Top 10 Native Plants to Spruce up Your Garden
Smooth White Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis) Also known as foxglove beardtongue. Beautiful addition to pollinator garden or perennial border. Long blooming period in early summer. “Husker Red� is popular cultivar with dark red leaves
Northern Blueflag (Iris versicolor) Narrow sword-shaped leaves stay attractive all season. Spring bloomer with several blue-violet flowers per stem.
Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium spp.)
Several similar species with tall leafy stems and flat to rounded heads of small pink flowers. Butterfly magnet in mid-late summer. Shorter cultivars now widely available. An essential plant for butterfly and pollinator gardens.
Common Milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca ) Essential food plant for eastern monarch caterpillars. Bold, handsome foliage and baseballsizedspheres of fragrant pink flowers. Spreading roots can be controlled with simple root barrier
Dennstaedtia Punctilobula (Hayscented Fern) Dennstaedtia punctilobula is commonly called hay-scented fern as the fronds release a fragrance reminiscent of fresh mown hay when brushed with a hand, crushed or bruised.
Liatris spicata - Purple Gayfeather This Native American wildflower is an excellent selection for the border or meadow garden. Upright growth with brilliant display of purple flowers in summer. It is a first rate cut flower.
Eastern Red Cedar - Juniperus virginiana Eastern Red Cedar have a high-salt tolerance and can handle just about any soil type. They can be used as a native privacy screen and are an essential plant to any Native garden or landscape in the Northeast or Long Island.
Vaccinium Angustifolium Deciduous shrub with a low bushy habit. Narrow leaves turn a red-bronze color in fall. White flowers appear in May, followed by edible blue-black berries.
Clethra alnifolia - Summersweet Slow to medium growing shrub that is blanketed with extremely fragrant white flowers in late summer. Green foliage changes to shades of yellow in fall. Native to Long Island & Northeast