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Monarda didyma

Scarlet Beebalm features scarlet red flowers, which bloom June-August on top of stiff, erect stems. Cultivars offer flowers in many colors, including shades of pink, purple, and coral. The nectar is a valued food source for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees — it will attract many pollinators to your garden! Deadheading the spent flowers will prolong bloom time. Scarlet Beebalm leaves contain oils that give off a pleasant herbal scent. This plant spreads quickly through re-seeding, so your small patch will grow into a large area in just a few seasons. Scarlet Beebalm is susceptible to powdery mildew; look for resistant cultivars, such as Jacob Cline. Use it in your perennial border, butterfly garden, meadow, and in naturalized areas of your yard.

Mirabilis jalapa

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.

Lonicera sempervirens

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.

Lobelia cardinalis

Cardinal Flower is one of the most attractive native wildflowers in New Jersey. The showy, scarlet-red flowers are a hummingbird magnet, blooming July through September and offering a late summer nectar source. Cardinal Flower requires moist-wet, humus-rich soil to ensure optimum growth. It prefers partly shady areas, but it can tolerate full shade. Enhance your yard’s perennial border, butterfly garden, rain garden, or moist woodland edge with this gorgeous native!

Lantana camara

Lantana is a tough, long-blooming plant, which thrives in summer heat. Round clusters of multi-colored flowers bloom non-stop from July to frost. Lantana tolerates salt spray, making it a good choice for seaside gardens. Use Lantana as bedding plants or in containers. Its leaves have an unpleasant odor if crushed, so avoid planting in areas of the yard where people might step on it.

Hibiscus moscheutos

Rose Mallow is a shrub-like perennial with large, heart-shaped leaves, which are smooth on top and “hairy” underneath. Its large, showy, red, pink, white, or bicolor flowers bloom non-stop from midsummer to frost. This plant prefers moist, organic soil. Use it as a specimen plant or plant in masses. Good choice for low, wet sites and edges of ponds or water features.

Hemerocallis spp.

Daylily is an easy-care perennial with attractive, arching, blade-like leaves. Varieties are available in a wide range of flower colors, mainly shades of yellow, orange, and red. Its large, lily-shaped flowers bloom continuously from midsummer to fall. Use in the perennial flower border, massed in beds, or as a groundcover.

Gomphrena globosa

Common Globe Amaranth is a compact, heat-tolerant annual. Its clover-like flower heads in shades of purple, red, pink, and white bloom on sturdy, thick stems from June to frost. Globe Amaranth makes an excellent fresh-cut or dried flower. Use it in beds, borders, rock gardens, or containers.

Gaillardia x grandiflora

Blanket Flower has daisy-like, tri-colored flowers with yellow-orange petals and dark red centers. It has a long bloom time, from June-September, and makes an excellent cut flower. Butterflies benefit from the nectar, and finches eat the dried seeds. Blanket Flower prefers moist soil, but will tolerate some drought. Use in borders, cutting gardens, or mixed container plantings.

Cosmos bipinnatus

Cosmos is an easy-care, drought-tolerant annual, which flowers prolifically. Its red, pink, or white daisy-like flowers with yellow centers bloom June to frost. Taller varieties should be staked for support when flowering. Deadhead to prolong blooming, but leave some spent flowers in the fall to provide seeds for the birds. This plant will self-seed, sometimes aggressively. Excellent choice for beds, borders, and cutting gardens.