Top Ten Native Plant Picks

Penstemon (Beardtongue)

As a mid-spring bloomer, Penstemon stands out in native plant gardens by creating a beautiful stand of white, as late bloomers are still growing their foliage. There's nothing cuter than a bumblebee butt sticking out of a Penstemon flower, as the bee reaches in for pollen and nectar.

Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)

This is one of the earliest spring blooming plants, with foliage that appears in April and is well established when eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies emerge in May and are looking for a place to lay their eggs. While some culinary herbs can also host eastern swallowtails, I've never had so many butterflies since I added Golden Alexanders to my garden, since its foliage is mature a full two months before herbs. 

Blazing star (Liatris) - The purple spires of blazing star are brilliant in any garden, and the tall flower spikes draw in a wide variety of pollinators. I find particular joy in watching migrating monarch butterflies stop to refuel on this visible and gorgeous plant.

Beebalm (Monarda) - I've surrounded my vegetable garden with beebalm because it does an outstanding job of drawing in bees and other pollinators that help to pollinate plants, including favorites like tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. It is a hummingbird favorite too. So for all those reasons, you'll find it a pollinator staple in my yard.

Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum) - Few plants work harder to provide pollen and nectar to pollinators, 24x7. Mountain mint is loaded with pollinators during the day, and after dark it is a delight to observe the many species of moths that come to feed on it. A true pollinator powerhouse!

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - Butterfly weed changed my mind about orange flowers; it is gorgeous planted with a purple bloom such as blazing star. As a shorter milkweed, it is a great choice for the edge of the garden, where migrating monarch butterflies can spot it.

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) - The beautiful pink flowers of swamp milkweed are not only popular with butterflies and bees, but they also draw in the lovely and friendly great golden digger wasps and great black wasps. Observing these solitary, pollinating wasps on milkweed cured me of decades of wasp-phobia and I now delight in their presence in my garden. 

Lobelia (Lobelia cardinalis) - Hummingbirds just love the brilliant red flowers of cardinal flower. I've included them in the garden off my deck and outside my kitchen window to provide me with much opportunity to watch these charismatic birds. 

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) - The iconic purple flowers of New England aster are such a welcome sight in September. Rabbits love the foliage, so to establish a patch of New England aster, consider using temporary fencing to protect them until established. You will be rewarded with a gorgeous spray of purple every fall. 

Bluestem goldenrod (Solidago caesia) - There are about 25 species of goldenrod native to Connecticut, and bluestem is my favorite. It is quite tame compared to some of the more exuberant, aggressively spreading goldenrods, and is a great companion in a traditional garden bed. Goldenrods feed at least 123 species of butterfly and moth larvae on their foliage, and bluestem goldenrod is particularly popular with butterflies and moths in my yard. 

Joanna Giddings, Cheshire Pollinator Pathway Outreach and Education Lead