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.
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.
Woodland Sunflower’s bright yellow flowers with darker yellow centers bloom July-September; the showy flowers are good fresh-cut. This wildlife-friendly plant provides nectar and pollen for native butterflies and bees, and seeds for a variety of birds. Use it in shady borders, cutting gardens, or for naturalizing. It will spread over time by rhizomes (underground stems).
Common Sunflower has large flower heads with dark centers and bright yellow rays. The flower heads, which turn to face the sun, bloom on tall, hairy stems July-August. Birds love to feast on the seeds, and the nectar is a valuable food source for native bees. Use the taller varieties, which may need staking, in the back of borders, and dwarf varieties in beds or the front of borders.
Swamp Sunflowers have yellow rays and reddish-brown to purple centers; they bloom September-November. Pinch the growth in early June for bushier plants with more blooms in the fall. This plant tolerates wet areas of the yard and bog-like conditions, and is suitable for rain gardens or the edges of water features. Use as a specimen plant or massed in beds.
Black Huckleberry is a deciduous shrub with green leaves, which turn orange-crimson in the fall. Its white-pink, bell-shaped flowers bloom May-July, followed by purplish-black edible berries, which can be eaten fresh or baked into pies and muffins. The berries are an important food source for songbirds, turkeys, upland game birds, and other wildlife. The plants tends to colonize. Use Black Huckleberry in wildlife gardens, shrub borders, and foundation plantings.
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 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.
Gray Dogwood is a flowering deciduous shrub. Clusters of white flowers appear in late May to early June. Flowers are followed by small, white, berry-like fruits, which attract many species of birds. The fruits are on top of branched, red twigs, which remain showy after the fruits have been consumed by the birds. Gray Dogwood is a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Spring Azure (Celastrina “ladon”), and it provides habitat cover and shelter for wildlife. It will tolerate poor and somewhat dry soils. Use in masses in shrub borders, screen plantings, or wildlife gardens. It is also a good choice for rain gardens or the edges of ponds or streams. Visit Native Plant Society of NJ “Plant Profiles & Photos” for additional information and photos.
Flowering Dogwood is a lovely, spring-blooming deciduous tree. Its showy, white flowers appear April-May, offering a valuable nectar source for native bees. The flowers are followed by oval-shaped fruits, which mature to a bright red color in late summer; the fruits are a food source for birds.