East Side Garden Information

Blue Mist Flower

•Height: Blue Mist Flower typically grows to be around 1 to 3 feet tall, depending on the variety.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Blue Mist Flower is a favorite among butterflies and bees. It's often used in butterfly gardens, native plant landscapes, or as a border plant.
•Ecosystem Services: Blue Mist Flower provides nectar and habitat for pollinators, contributing to biodiversity. It can also help with erosion control in some landscapes.
•Preferred Soil: It prefers well-drained soil and can tolerate a variety of soil types, including sandy or clay soils, as long as they are not waterlogged.
•Bird Uses: While Blue Mist Flower primarily attracts butterflies and bees, it may also provide some habitat and food for birds, particularly insectivorous species that feed on the insects attracted to the flowers.

Foxglove Beardtongue

•Height: Typically grows to be around 2 to 3 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Foxglove Beardtongue attracts pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It's commonly used in wildflower gardens, native plant landscapes, or as a border plant.
•Ecosystem Services: Similar to Great Blue Lobelia, Foxglove Beardtongue provides habitat and food for various wildlife, contributing to biodiversity.
•Preferred Soil: It prefers well-drained soil and can tolerate a range of soil types, including sandy or rocky soils. It's adaptable but thrives in soil with good drainage.
•Bird Uses: Foxglove Beardtongue also provides cover and food for birds, making it attractive to species such as songbirds and hummingbirds. Birds may use it for shelter, nesting sites, or as a source of insects.

Broadleaf Cattail

•Height: Broadleaf Cattail typically grows to be around 4 to 9 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun but can tolerate partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: While not primarily known for attracting pollinators, Broadleaf Cattail provides important habitat and food for various wildlife, including birds, insects, and amphibians. It's commonly found in wetland habitats and is used for erosion control in restoration projects.
•Ecosystem Services: Broadleaf Cattail plays a crucial role in wetland ecosystems by providing habitat for wildlife, improving water quality, and stabilizing soil along shorelines. It also helps filter pollutants from water and provides food for various wildlife species.
•Preferred Soil: Broadleaf Cattail grows in wet to permanently saturated soil, such as marshes, swamps, and along the edges of ponds and streams.
•Bird Uses: Broadleaf Cattail provides habitat and nesting material for various bird species, including marsh birds and waterfowl. It also serves as a food source for birds that feed on the seeds or insects associated with the plant.

Blue Vervain

•Height: Blue Vervain typically grows to be around 2 to 5 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Blue Vervain is highly attractive to pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. It's commonly used in pollinator gardens, native plant landscapes, or as a naturalized plant in moist areas.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides important habitat and food for pollinators, contributing to overall biodiversity. It also has medicinal uses in herbal medicine and has been used historically for various ailments.
•Preferred Soil: Blue Vervain tolerates a wide range of soil types but prefers moist, well-drained soil. It's often found growing naturally in wet meadows, along stream banks, or in other moist habitats.
•Bird Uses: While not as significant as its attraction to pollinators, Blue Vervain may provide some habitat for birds, particularly insectivorous species that feed on the insects attracted to the flowers.

New York Ironweed

•Height: New York Ironweed typically grows to be around 4 to 7 feet tall, although it can reach heights of up to 9 feet in optimal conditions.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: New York Ironweed is highly attractive to pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. It's commonly used in pollinator gardens, native plant landscapes, or as a naturalized plant in meadows or prairies.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides important habitat and food for pollinators, contributing to overall biodiversity. Its deep root system helps improve soil structure and prevent erosion.
•Preferred Soil: New York Ironweed tolerates a wide range of soil types but prefers moist, well-drained soil. It can also tolerate periodic flooding, making it suitable for riparian areas or wetland edges.
•Bird Uses: While not as significant as its attraction to pollinators, New York Ironweed may provide some habitat for birds, particularly insectivorous species that feed on the insects attracted to the flowers.

Hollow Joe Pye Weed

•Height: Hollow-stemmed Joe Pye Weed typically grows to be around 4 to 7 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Hollow-stemmed Joe Pye Weed is highly attractive to pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. It's commonly used in pollinator gardens, native plant landscapes, or as a naturalized plant in moist areas.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides important habitat and food for pollinators, contributing to overall biodiversity. Its deep root system helps improve soil structure and prevent erosion.
•Preferred Soil: Hollow-stemmed Joe Pye Weed prefers moist to wet, well-drained soil but can tolerate a range of soil types. It's often found growing naturally in wet meadows, along stream banks, or in other riparian areas.
•Bird Uses: While not as significant as its attraction to pollinators, Hollow-stemmed Joe Pye Weed may provide some habitat for birds, particularly insectivorous species that feed on the insects attracted to the flowers.

Swamp Milkweed

•Height: Swamp Milkweed typically grows to be around 3 to 4 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun but can tolerate partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Swamp Milkweed is highly attractive to pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, especially monarch butterflies. It's commonly used in butterfly gardens, native plant landscapes, or as a naturalized plant in moist areas.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides important habitat and food for pollinators, particularly monarch butterflies during their migration. It also contributes to overall biodiversity and can help stabilize soil in moist areas.
•Preferred Soil: Swamp Milkweed prefers moist, well-drained soil but can tolerate a range of soil types. It's often found growing naturally in wet meadows, along stream banks, or in other moist habitats.
•Bird Uses: While not as significant as its attraction to pollinators, Swamp Milkweed may provide some habitat for birds, particularly insectivorous species that feed on the insects attracted to the flowers.

Great Blue Lobelia

•Height: Typically grows to be around 2 to 3 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: Great Blue Lobelia thrives in partial shade to full sun, but it prefers partial shade, especially in hotter climates.
•Pollinators and Uses: It's a favorite among pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. In landscaping, it's often used in wildflower gardens, woodland gardens, or along pond edges.
•Ecosystem Services: Great Blue Lobelia provides habitat and food for various wildlife, including pollinators, which contributes to the overall biodiversity of an area.
•Preferred Soil: It prefers moist to wet, rich, organic soils but can tolerate a range of soil types as long as they are well-drained.
•Bird Uses: Great Blue Lobelia is not only attractive to pollinators but also provides cover and food for various bird species, such as songbirds and hummingbirds. Birds may use the plant as a source of shelter, nesting material, or even as a perch while foraging for insects.

Swamp Rose Mallow

•Height: Swamp Rose Mallow typically grows to be around 4 to 7 feet tall, sometimes even taller.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Swamp Rose Mallow attracts pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds with its large, showy flowers. It's commonly used in wetland gardens, rain gardens, or naturalized areas.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides habitat and food for various wildlife, contributing to biodiversity. Its deep roots help stabilize wetland soils and prevent erosion.
•Preferred Soil: As the name suggests, Swamp Rose Mallow thrives in moist to wet soils and is often found growing naturally in marshes, along pond edges, or in other wetland habitats.
•Bird Uses: In addition to attracting pollinators, Swamp Rose Mallow may provide cover and nesting sites for birds, particularly in wetland areas where it grows in dense stands. Birds may also feed on the seeds produced by the plant.

Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint

•Height: Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint typically grows to be around 2 to 4 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint is highly attractive to pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. It's commonly used in pollinator gardens, native plant landscapes, or as a natural pest deterrent in vegetable gardens.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides important habitat and food for pollinators, contributing to overall biodiversity. It also has a pleasant minty fragrance and can be used in herbal teas or as a culinary herb.
•Preferred Soil: It tolerates a wide range of soil types but prefers well-drained soil. It can tolerate dry conditions once established but also thrives in moist soil.
•Bird Uses: While not as significant as its attraction to pollinators, Narrow Leaf Mountain Mint may provide some habitat for birds, particularly insectivorous species that feed on the insects attracted to the flowers.

Black Chokeberry

•Height: Black Chokeberry typically grows to be around 3 to 6 feet tall.
•Sun Requirements: It can tolerate full sun to partial shade but prefers full sun for optimal fruit production.
•Pollinators and Uses: Black Chokeberry attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies with its small, white flowers. It's commonly used in landscaping for its ornamental value and is also grown for its edible berries, which can be used in jams, jellies, and wines.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides habitat and food for wildlife, including birds that eat the berries. It's also tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions and can help with erosion control in landscapes.
•Preferred Soil: Black Chokeberry prefers moist, well-drained soil but can tolerate a variety of soil types, including clay and sandy soil. It's adaptable to both acidic and alkaline soil conditions.
•Bird Uses: Black Chokeberry is highly valued by birds for its berries, which persist on the plant through the winter and provide an important food source when other food is scarce. Birds like robins, cedar waxwings, and various species of thrushes are known to feed on the berries.

Winterberry

•Height: Winterberry typically grows to be around 6 to 15 feet tall, depending on the variety and growing conditions.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Winterberry is highly attractive to pollinators like bees and butterflies with its small, white flowers. It's commonly used in landscaping for its ornamental value, especially in winter when its bright red berries provide a pop of color against the snow.
•Ecosystem Services: This plant provides habitat and food for wildlife, particularly birds that eat the berries. It's also tolerant of wet soil conditions and can be used in rain gardens or along the edges of ponds and streams.
•Preferred Soil: Winterberry prefers moist, acidic soil but can tolerate a range of soil types, including clay and sandy soil. It's adaptable to both wet and dry soil conditions.
•Bird Uses: Winterberry is highly valued by birds for its berries, which persist on the plant through the winter and provide an important food source when other food is scarce. Birds like cedar waxwings, robins, and various species of thrushes are known to feed on the berries.

Groundsel Tree

•Height: Groundsel Tree typically grows to be around 10 to 20 feet tall, but it can reach up to 30 feet under optimal conditions.
•Sun Requirements: It prefers full sun to partial shade.
•Pollinators and Uses: Groundsel Tree produces small, yellow flowers that attract bees and other pollinators. It's commonly used as an ornamental tree in landscaping due to its attractive flowers and foliage.
•Ecosystem Services: This tree provides habitat and food for wildlife, including birds and insects. It's also tolerant of a variety of soil conditions and can be used for erosion control in landscapes.
•Preferred Soil: Groundsel Tree is adaptable to different soil types but prefers well-drained soil. It can tolerate both acidic and alkaline soils.
•Bird Uses: While not as significant as its attraction to pollinators, Groundsel Tree may provide some habitat for birds, particularly insectivorous species that feed on the insects attracted to the flowers.