Native summer blooming shrubs offer immeasurable benefits. Shrubs are considered the bones of the landscape, creating habitat for birds and small mammals in all four seasons. Shrubs offer protection, nectar and pollen for a wide range of fauna, bees, butterflies, insects and nesting and feeding songbirds. Growing season is lengthened from the early bloomers through the fall berries. In Nature’s Best Hope and Bringing Nature Home, Doug Tallamy describes keystone plants as “native plants that are essential to our ecosystems because they support 90% of the caterpillar species that enable our terrestrial birds to reproduce, as well as all of our specialist native bee species.”
Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis
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Cephalanthus occidentalis
BUTTONBUSH
If you live along a wetland, have a soggy area in your yard or are considering a rain garden then buttonbush is the shrub for you. It is an excellent wetland shrub that requires consistent moisture, can tolerate clay soil and standing water.. They flower abundantly in the summer with fuzzy ball shaped flower clusters backed by glossy leaves. Their aromatic flowers attract bees, hummingbirds and butterflies, such as tiger swallowtails. Nearly two dozen butterfly and moth larva are drawn to buttonbush. Bright red seed heads that follow in the fall provide food for songbirds, small mammals and waterfowl.
USES: Rain gardens, retention ponds, erosion control
Its fast-growing root system helps with water quality near marshes, streams or wetlands. Since it can grow in water it is a favorite for wetland conservation.
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Hydrangea arborescens
SMOOTH HYDRANGEA
Hydrangea arborescens, our native hydrangea, is found along rocky wooded slopes, ravines, streambanks, and bluff bases in the eastern United States. Smooth hydrangea is the host plant of the hydrangea sphinx moth and attracts butterflies, moths, pollinators and songbirds. The blooms are on new wood and can be pruned back close to the ground in late winter. Several cultivars have flowers that make a ball-shaped bloom. This low growing hydrangea fits nicely beneath taller trees and shrubs.
USES: Mass planting, native specimen, pollinator garden, rain garden, shade garden, grows well on a slope, naturalized area or in a woodland
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Clethra alnifolia
SWEET PEPPERBUSH
Clethra is a wonderful addition to any garden, a versatile shrub that can thrive in most conditions. Typically found in open woodlands or swamps along the Atlantic coast this workhorse can flower from full sun to shade. Clethra prefers moist soil but can even adjust to dry, compact soil. It is a sweet scented native shrub that is a pollinator magnet. The white spire blooms lure butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. In addition, to being a hardy shrub, Clethera has year round interest. The deep green summer leaves turn yellow in autumn and in winter clusters of attractive seed pods remain.
USES: Seaside plantings, mass plantings, hedges or rain gardens
