Zizia aurea - Golden-Alexanders, Common Golden-Alexanders
Height: 1 – 2 feet
Flowers: flat-topped clusters of tiny yellow flowers
Blooms: April - May
Larval host to Black Swallowtail. Special value to native bees.
Coreopsis auriculata – Larkspur or Mouse-ear Coreopsis
Height: 1 – 1.5 ft
Flower: yellow
Blooms: May-June
Symphyotrichum Here: Heart-leaved Aster, Blue Wood Aster
There are many native asters. Ask your nursery for the perfect (possibly native aster for your yard, example: New England Aster)
For the Blue Wood Aster
Height: 1 - 3 feet
Flowers: mostly blue, mauve, purple
Blooms: July - October.
Important source for bees and butterflies in fall.
Hypericum prolificum - Shrubby St. John’s-wort
Height: 1 – 5 feet
Flowers: yellow
Blooms: June – August
Flowers produces almost no nectar, but abundant pollen for bees and other insects.
Ilex verticillata - Winterberry
Height: 3-12 ft. deciduous
Flowers: Greenish-white
Blooms: May to June.
Red berries (female) late summer to winter.
Important: purchase a male plant to assure that the female plant gets berries)
Iris prismatica - Slender Blueflag
Height: 1 – 3 feet Flowers: purple with some yellow
Blooms in early spring
Looks pretty by a pond/water.
Morella caroliniensis Evergreeen Bayberry
Height: 7 - 10 feet
Flowers: whitish-green
Blooms: April - June
Fruits: pale blue August - October
great hedge plant.
Polygonatum biflorum - Solomon’s Seal
Height: 2 – 3 feet Flower: cream, very discreet
Blooms: April - June
bloom is followed by blue berries
Heuchera americana - American Alumroot
Height: leaves up to 6 inches, flowering stems 1 – 2 feet
Flowers: creamy, delicate
Blooms: April – June
Grows well in pots, look lovely in rock gardens
Baptisia tinctoria - Yellow Wild Indigo
Height: 2 - 3 feet Flower: yellow blooms: May - July
likes acidic soil
Attracts butterflies, caterpillars LARVAL HOST TO FROSTED ELFIN
Eurybia divaricata - White Wood Aster
Height: 6 inches – 3.5 feet Flower: delicate, white, yellow center
Blooms: August - October
Supports a wide variety of butterflies.
Tradescantia virginiana - Virginia Spiderwort
Height: 1.5 – 3 feet
Flowers: blue - purple with some yellow
Blooms: May - July
Black walnut tolerant
Quercus - Oaks
Oaks are one of the most beneficial trees for all kinds of wildlife. Please check specific requirements for your particular oak. MOST SONGBIRDS PREFER THE WHITE OAK. CATERPILLARS DEPEND ON THIS TREE.
Height: 40 - 115 feet
Flower: Catkins appear in March - May
Fruit: Acorn
Cornus florida - Flowering dogwood
Height: 15 - 20 feet
Flowers: white or pink aromatic flowers BEFORE leaves come out.
Blooms: March - May
prefers rich, well-drained acid soil
Solidago - Goldenrods Goldenrod
Goldenrods is a genus that has 90 - 110 species. Many are native. Please ask your nursery for advice.
Flowers: yellow
Blooms: Fall
This plant does not cause hay fever but they attract bees, native bees, and butterflies. They also support the greatest number of caterpillars of any wildflower.
Callicarpa americana American Beauty-berry
Height: 3 - 6 feet
Flowers: small clusters of pink/purple
Blooms: June - August
Seeds and berries are important foods for many species of birds. Edge landscape plants.
Achillea millefolium – Common Yarrow
Height: 1 - 3 feet
Flower: white (and other colors)
Blooms: June through August
Iris verna - Coastal Plain Dwarf Violet Iris
Height: 1 + foot
Flowers: deep purple with some orange
Blooms: early spring
Needs well drained soil. Attracts hummingbirds.
Great plant for water features. For best results: grow from seed.
Asclepias syriaca - Common Milkweed
Height: 3 - 5+ feet
Flowers: mauve/white
Blooms: June - August
Highly valuable nectar source for pollinators. Host plant to the (larvae of the) monarch butterfly.
Sundial Lupine
Height: 1 - 2 feet
Flower: purple or blue blooms: April - July
Attracts caterpillars, butterflies, birds
Enhances soil fertility, LARVAL HOST TO THE EASTERN TIGER
SWALLOWTAIL AND MONARCH BUTTERFLY. Moderately deer
resistant
Asclepias variegata - White Milkweed
Height : 1 – 4 feet Flowers: white Blooms: May - July
Highly valuable nectar source for pollinators. Critical host plant for the monarch butterfly. Attracts pollinators, birds and caterpillars
Attracts the Monarch butterfly to visit, lay eggs (host plant)
Pontederia cordata - Pickerelweed
Height: 3 – 3.5 feet
Flower: deep blue Blooms: June - November
Attracts Dragonflies (they eat up to 200 mosquitos per day)
Penstemon laevigatus - Smooth Beard-tongue
Height: 2 – 3 feet when blooming Flowers: whitish
Blooms: May - July
Attracts hummingbirds, native bees
Amelanchier canadensis Canada Serviceberry, Juneberry
Height: 25 - 30 feet
Flowers: white
Blooms: June trough August
Fruits: red-purple
great for smaller gardens. Attracts 40 bird species and native bees.
Chelone glabra - White-turtlehead
Height: 3 - 6 feet
Flowers: white, pink, often lavendar-tinged)
Blooms: July - September
naturally found near water, likes rich soil
Aquilegia canadensis - Wild or Eastern Red Columine
Heigth: 1 - 3 ft.
Flowers: redish
Blooms: April - May
Looks good in rock gardens; self sowing
Soil needs to be well drained.
Rudbeckia hirta - Black-eyed Susan
Height: 1 - 3.5 feet
Flowers: yellow black center
Blooms: June - October
Bonus: is drought tolerant. Might be an aggressive spreader. Should you worry about that, this plant grows well in pots as well.
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Pycnanthemum tenuifolium - Narrow-leaf Mountain-mint
Height: 2 - 3 feet when blooming
Flower: whitish
Blooms: July - September
A pollinator magnet
Can spread aggressively. Prefers moist, well drained soil.
Monarda fistulosa - Wild Bergamot - Beebalm
Height: 2 – 4 feet Flower: purple Blooms: July – September
Can spread aggressively
Virginia Blue Flag
Height: 2 - 3 feet
Flower: purple with some yellow blooms: February – March+
Attracts butterflies, birds Highly deer resistant
Asclepias syriaca - Common Milkweed
Height: 3 – 5 feet Flower: light purple Blooms: June - August
Attention: can be aggressive, it spreads underground, you might want to plant it in a pot.
HOST PLANT TO MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed
Height: 1 – 4 feet
Flower: pink with white
blooms: June - August
A favorite of the monarch butterfly. A pollinator magnet
Nyssa sylvatica Black Gum, Black Tupelo
Height: 40 - 60 feet
Flowers: Greenish-white
Blooms: April
Fruits: purplish-blue in September - October
Nectar used by bees for tupelo honey. Host plant to 25 native caterpillar
Likes acidic well drained soil.
Eutrochium dubium - Three-nerved Joe-pye-weed
Height: 3 - 5 feet
Flower: pink Blooms: July – September
A POLLINATOR MAGNET
Eutrochium purpureum Sweet or Purple Joe-pye-weed
Height: 5 - 7 ft.
Flowers: cream - purplish
Blooms: July - September
A pollinator magnet magnet
Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Weed
Height: 1 - 2.5 feet
Flowers: bright orange with some yellow
Blooms: May - July
Highly valuable nectar source for pollinators. Host plant for the monarch butterfly.
Phlox divaricata - Wild Blue Phlox, Woodland Phlox
5 - 18 inches tall
Flowers: lavendar or pink
Blooms: April - May
Sprawling habit
Needs well drained soil, filtered light
Salvia lyrate - Lyre-leaf Sage
Height: 1 – 2.5 ft
Flowers: light blue, violet
Booms: April – June
blooms attract native bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Host to 5 species of native caterpillars.
Rudbeckia fulgida - Orange Coneflower
Height: 2 – 3 feet
Flower: yellow black center
Blooms: July - October
might spread aggressively,grow well in pots. Birds (goldfinches) enjoy the ripe seeds. Likes well drained, acidic soil.