid today). Or a beautiful, slow growing chamycypress? Someone who is a grea gardener finally persuaded me I needed some definition and grounding in my overflowing perennial garden. She was so right. We put in taxus 'smaarg' at three corners, and there they stand, the pillars of the community giving some order to the disorderly masses!

felisa, what a great suggestion! I had forgotten all about Persicaria polymorpha -- what a great, architectural plant.

Something you don't see very often is cup plant, silphium perfoliatum-or something like that. It does get taller than 4' though. It has large leaves that form cups that birds often get water from in the mornings. The foliage looks good I think from spring to fall, & in late July it starts to bloom yellow daisylike flowers when nothing else much is flowering.

felisa- I had to go look that one up and wow! This is a gorgeous one! I'd love to find one this year; it's definitely going on the list.

Oh, and I found an old thread with a great pic:

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll down for the great shot of Fleece Flower

I also like the 'Lemon Queen' helianthus. It's a very large plant, but quite sturdy, long flowering and disease-free. Another idea might be one of the shrub willows or a cotinus. Phlox hits 4' reliably and also doesn't flop. Baptisia is a little shorter - more like 3' - but also sturdy and beautiful, in and out of bloom.