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Viburnum dentatum

Arrowwood is a wildlife-friendly deciduous shrub featuring white flowers with yellow stamens, which bloom May-July. The flowers provide a nectar source for native bees and butterflies. Blue-black berries follow the flowers, and offer a valued food source for birds and wildlife. Fall foliage can be yellow, glossy red, or reddish-purple. Arrowwood is a host plant for Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) butterfly larvae. Use this durable plant in massed plantings, shrub borders, and in shrub hedges.

Viburnum x burkwoodii

Burkwood Viburnum is a cross between V. utile and V. carlesii. Fragrant white flowers bloom in April, followed by red, berry-like fruits, which ripen to black in summer. The leaves turn dark red in the fall. Burkwood Viburnum tolerates a wide range of soils, but prefers well-drained loamy soil. Plant Burkwood Viburnum as a shrub border in your yard.

Veronica spicata

Speedwell features deep blue-purple flowers on tall spikes, which bloom June-August. Deadhead flowers to promote continuous blooms. Speedwell prefers constant moisture in well-drained soil, but it will tolerate drought once established. The genus Veronica contains many cultivars offering other colors and characteristics. Use it in rock gardens and borders around your yard.

Vaccinium angustifolium

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.

Thymus praecox

Mother-of-Thyme features tiny, red-purple flowers, which bloom in abundance, June-September. The nectar offers a valuable food source for native bees and butterflies. Mother-of-Thyme is easily grown in dry, sandy, rocky, gritty soil in full sun. This plant withstands light foot traffic. Use Mother-of-Thyme as a groundcover, edging plant, or along walkways or cascading borders. Mother-of-Thyme also tolerates drought well, making it a good choice for Jersey-Friendly Yards.

Thuja occidentalis

Arborvitae is an evergreen tree, which offers winter interest to yards and landscapes. It tolerates a wide range of soils, but prefers moist, slightly alkaline loam. Use Arborvitae for a specimen, accent plant, or foundation tree, or group in hedges, shelter-belts, and privacy borders. It is susceptible to diseases and insects (including bagworm, heart rot, leaf miner, and spider mites) and to deer browse.

Taxus baccata

English Yew is an evergreen tree, which can be grown as a shrub or hedge. The berries are attractive to birds, but poisonous to humans. It is dioecious; both male and female plants are needed to produce fruit. English Yew prefers shady areas and needs protection from cold winter winds. Use English Yew for foundation plantings, screens, and topiaries.

Tagetes spp.

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.

Syringa reticulata

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.

Stachys byzantina

Lamb’s Ear is grown for its fuzzy, soft, ornamental leaves. The non-descript flower is often removed by gardeners to enhance the appeal of the foliage. It prefers sandy, dry soil and full sun. Lamb’s Ear is susceptible to midsummer foliage decline in humid climates; pick off the browned leaves to stimulate new leaf growth. This hardy plant tolerates rabbit, deer, drought, Black Walnut, air pollution, and a range of undesirable conditions that deter many other plants from optimum growth. Use Lamb’s Ear along edges of walkways, in mixed borders to offer texture, or as a groundcover in a small area of your yard.