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Betula lenta

Sweet Birch is a large deciduous tree with reddish-brown to reddish-black bark. The cherry-like bark is smooth on young trees and scaly on mature ones. The catkins (elongated, drooping clusters of tiny flowers without petals) appear just before the leaves emerge. The leaves turn golden-yellow in the fall. The seeds are a food source for a variety of birds. Sweet Birch is a host tree for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillar), including Green Comma (Polygonia faunus). Crushed twigs have a wintergreen-like odor. Birch oil from this tree was once used to flavor candy and medicine, and the sap was used to make birch beer. This tree does well in areas where the soil is shaded, cool, and moist. Trees planted in full sun should be mulched and watered during periods of drought. Give this tree plenty of room to grow! Use Sweet Birch as a canopy tree in woodland gardens, or as a shade tree in moist areas of a large yard or park.

Betula alleghaniensis

Yellow Birch is a large deciduous tree with distinctive bark. The peeling, yellow-bronze, shiny bark has a paper-like appearance. Crushed twigs have a wintergreen-like odor. The showy catkins (elongated, drooping clusters of tiny flowers without petals) appear just before the leaves emerge. The seeds are a food source for a variety of birds. The leaves turn brilliant yellow in the fall. Yellow Birch does well in areas where the soil is shaded, cool, and moist. Trees that are planted in full sun should be mulched and watered during periods of drought. This tree is long-lived for a birch, often living over 100 years. Its strong, close-grained wood has a wide range of color variation, making it popular in furniture-making. Give this large tree plenty of room to grow! Use Yellow Birch as a canopy tree in woodland gardens, or as a shade tree in moist areas of a large yard or park.

Begonia cultivars

Begonia is a long-blooming annual, which comes in a variety of flower colors, including white, pink, red, and bicolor. The compact plants have attractive, waxy, green to bronze leaves and fleshy stems. The flowers bloom from May to frost. Begonia performs best in sun-dappled shade with consistent moisture. This plant is most attractive when massed in beds or borders. It can also be used in container plantings.

Baccharis halimifolia

Migrating butterflies and other pollinators nectar on the late summer blooming flowers, and birds eat the seeds.

Baptisia tinctoria

Horseflyweed is a bushy perennial with small, yellow, pea-like flowers blooming May-June. The flowers are borne in clusters on tall stems above a mound of gray-green foliage. The flower nectar has special value to native bees and bumblebees. This plant is a host to moth and butterfly larvae (caterpillars), including Frosted Elfin (Callophrys irus), Dusky-winged Butterfly (Thanaos brizo), and Io Moth (Automeris io), and is the only known food source for Wild Indigo Dusky Winged (Erynnis baptisiae) butterfly larvae. Its reputation for protecting horses and mules from horseflies led to its common name, Horseflyweed. Use it in a meadow garden, sunny informal area, or in a butterfly or pollinator garden.

Baptisia australis

Blue Wild Indigo is a tall, bushy perennial with lupine-like, purple flowers, which bloom May-June. The flowers are borne in clusters at the top of tall stems, which extend above a mound of blue-green foliage. It tolerates both drought and poor soils.

Aurinia saxatilis

Goldentuft is a low-growing, mat-forming perennial, which produces a bountiful bloom of bright yellow flowers in spring, April-May. It tolerates drought and dry soils. The mounds of gray-green leaves covered in golden flowers look great in rock gardens or growing over rock walls. It can also be used in beds, as an edging plant, or as a groundcover on slopes.

Asimina triloba

Pawpaw is a small understory tree or large shrub, which grows to form thickets. It has large, drooping, tropical-like leaves. Its cup-shaped, purple flowers bloom April-May, followed by large, green, edible fruits that taste like a mixture of bananas and pineapples. As the fruit ripens in the fall, it turns a brownish color. The fruit is a food source for birds and small mammals. This plant’s large, green leaves turn yellow in the fall. Pawpaw is a host plant to butterfly larvae (caterpillars), including Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) and Pawpaw sphinx (Dolba hyloeus). Use as shrub border or woodland edge plant, in rain gardens, along the edges of ponds or streams, or as a specimen tree in a shade garden.

Asclepias tuberosa

Butterfly Weed is a long-blooming, drought-tolerant, wildlife-friendly perennial. Its showy, bright orange flowers bloom in flat-topped clusters, June-August. The nectar is attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds; it has special value for native bees. The flowers are followed by attractive seed pods, which are used in dried flower arrangements. Butterfly Weed is a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), Queen (Danaus gilippus), and Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus). Butterfly Weed does not have milky sap like other milkweeds; however, like other milkweeds, the leaves contain cardiac glycosides. When ingested by Monarch butterfly larvae feeding on the leaves, these substances make them (and the adult butterflies) toxic to birds and other predators. This plant’s deep tap root makes it difficult to transplant once established. Use Butterfly Weed in sunny borders, meadows, rain gardens, and butterfly gardens.

Asclepias syriaca

Common Milkweed is a wildlife-friendly perennial. The large, thick leaves are light green with red veins. Rounded clusters of fragrant, pinkish-purple flowers bloom June-August. Large, bumpy seed pods split open when ripe to release silky, wind-dispersed seeds. The seed pods are used in dried floral arrangements. This plant’s nectar is a food source for butterflies, native bees, bumblebees, and honeybees. Common Milkweed is an important nectar source and larval (caterpillar) host plant for Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterflies. The leaves and stems have a milky sap, which contains cardiac glycosides. When ingested by Monarch butterfly larvae feeding on the leaves, the cardiac glycosides make them (and the adult butterflies) toxic to birds and other predators. Common Milkweed grows well in poor, dry soils. It spreads by self-seeding and rhizomes (underground stems) to form colonies. This plant is best used in wildlife gardens, meadows, and other naturalized areas.