Sheep Laurel is a flowering evergreen shrub with leathery, blue-green leaves. Clusters of small, rose-pink, saucer-shaped flowers bloom in late June. This shrub prefers a moist, acidic, organic soil, but will also grow in dry, sandy soil. Use it in a shrub border or woodland garden. Plant parts are toxic if ingested.
Eastern Red Cedar is a wildlife-friendly evergreen tree. This dioecious species (separate male and female trees) has a pyramidal shape when young. Female trees produce small, round, gray to light-blue berry-like cones consumed by many birds and small mammals. Its aromatic wood is used in furniture, fences, and building materials. Use it as a specimen, grouping, or screening plant; good for windbreaks and hedges.
Creeping Juniper is a low-growing evergreen groundcover with long, trailing branches and soft-textured leaves. It tolerates hot and dry conditions, air pollution, and salt spray. Use massed on slopes, as a foundation plant, or in rock gardens.
Butternut is a medium-large, deciduous tree similar to Black Walnut, but it is usually a smaller, more cold-tolerant tree. This tree has sweet, edible, oval-shaped nuts. The roots produce chemicals called juglones, which are toxic to certain other plants; avoid planting it near fruit trees, flower beds, and vegetable gardens. Butternut is susceptible to canker, a fungal disease that is devastating this species in the wild. Use it as a shade tree.
Sweetspire has long tassels of fragrant, small white flowers, which bloom in early summer. Its leaves turn attractive shades of red to purple in the fall. Use in mass plantings in shrub borders or woodland gardens. Good plant for wet locations, such as rain gardens, or along edges of ponds or other water features.
American Holly is a wildlife-friendly evergreen tree with dark green, spine-tipped leaves and light gray bark. Its tiny, greenish-white flowers blooming May-June provide a nectar source for honeybees and butterflies. This tree is also a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Henry’s Elfin (Callophrys henrici). Since it is dioecious (separate male and female plants), a male must be in the area to pollinate females for fruit production. The female trees bear bright red, berry-like fruits, which persist through the winter and provide winter food for birds. The red fruits and evergreen leaves add winter color to the yard, and cuttings make excellent holiday decorations. Use American Holly as a specimen tree or plant in groups in woodland gardens or hedges.
Smooth Winterberry, a close relative of Common Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), is a deciduous holly with spineless leaves. Its white to cream flowers bloom May-July. Its red, berry-like fruits add color to the yard from September-February and provide winter food for birds. Its leaves turn yellow before dropping in the fall. Use this bird-friendly species in shrub borders and hedges. Good choice for wet sites, such as rain gardens and along ponds or streams.