Why choose native plants?
The garden has been planted entirely with native shrubs and perennials. This is because natives provide more food choices and shelter for our birds and insects. To survive, insects and birds need plants that have co-evolved with them in the same environment. Nursery plants often come from other countries. Many have leaves that are not edible to local insects and caterpillars.
Natives also help insects and birds withstand the dangers of climate change by providing a familiar home, a place to rest, to lay eggs, to eat, and to pupate. Nonnative species don’t offer the same protection and may even be toxic.
Native plants in the garden
Here are some of the native plant species you can find in our garden:
Milkweed
Butterfly weed – Asclepias tuberosa
Swamp milkweed – Asclepias incarnata
These important host plants for monarch butterfly larva and many other insects grow front and center in the garden. Look out for monarch caterpillars feasting on the leaves. Butterfly weed has orange flowers and swamp milkweed has purple flowers.
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
A dogwood tree can be found behind the bird bath on the right side of the garden. Dogwood flowers attract native bees, and it is the host plant for the spring azure butterfly. The fruits are an important food source for birds.
Blazing Star
Liatris spicata
Two large clusters of blazing star plants dwell in the front of the garden, on either side of the milkweed patch. Another host plant for monarch butterflies, they also attract bees and deter deer. They bloom mid to late summer.
Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
This is a host plant for several species of butterfly, and the dried seed heads provide food for birds in the winter. Growing 3 – 4′ tall with purple or white petals, you can find coneflower growing in the back left corner of the garden.
Bee balm (bergamot)
Monarda
These tall plants dominate the left center of the garden, and their flowers attract many bees and butterflies. They spread aggressively via seed and rhizomes and we regularly remove some plants to keep them from taking over the whole garden.
Catnip (nepeta)
Nepeta cataria
These plants occupy the space to the left of the water fountain. A member of the mint family, they attract butterflies (and maybe an a cat or two) and repel aphids and mosquitos.
More information
Here are some good resources with more information:
- Mary Lynn’s recipe for starting your own native pollinator garden
- NY State DEC’s Native Flowers for Gardening and Landscaping guide
- Audubon’s Native Plants Database
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Plant Database