Lobelia siphilitica Native to: All of New England Life cycle: Short-Lived Perennial Light: Full/Partial Sun Soil Moisture: Wet to Medium Height: 18-36” Spacing: 12-18” Blooms: July-October Bloom Color: Blue/Purple Natural Habitat: Moist woods, damp areas, streamsides, and pond margins. Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Host Plant (eg. hummingbird moths), Drought Tolerant, Low Maintenance Pairs Well With: Golden groundsel, zig-zag goldenrod, bluestem goldenrod, white snakeroot, and blue-wood aster “Royal blue, tubular flowers burst into bloom from green basal foliage for several months in late summer.

Symphyotrichum cordifolium Native to: All New England Life cycle: Perennial Light: Partial/Full Shade Soil Moisture: Medium to Medium-Dry Height: 1-3’ Spread: 18-24” Spacing: 18-24” Blooms: September, October Bloom Color: Pale blue to purple Natural Habitat: Wet meadows and ditches Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Drought Tolerant, Attracts Bees, Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Songbirds, Host Plant (eg. Pearl Crescent butterfly; numerous moths), Low Maintenance “A fall-blooming aster with billowy lavender blue daisy-like flowers and heart-shaped leaves that thrives in woodland edges or disturbed areas with poor soil.

aka Wreath Goldenrod Solidago caesia Native to: All New England Life cycle: Perennial Light: Partial/Full Shade Soil Moisture: Medium to Medium-Dry Height: 18-30” Spread: 1-2’ Spacing: 2-3’ Blooms: August-October Bloom Color: Yellow Natural Habitat: Dry deciduous woodlands and shady edges Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Attracts Hummingbirds, Host Plant (eg. wavy-lined emerald, goldenrod hooded owlet), Urban Environment, Drought Tolerant, Low Maintenance Pairs Well With: Blue-wood aster, Christmas fern, white snakeroot, large-leafed wood aster, and zig-zag goldenrod

aka clustered mountain mint Pycnanthemum muticum Native to: All New England Life cycle: Perennial Light: Full/Partial Sun Soil Moisture: Medium to Medium-Dry Height: 2-4’ Spread: 1-3’ Spacing: 18-24” Blooms: July-September Bloom Color: white Natural Habitat: Meadows and thickets with moist to dry soils Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Attracts Bees, Attracts Butterflies, Compaction Tolerant, Urban Environment, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Fragrant, Low Maintenance, Erosion Control/Soil Stabilization, Edible Pairs Well With: Flowering raspberry, three-lobed coneflower, wild lettuce, nodding onion, heart-leaved Alexander, Virginia mountain-mint, and wild bee-balm.

aka Wild Lily-of-the-Valley Maianthemum canadense Native to: All of New England Life cycle: Perennial Light: Partial/Full Shade Soil Moisture: Medium to Medium-Wet Height: 2-8” Spacing: 4-6” Blooms: May-June Bloom Color: White Natural Habitat: Forest understory, roadsides, disturbed areas Benefits: Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Urban Environment, Salt Tolerant, Attracts Bees, Attracts Songbirds, Benefits Other Wildlife, Low Maintenance Pairs Well With: Bunchberry, Northern maidenhair fern, zig-zag goldenrod, and white wood aster “A small white wildflower usually found in boreal coniferous forests.

Lobelia cardinalis Native to: All of New England Life cycle: Short-Lived Perennial Light: Full/Partial Sun Soil Moisture: Wet to Medium-Wet Height: 2-4’ Spread: 8-12” Spacing: 6-16” Blooms: July-September Bloom Color: Red Natural Habitat: Wetlands and streamsides Pairs Well With: Boneset, blue iris, coastal Joe-Pye weed, blue lobelia, heart-leaved Alexander, and Northern lady fern Benefits: Bird Favorite, Pollinator Favorite, Attracts Hummingbirds, Host Plant (eg. Spicebush Swallowtail, Pink Washed Looper Moth), Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Low Maintenance

Carex grayi Native to: VT, MA, CT (rare in the wild) Life cycle: Perennial Light: Full Sun to Full Shade Soil Moisture: Wet to Medium Height: 3’ Spacing: 1-2’ Blooms: May-August Bloom Color: Nondescript Natural Habitat: Grows in moist environments as slowly-spreading colonies. It is an uncommon sedge because it thrives in both woodlands and wetlands. Benefits: Bird Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Host Plant (eg. Eyed Brown Butterfly, Appalachian Brown Butterfly)

Oenothera biennis Native to: All of New England Life cycle: Biennial Light: Full/Partial Sun Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet to Dry Height: 6’ Spacing: 1-2’ Blooms: June-October Bloom Color: Yellow Natural Habitat: Recently disturbed soils of prairies, old fields, roadsides and other sunny medium to dry sites. Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Bird Favorite, Host Plant (Primrose Moth) “Much of the life cycle of the stunning pink Primrose Moth (Schinia florida) can be in the Common Evening Primrose plant.

Asclepias syriaca Native to: All New England Life cycle: Perennial Light: Full/Partial Sun Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet to Dry Height: 24-42" Spread: 36-60" Spacing: 24-36" Blooms: June-August Bloom Color: pink Natural Habitat: farm fields, ditches, and disturbed sites Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer Resistant, Host Plant (eg. Monarch), Drought Tolerant, Salt Tolerant, Urban Environment Notes: Be gentle when transplanting, making sure to preserve the long taproot. “Monarch butterflies lay their eggs exclusively on Milkweed plants, making them the sole food source for their larvae.

Opuntia humifusa Native to: MA, CT, RI Life cycle: Perennial Light: Full Sun Soil Moisture: Dry Height: 4-8” Spacing: 6-8” Blooms: June-July Bloom Color: Yellow Fruits: Fall/Winter Fruit Color: Red Natural Habitat: Coastal beaches, dunes, grassland, meadows and fields, ridges or ledges Benefits: Host Plant, Attracts Bees, Benefits Other Pollinators/Wildlife, Salt Tolerant, Drought Tolerant, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Edible*, Low Maintenance Caution: In addition to spines, Eastern prickly pear is covered in barbed hairs that easily lodge in the skin when touched.