Cherry Laurel is a broad, spreading, evergreen shrub. Its small white flowers cover erect stems April-May. Black fruits ripen in the summer and provide a food source for birds; however, the berries are inedible to humans. Prune as needed after flowering. Use Cherry Laurel in shrub borders, as pruned hedges, in a shade garden, or along woodland edges in your yard.
Portulaca is a long-blooming, succulent annual with a low, spreading form. It comes in a variety of colors (including red, orange, yellow, and white) and blooms from June to frost. Portulaca tolerates heat, humidity, and poor, dry soil, making it an excellent plant for seaside gardens and New Jersey yards. Use Portulaca as an edging plant, in rock gardens, containers, hanging baskets, or as a groundcover in your yard.
Eastern Cottonwood is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree. It is dioecious; catkins bloom on separate male or female trees in March-April before leaves emerge. The female trees have fruit capsules packed with numerous, tufted seeds with silky white hairs, giving the appearance of cotton. Seeds provide a valued food source for birds. The “cotton” provides birds with nesting material. Eastern Cottonwood can be a messy tree, as it drops leaves, flowers, fruits, twigs, and branches. Although it is not typically used as an ornamental tree, you can plant it in rural areas along streams, where it may be difficult to grow other trees.
Christmas Fern is a clumping evergreen fern. It displays leathery, lance-shaped fronds. Emerging fiddleheads are silver in the spring. Christmas Fern does not spread; instead, the clump will increase in size as the plant ages. Christmas Fern has been known to attract ruffed grouse. Use it as a groundcover or in borders. It adds winter interest to your yard.
Smooth Solomon’s Seal features small, bell-shaped, greenish-white flowers, which bloom April-May. The flowers occur under arching stems and are followed by blue-black berries in the fall. The showy, smooth leaves turn yellow in fall. Smooth Solomon’s Seal can be planted in naturalized areas of your yard, shade gardens, woodlands, or in a shady part of your perennial border.
American Sycamore is a very large, deciduous tree, achieving massive height and girth. It is monoecious; male and female flowers appear on separate trees. Fertilized female flowers give way to spherical, airy balls of seeds, which disintegrate as they are weathered. Sycamore features large, lobed, dark green leaves and irregularly exfoliating (peeling) bark, revealing an attractive pattern of jigsawed colors. Sycamore is tolerant of urban conditions and highly valued as a native tree. It is susceptible to anthracnose (a fungal plant disease), which causes temporary defoliation, but the leaves grow back quickly. Plant it as a specimen in your large yard, or as a street tree in your neighborhood.
Virginia Pine is a wildlife-friendly, small to medium, short-needled evergreen conifer. It prefers sandy soils, but does well in heavy clay, where it is difficult to grow other pines. The cones contain sharp-tipped scales, which house seeds eaten by birds and wildlife. Virginia Pine is a host plant for butterfly larvae (caterpillars) of the Eastern Pine Elfin (Callophrys niphon). Plant Virginia Pine along woodland edges or borders in your yard for added winter interest.