Mapleleaf Viburnum features yellowish-white flower clusters blooming April-August. The flowers are followed by red berries, which turn blue-black when ripe. Fall foliage is reddish-purple. Mapleleaf Viburnum is a nectar and fruit source for bees, butterflies, birds, and wildlife. Mapleleaf Viburnum is a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon).
Culver’s Root features tiny, multiple, white to pale-blue flowers, which bloom on erect spikes, June-August. The nectar is a valuable food source for native bees, honeybees, and butterflies. Culver’s Root prefers fertile, moist soil that does not dry out. Use Culver’s Root as a moist, woodland border or in your rain garden.
Wildlife Value: Butterflies and native bees, such as sweat bees, carpenter bees and bumble bees, will visit the flowers.
Cranberry is a low-growing, woody vine with small, white-pink flowers, which bloom in abundance, May-July. The flower nectar offers a valuable food source for native bees. The edible, tart fruit, which ripens in September-October, is used in pies, muffins, sauces, and other dishes. The small green leaves turn bright red in fall. Cranberry grows in wet, boggy areas in the wild. It can be used as an evergreen groundcover in moist areas of your yard, or grow it as a specimen plant in your small garden. It is typically grown in a mass for commerical production.
Lowbush Blueberry is a flowering deciduous shrub with edible fruit. It features small, white, bell-shaped flowers with pink/reddish edges, which bloom April-May, offering a valuable nectar source to native bees. The sweet and edible fruit ripens in summer and provides an important food source for birds. The berries are used in pies, muffins, and other dishes, and eaten fresh. Showy fall foliage is bronze, scarlet, and crimson. Plant Lowbush Blueberry along borders, as a tall groundcover, as small hedges, or in naturalized areas of your yard.
Heartleaf Foamflower features tiny, pink blossoms, which open into white flowers on airy, terminal clusters in May. It prefers organically rich, moist soil; the soil should not be allowed to dry out. This plant spreads by rhizomes (underground stems) to form colonies. Use Heartleaf Foamflower in your shade garden, rain garden, along edges of ponds, or as a groundcover.
Marigold species come in many sizes and flower colors, ranging from red, orange, yellow and white, to a blend of colors. The flowers bloom June through frost, offering a long-lasting season of enjoyment. The flowers can be used either fresh-cut or dried in floral arrangements. The finely cut, fern-like leaves are often aromatic. This easy-to-grow plant is both disease- and pest-resistant. Plant Marigolds along borders, as accents in corners of your yard, or alongside tomatoes and peppers in your vegetable garden.
Japanese Tree Lilac is a small to medium, deciduous tree with large clusters of creamy-white, fragrant flowers. The flowers bloom in June, later than most other lilac shrubs. For best blooms, plant Japanese Tree Lilac in full sun. The flowers provide a rich nectar source for native bees and butterflies. Use Japanese Tree Lilac as an ornamental specimen tree in your yard, or a street tree in your neighborhood.