Archives

Oenothera fruticosa

Narrowleaf Evening Primrose is a wildlife-friendly perennial featuring four-petaled, yellow flowers, which bloom April-July on erect stems. Despite its common name, the flowers are open during the day. Its nectar provides food for hummingbirds, butterflies, and native bees. The flowers are followed by attractive seed pods that add ornamental interest to your garden. Use Narrowleaf Evening Primrose in borders, rock gardens, and wild gardens around your yard.

Nyssa sylvatica

Blackgum is a medium-sized, flowering, deciduous tree, which offers many benefits for wildlife. White, inconspicuous flowers bloom May-June. It is primarily dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees, although trees typically host a few “perfect” flowers. Blackgum offers an excellent nectar source for bees. Fertilized female flowers are followed by edible sour fruits, which provide an important food source for birds and wildlife. It is a host plant for many inconspicuous insects, which provide food for migrating and resident birds. It offers showy, red color in fall. Its medium-high wind resistance and tolerance to flooded and salty conditions makes it a valuable Jersey-Friendly tree for your yard!

Nipponanthemum nipponicum

Montauk Daisy offers white, daisy-like flowers, which bloom July-August. Deadhead flowers to stimulate a continuous bloom. Montauk Daisy forms rosettes of succulent green leaves above leafless stems. It grows well in nutrient-poor, sandy soil. Its high drought and salt tolerance, as well as its ability to grow in sandy soils, makes it a perfect plant for the seaside garden. Use it in mid-borders mixed with diversely textured and colored flowers. Montauk Daisy makes an excellent cut flower for bouquets.

Muhlenbergia capillaris

Hairawn Muhly is a clump-forming, warm-season grass. Pink to purple to red flowers bloom above the foliage September-November, offering attractive fall color. It tolerates heat, humidity, drought, and poor, dry, sandy soils, as well as flooding — perfect for Jersey-Friendly Yards! Plant Hairawn Muhly in groups along your borders and foundations and in naturalized areas of your yard.

Morus rubra

Red Mulberry is a small to medium, deciduous tree. It can be monoecious or dioecious. Monoecious plants have separate male and female flowers on the same tree. Dioecious plants have separate male and female trees. Small, greenish, male and female flowers appear March-April. The fertilized female flowers bear juicy fruit edible to humans and wildlife. Red Mulberry is an important host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars) of the Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa). Although the fruits can be messy on the ground, the benefits that this tree provides to wildlife far outweigh the nuisance; plant away from your house, buildings, or cars to avoid any staining. Try planting this wildlife-friendly tree in naturalized areas of your yard, or near the perimeter.

Morella pensylvanica

Northern Bayberry is a densely branching, evergreen shrub. The waxy coating is used to make candles, scented by the fragrance of the crushed leaves. The berries are an excellent food source for birds. Use Northern Bayberry in mass plantings for your shrub border or for naturalized areas in your yard.

Morella cerifera

Wax Myrtle is a densely branching, evergreen shrub. It is dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate plants. The fertilized female flowers are followed by tiny, round, waxy, gray fruits, which persist through winter. The waxy coating is used to make candles, scented by the fragrance of the crushed leaves. The berries are an excellent food source for birds. Wax Myrtle is an important host plant for butterfly and moth larvae (caterpillars), including Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus) and Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops). Use Wax Myrtle in mass plantings for your shrub border or for naturalized areas in your yard. Its salt tolerance makes it an ideal choice for a seaside garden.

Monarda punctata

Spotted Beebalm features yellow-purple, bicolor, tubular flowers, which bloom June-July. The nectar is a valued food source for butterflies, native bees, bumblebees, and honeybees, and will attract many pollinators to your garden. Aromatic, toothed leaves offer an interesting display on its squared, stiff stem. Monardas are susceptible to powdery mildew; however, Spotted Beebalm offers some resistance to this nuisance. Use it in your perennial border, mixed bed, herb garden, and meadow for a wildlife-friendly addition to your yard.

Mirabilis jalapa

Four o’clocks are tuberous perennials grown as annuals in New Jersey. Their fragrant, tubular-shaped flowers bloom June to frost. The flower buds open from late afternoon (four o’clock — as per their common name) until the next morning, then close during the day. Colors vary, including red, yellow, and pink, and the nectar is attractive to hummingbirds and moths. This plant adds nighttime color to gardens around outdoor living spaces. Use Four o’clocks in mixed borders, as an annual hedge, or in your patio containers.

Mertensia virginica

Virginia Bluebells provide early spring delight as clusters of pink buds emerge, blooming as blue-purple, trumpet-shaped flowers March through April. By midsummer, the foliage dies back as the plant goes dormant. Use it in your shade garden, woodland borders, or as a spring groundcover. Overplant with ferns or perennials that will fill in the empty space once the plants recede. A related species is Mertensia maritima (Sea Lungwort), which tolerates salt and can be used in coastal landscapes.