Bloom Common Botanical Flower Max Water Period Name Name Color Ht Needs Notes Low, All species are perennials, unless otherwise noted. Max height is an (ft) Med, Native for average, individual plants may vary. Forbs High Golden Host for black swallowtail butterfly; shallow nectaries attract small Alexanders Zizia aurea yellow 3 H beneficial wasps, bees, and flies SUSTAINABLE Early Geranium Shade-tolerant; provides important spring food for mining, cuckoo, Wild geranium maculatum pink 3 M mason, sweat, bumble, and small carpenter bees LANDSCAPING Early-Mid Tradescantia The attractive flowers of this unique iris relative are frequented by Spiderwort virginiana blue 3 M bumble bees and other pollinators; shade tolerant A preferred nectar plant for bees, butterflies, hover flies, and bee flies; Blue vervain hastata blue 5 H choose Verbena stricta for drier soils Narrowleaf Pycnanthemum This and related species have fragrant foliage and nectar-rich flowers, very mountain mint tenuifolium white 3 L-M popular with butterflies, beetles, and more Mid Swamp Asclepias Host plants for monarchs, lovely fragrance attracts insects of all kinds, at milkweed incarnata pink 5 M-H drier site use common or butterfly milkweed Monarda Hawk moths, hummingbirds, and long-tongued bumblebees (such as Wild bergamot fistulosa purple 4 M Bombus pensylvanicus) are common visitors Eupatorium Flat-topped clusters of fluffy, nectar-rich flowers attract many kinds of Boneset perfoliatum white 5 H insects; tolerant of partial shade and wet soils Cardinal Lobelia Striking, scarlet-red tubular flowers attract hummingbirds and swallowtail flower cardinalis ref 4 H butterflies Mid-Late Cersium Distinct from invasive, non-native thistles; an important plant for Field thistle discolor purple 6 M butterflies and bumble bees; grows as a perennial or biennial Wild golden Rudbeckia Long bloom period; shade-tolerant, visited by bumble bees and other glow laciniata yellow 7 H pollinators; seeds provide food for birds This unique fall flower is almost exclusively pollinated by bumble bees, Bottle gentian Gentiana clausa blue 2 M which pry the petals apart to climb inside Symphyo- trichum The shallow nectaries attract more insect diversity than some Calico aster lateriflorum white 3 M larger-flowered aster species; tolerant of partial shade Late Grey Solidago Excellent for poor soils where little else will grow; one of the latest bloom- goldenrod nemoralis yellow 2 L ing goldenrods; visited by many pollinators Symphyo- New England trichum One of the latest fall-blooming plants; frequented by honey bees and aster novae-angliae purple 6 M pre-hibernation bumble bee queens Wrinkleleaf Solidago Goldenrods are frequented by beneficial solitary wasps, pollen-eating goldenrod rugosa yellow 3 M-H soldier beetles, bumbles bees, and much more Shrubs /Trees Highbush Vaccinium white/ Well-loved by humans and also provides food for mining bees, mason bees, blueberry corymbosum pink 12 M-H and long-tongued bumble bees Early Silky grey catkins open into flowers that provide spring forage for bees; Pussy willow Salix discolor yellow 15 M-H host plant for mourning cloak butterflies Raspberry, Hollow canes/prunings make excellent nest sites for cavity-nesting bees; blackberry Rubus spp. white 4+ M flowers are pollinated by many kinds of bees Town of Concord American bass- Tilia Also called the "bee tree" for its abundance of very fragrant, nectar-rich Division of Natural Resources wood americana cream 60 M flowers which are extremely attractive to bees Early-Mid 141 Keyes Road Physocarpus Deciduous shrub with attractive foliage, peeling bark, and white flowers; Concord, MA 01742 Ninebark opulifolius white 8 L loved by birds, bees, and butterflies Ceanothus A magnet for many species of flies, wasps, bees, and butterflies; 978.318.3285 tea americanus white 4 M slow-growing and prone to deer browsing Mid Rosa Foliage is used by leafcutter bees; flowers provide food for many www.concordma.gov/615 rose virginiana pink 6 L pollinators; exceptional leaf coloration in the fall All Photos Courtesy of Cherrie Corey Late Cephalanthus Host plant for numerous moths and butterflies; pincushion-like flowers are Buttonbush occidentalis white 12 H very attractive to butterflies and bees Plant List Produced by the Xerces Society Why Native Plants? pesticides, gasoline, In 2005, NASA Native, or indigenous, and labor to keep them sponsored a study plants are plants that groomed and tidy. The which found that have evolved in the environmental and lawns are the North American land- economic costs are largest irrigated significant. scape prior to “crop” in the US. European colonization. If you want to do some- Native plants are thing good for the environment, consider Tips for Starting a Native Landscape: adapted to a particular region’s climate and naturescaping, a landscaping method using  Start small. Work an area that is soils. Native plants have formed complex in- natural features rather than trying to adapt manageable for a season – there is terrelationships with our local wildlife over non-natives to your yard. always time to expand! thousands or millions of years of evolution . Converting a portion of your lawn to native They provide food and shelter for our wildlife plants, and replacing non-natives with natives,  Start with healthy soil. Test your soil so and insects that sustain the food web of our is a cost-effective and ecologically sound ap- you know what nutrients you need ecosystem. proach that offers a host of environmental, fi- (www.ag.umass.edu/services/soil-plant nancial, and aesthetic benefits. -nutrient-testing-laboratory) One of the reasons monarchs are de- clining is because they require native Bringing native plants back  Add compost and leaf mulch to build up milkweeds for their larva to develop. into the garden is critical to healthy soil organisms, which will break When monarchs lay eggs on the inva- preserving biodiversity and down materials into vital nutrients for sive, non-native swallow-wort, a plant protecting against climate plants. which is also in the milkweed family, change. It’s time to say  At the end of the growing season, larva are unable to survive. goodbye to manicured amend the soil with leaf mulch from landscapes and embrace leaves in your yard. This will protect Because native plants are well-adapted to our naturescaping! the plants over the winter while contin- local landscape, they require little watering uing to provide nutrients for plants and once established, and far less fertilizing, 96% of North American birds raise soil organisms. You can provide habitat reducing our carbon footprint and preserving young on insects, mostly caterpillars; for overwintering beneficial insects by water, our most vulnerable natural resource. healthy bird populations depend on leaving 18 inches of stems in place. healthy insect communities. According Manicured lawns provide space for recrea- to an American Forests article authored  Plant the right plants in the right place. tion and their well-kept appearance appeals by entomologist Doug Tallamy, non- Grouping plants with similar needs will to many people. Today, lawns in the US cover native ornamentals host 29 times fewer allow them to thrive without lots of more than 63,000 square miles—roughly the caterpillars than native ornamentals. maintenance. size of Texas. Dominated by non-native Our native oaks support over 500 species  Plant with successive bloom periods for species of turfgrass, these lawns require a of butterflies and moths; the Asian beauty and benefits all season long. staggering amount of water, fertilizers, ginkgo supports 5.  Water wisely. All plants need water to According to the U.S. National Wildlife get established, but native plants will For More Information: Federation, the average suburban lawn require far less once they are www.xerces.org/pollinators-northeast-region receives 10 times as much chemical pes- established. ticide per acre as farmland. www.audubon.org/native-plants/ www.grownativemass.org/resources/nurseries