Info Sheets
Showy Tick-Trefoil
Desmodium canadense Native to: All of New England
Life cycle: Perennial
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet to Medium-Dry
Height: 18-60”
Spacing: 1’
Blooms: July-August
Bloom Color: Purple
Natural Habitat: Man-made or disturbed habitats, river or stream floodplains, forest edges, forests, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes
Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Host Plant (eg. Silver-spotted Skipper, Hoary Edge), Compaction Tolerant, Low Maintenance
“Desmodium canadense is aptly named Showy Tick Trefoil for its numerous pink flowers that bloom along the plant’s upper stems for about three weeks in mid-summer.
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Info Sheets
Side-Oats Grama
Bouteloua curtipendula Native to: MA and CT
Life cycle: Perennial Grass
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium to Dry
Height: 2’
Spacing: 10-24”
Blooms: August-September (non-showy)
Natural Habitat: Human-disturbed or -maintained habitats, cliffs, balds, or ledges, river or stream floodplains, meadows and fields, ridges or ledges, woodlands
Benefits: Bird Favorite, Deer Resistant, Host Plant (eg. skipper butterflies)
“Bouteloua curtipendula, or Side-oats Grama, is a rarity among native grasses in the way that it sports its tiny attractive flowers during the summer bloom time (see detailed photos.
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Info Sheets
Smallspike False Nettle
Boehmeria cylindrica Native to: All of New England
Life cycle: Perennial
Light: Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet to Medium
Height: 3’
Spacing: 18-24”
Blooms: June-August
Bloom Color: Yellow
Natural Habitat: River or stream floodplains, forests, swamps, wetland margins
Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant Host Plant (eg. Eastern Comma, Question Mark, Red Admiral)
“Smallspike False Nettle is a host plant hotspot! Fly larva of Neolasioptera boehmeriae will form galls on the Smallspike False Nettle stems.
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Info Sheets
Smooth Blue Aster
Symphyotrichum laeve Native to: All New England
Life cycle: Perennial
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet to Medium-Dry
Height: 1-4’
Spread: 12-18”
Spacing: 18-24”
Blooms: August-October
Bloom Color: Blue, purple
Natural Habitat: Dry, open woods and fields; disturbed areas and roadsides
Pairs Well With: Butterfly milkweed, foxglove beardtongue, sundial lupine, black-eyed coneflower, foxglove beardtongue, flax-leaved aster, and little bluestem
Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Host Plant (Pearl Crescent, Silvery Checkerspot butterflies), Drought Tolerant, Urban Environment, Low Maintenance
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Info Sheets
Spotted Bee-Balm
Monarda punctata Native to: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont
Life cycle: Perennial/self-sowing Biennial
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Dry to Dry
Height: 2-3’
Spread: 12-24"
Spacing: 8-12”
Blooms: July-September
Bloom Color: pink/purple
Natural Habitat: Dry sandy or gravelly soils of beaches, pine barrens, woodland edges, and roadsides.
Benefits: Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Urban Environment, Drought Tolerant, Edible, Low Maintenance, Host Plant (Raspberry pyrausta)
Pairs Well With: Blue-eyed grass, butterfly milkweed, Scotch bellflower, sundial lupine, and New Jersey tea
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Info Sheets
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed
Eutrochium maculatum Native to: All of New England
Life cycle: Perennial
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Wet to Medium-Wet
Height: 3-7’
Spread: 3-4’
Spacing: 3-4’
Blooms: Jul-Sep
Bloom Color: Pink
Natural Habitat: Man-made or disturbed habitats, marshes, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, wetland margins
Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Compaction Tolerant, Urban Environment, Host Plant (eg. Clymene moth, ruby tiger moth)
Note: This plant was formerly known as Eupatorium maculatum.
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Info Sheets
Steeplebush
Spiraea tomentosa Native to: All of New England
Life cycle: Perennial Shrub
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Wet to Medium-Wet
Height: 2-5’
Spacing: 1-3’
Blooms: July-September
Bloom Color: Pink
Natural Habitat: Human-disturbed or -maintained habitats, marshes, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes, swamps, wetland margins
Benefits: Bird Favorite, Host Plant (eg. Columbia silkmoth), Pollinator Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Compaction Tolerant, Urban Environment, Low Maintenance, Erosion Control/Soil Stabilization
S. tomentosa is covered in sharp, narrow, upright pink flowers in midsummer.
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Info Sheets
Sundial Lupine
Lupinus perennis Native to: All New England (extinct in the wild in many states)
Life cycle: Perennial
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Dry to Dry
Height: 1-2’
Spread: 8-12"
Spacing: 10-18”
Blooms: May-July
Bloom Color: purple
Natural Habitat: Pine barrens, woodlands, meadows, and roadsides with dry, sandy soils Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite, Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Host Plant (Karner Blue), Compaction Tolerant, Drought Tolerant
Pairs Well With: Spotted beebalm, butterfly milkweed, smooth blue aster, foxglove beardtongue, flax-leaved aster, and little bluestem
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Info Sheets
Sweet Everlasting
aka Rabbit Tobacco Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium Native to: All of New England
Life cycle: Annual
Light: Full Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Dry to Dry
Height: 2’
Spacing: 12-18"
Blooms: Jul-Sep
Bloom Color: White
Natural Habitat: Human-disturbed or -maintained habitats, meadows and fields
Benefits: Deer/Rabbit Resistant, Fragrant
“Sweet Everlasting, also known as Rabbit Tobacco, is silvery green due to the appressed hairs that cover its surface. The white flowers are clustered in quarter inch buds with many overlapping bracts.
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Info Sheets
Tall White Aster
Doellingeria umbellata Native to: All New England
Life cycle: Perennial
Light: Full/Partial Sun
Soil Moisture: Wet to Medium
Height: 3-7
Spread: 3-4’
Spacing: 1-3'
Blooms: July-September
Bloom Color: White/Cream
Natural Habitat: Meadows, roadsides, and waste areas with moist soils
Benefits: Pollinator Favorite, Host Plant (eg. Pearly Crescent, Harris Checkerspot), Drought Tolerant, Low Maintenance
Pairs Well With: Common milkweed
“The nectar and pollen of this plant attract both long- and short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butterflies (including the Harris’s Checkerspot butterfly), beetles, and other insects.
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