Common Ninebark is a wildlife-friendly, spreading, deciduous shrub, featuring clusters of pinkish-white flowers which bloom May-June. Flowers provide an excellent nectar source for native bees. Drooping clusters of red fruit offer food for birds in the summer. Common Ninebark is valued for its exfoliating (peeling) bark, which reveals layers of reddish-brown inner bark, offering winter interest. This plant tolerates poor soil conditions. Use Common Ninebark in your shrub border, or as a hedge or screen in your yard.

Phlox features fragrant, pink flowers May-July; the flowers decline in the summer heat. It prefers consistently moist soil, but can tolerate short periods of dryness. Many cultivars offer a variety of colors to choose from. Phlox will re-seed itself and spread. It offers a valued nectar source for butterflies. Use Phlox as edging for your borders and beds, in your rock garden, and in containers. Plant in masses to offer maximum appeal in your yard.

Petunia is a flowering plant grown as an annual in New Jersey. Its green, thick leaves are slightly sticky. Its large, fragrant, funnel-shaped or ruffled flowers come in a variety of sizes and colors. This plant flowers non-stop from spring to frost. Removing the spent flowers encourages more blooms. Petunias are adaptable to many different soil types and conditions. Use Petunias in cascading beds, containers, hanging baskets, and in annual or mixed borders around your yard for a burst of long-lasting color.

Zonal Geranium is grown as an annual in New Jersey. The distinctive foliage of this plant has a zone of darker green circling the leaf centers. Clusters of colorful flowers on long stalks bloom throughout the summer and early fall; varieties are available in shades of pink, red, purple, orange, and white. Deadhead the spent flowers to promote new blooms. This plant prefers well-drained soil and good air circulation. Use Zonal Geranium in hanging baskets, window boxes, and in borders around your yard.

Switchgrass is a clumping ornamental grass, which may naturalize by rhizomes and through self-seeding. Pink-tinged flowers display from July through February, turning beige in mid- to late summer. The seeds are a good food source for birds. Switchgrass is a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Delaware Skipper (Anatrytone logan) and Dotted Skipper (Hesperia attalus), as well as most banded skippers and satyrs. Cut it back to the ground in late winter-early spring. Plant Switchgrass in masses to use as a screen or in naturalized areas of your yard. Use cut stems and seed heads as an accent in fresh or dried flower arrangements.

Hairawn Muhly is a clump-forming, warm-season grass. Pink to purple to red flowers bloom above the foliage September-November, offering attractive fall color. It tolerates heat, humidity, drought, and poor, dry, sandy soils, as well as flooding — perfect for Jersey-Friendly Yards! Plant Hairawn Muhly in groups along your borders and foundations and in naturalized areas of your yard.

Four o’clocks are tuberous perennials grown as annuals in New Jersey. Their fragrant, tubular-shaped flowers bloom June to frost. The flower buds open from late afternoon (four o’clock — as per their common name) until the next morning, then close during the day. Colors vary, including red, yellow, and pink, and the nectar is attractive to hummingbirds and moths. This plant adds nighttime color to gardens around outdoor living spaces. Use Four o’clocks in mixed borders, as an annual hedge, or in your patio containers.

Saucer Magnolia is a small to medium, deciduous hybrid tree (M. denudata x M. liliiflora). Its fragrant, pink-white-purplish flowers bloom in March, offering early spring color to your garden. Plant it in a protected area of your yard, as it does not handle frost well — the flowers may become brown and mushy. It can also be planted as a multi-stemmed shrub. You can use Saucer Magnolia as a specimen tree or wild hedge for your yard or neighborhood park.

Trumpet Honeysuckle is a twining, wildlife-friendly deciduous vine, which will attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees to your garden! Its red-pink-orange, trumpet-shaped flowers bloom May-June and offer hummingbirds and nectar-loving pollinators an energy-rich food source. The berries are an attractive food source for many species of birds, including finches and robins. The foliage is host to butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) and Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis). Wait until after flowering to prune. Trumpet Honeysuckle can be trained on your trellis, arbor, pergola, or along a fence around your yard.

Eastern Blazing Star is a tall, upright perennial. Rose, lavender, or white feathery flowers open from top to bottom from August-October, and make excellent cut or dried flowers. Eastern Blazing Star is a valuable nectar plant for native bees and bumblebees. It does well in dry soils or rocky soils. Use it in borders, meadows, and naturalized areas, and as vertical accent plants.