It’s fall! Chrysanthemums and heather become ubiquitous sights in front yards this time of year. Are you looking for some variety for your gardens? Check out these splendid, native plants:

Bottle Gentian, Gentiana clausa: beautiful blue flower loved by bumble bees

Calico Aster, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum: bunches of white daisy-like flowers that attract a diverse types of pollinators

Gray Goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis: brilliant yellow blooms beloved by many pollinators

Blue Mist Flower, Conoclinium coelestinum: soft blue-purple flowers often visited by butterflies

New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae: purple flowers visited by honeybees and bumble bees 

Wrinkleleaf Goldenrod, Solidago rugosa: yellow flowers and a pollinator powerhouse in the garden 

Common Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum: lacy white flowerheads that attract bees, butterflies, and moths

Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea: pretty white and yellow blooms and a larval host for the American Lady butterfly

American Witch Hazel, Hammamelis virginiana: this small tree blooms in yellow in November for late season pollinators to enjoy

The other benefit to including these plants in your garden? Butterflies! These plants are host plants for many native butterfly larvae. Goldenrod alone can play host to 115 different species of Lepidoptera (the order which includes butterflies, moths, and skippers)! 

Wondering where you can buy native plants? 

Here are two Connecticut nurseries:

Earth Tones Native Nursery, Woodbury, CT https://www.earthtonesnatives.com/

Native: A Native Plant Nursery, Fairfield, CThttps://www.anativeplantnursery.com/

Live in New York? Check out these nurseries:

Catskill Native Nursery, Kerhonksen, NY https://www.catskillnativenursery.com/

Long Island Natives, Eastport, NY https://longislandnatives.com/

Want to be part of the Pollinator Pathway? Check out this website: https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/