Native Pollinator Education Garden

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Welcome to the website for the Rutgers Cooperative Extension native plant garden.
The garden is located outside of the 4-H Pavillion on the Warren County Fairgrounds. Funding for this garden was made possible by the New Jersey Native Plant Society.

Why plant native plants?

A native plant is defined as one that has evolved over thousands of years in a specific geographic region, alongside local flora and fauna, without human intervention. These plants thrive naturally in their native habitats, establishing intricate relationships with local wildlife. Their ability to adapt to environmental changes has led to a resilience during significant shifts in their surroundings.

Native plants are crucial for providing essential food sources like nectar, pollen, and seeds, while also providing crucial habitats for a diverse range of wildlife species that non-native plants fail to support. For instance, many insects, including butterflies, depend on these native plants not only for nourishment but also for breeding. The survival of monarch butterflies, in particular, hinges on native milkweed, as they lay their eggs exclusively on this plant, making it indispensable for the health and continuation of their caterpillars.

Once established, native plants require minimal maintenance due to their adaptation to local weather patterns, seasons, soils, and pests. They thrive with little need for fertilizers or pesticides, are efficient in water usage, and play a crucial role in reducing soil erosion.

Many plants found in nurseries are non-native species introduced from other countries. These species can become invasive, outcompeting native plants and disrupting our local ecosystems.

The introduction of these non-native plants into our landscapes has significantly contributed to the decline of pollinators and other wildlife, primarily due to habitat destruction and a lack of accessible food sources. Many insects and birds have not evolved rapidly enough to coexist with these new species, which poses a serious threat to biodiversity.

The article “Provide Food Sources” from the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences highlights that native pollinators are four times more likely to be found on native plant species than on non-native ones. Additionally, it states that around 90% of native insects can only consume the native plants with which they have co-evolved.

If you are considering planting native species in your landscape, fall is generally regarded as the ideal season for planting native trees, shrubs, grasses, vines, and perennials. For more information, you can refer to the Rutgers Fact Sheet titled “Incorporating Native Plants in Your Residential Landscape” available at this link: https://njaes.rutgers.edu/FS1140/. Happy planting!

Here are the native plants you will find in our garden:

Antennaria plantaginifolia ‘Plantainleaf Pussytoes’

Family: Aster / Asteraceae
Height: 10 inches
Bloom Time: April – May
Bloom Color: White
Sun: Full sun to partial shade
Water: dry soil, drought-tolerant once established.

Plantainleaf pussytoes is a perennial wildflower that acts as a ground cover. Its foliage is covered in small white hairs, giving it a silvery appearance. The plant gets its name from its small, tufted white flower heads, which resemble the toes or paws of kittens. It typically thrives in thin soils over rock and works well as ground cover in gravel or rock gardens. Additionally, plantainleaf pussytoes is resistant to deer and serves as a host plant for the American lady butterfly.

Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Culver’s Root’

Family: Plantain / Plantaginaceae
Height: 2 to 6 feet
Bloom Time: June – September
Bloom Color: typically white, but may also be lavender or blue in color
Sun: Full sun, partial shade
Water: Damp, not soggy soil

Culver’s root is a native perennial wildflower characterized by its dark green, lance-shaped leaves that grow in whorls around the stems. These stems bear slender spikes filled with small, tubular flowers. The plant is highly attractive to pollinators, including butterflies and various types of bees, such as sweat bees, small carpenter bees, bumblebees, and honeybees. Additionally, culver’s root is deer resistant.

Anemone canadensis ‘Canada Anemone’

Family: Buttercup / Ranunculaceae
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Time: April to June
Bloom Color: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to moist soil

Canada anemone is a native perennial groundcover with slightly cupped white flowers and golden centers. Small bees, such as miner and sweat bees, as well as hoverflies, love this plant. The Canada anemone serves as a host plant for certain moth species, including the veiled ear and one-lined sparganothis moths. It is important to note that the plant contains compounds that are toxic to animals such as deer and rabbits.

Aquilegia canadensis ‘Wild Columbine’

Family: Buttercup / Ranunculaceae
Height: 2 to 3 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Color: Red, yellow
Sun: Part shade
Water: Dry to moist soil, drought-tolerant once established

Wild Columbine is a native wildflower that produces 1- to 2-inch drooping, bell-shaped flowers. These flowers can appear singly or in groups of two to three and feature distinct backward-pointing tubes. This structure is similar to that of garden columbines and holds nectar that attracts long-tongued insects and hummingbirds, particularly those adapted to access it. Additionally, wild columbine serves as a host plant for the columbine duskywing butterfly.

Helianthus decapetalus ‘Thinleaf Sunflower’

Family: Aster / Asteraceae
Height: 3 to 6 feet
Bloom Time: June to November
Bloom Color: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Moist soil

A native perennial woodland sunflower with flower heads that are 2–3½ inches across, consisting of 8-12 ray-florets. It has smooth, slender stems that may be green, reddish, or purple, branching near the top. The thinleaf sunflower attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators and is a host plant to silvery checkerspot and painted lady butterflies. The seeds provide food for a variety of birds.

Actaea racemosa ‘Black Cohosh’

Family: Buttercup / Ranunculaceae
Height: 4 to 6 feet
Bloom Time: May to August
Bloom Color: White
Sun: Partial to full shade
Water: Moist soil

Black Cohosh features tall, slender spikes of small white to creamy-white flowers. Although the flowers have an unpleasant, somewhat medicinal odor, the seedheads are often utilized in flower arrangements. It is attractive to wildlife. The plant attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators and is a host plant for spring azure, holly blue, and Appalachian azure butterflies.

Elymus hystrix ‘Bottlebrush Grass’

Family: Grass / Poaceae
Height: 2 to 3 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Color: Green
Sun: Partial sun to shade
Water: Dry to moist soil, drought-tolerant once established

Bottlebrush Grass is a perennial ornamental grass. The leaves are linear, grayish-green to dark green, with a rough texture. Its has spiky, greenish flowers that form in mid-June and form mid-June. The flowers resemble a bottlebrush and as they mature, they become brown and last into October. Bottlebrush grass is a host plant of the northern pearly eye butterfly and the white-footed mouse and birds eat the seeds.

Lindera benzoin ‘Spicebush’

Family: Laurel / Laurelaceae
Height: 4 to 10 feet
Bloom Time: March
Bloom Color: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Average to moist soil

Spicebush is a deciduous shrub named for its spice, fragrant leaves and stems. Clusters of fragrant yellow flowers bloom along the branches in March before the green leaves appear in the summer. The leaves will turn yellow in the fall. The bright red fruits ripen from July through October and are eaten by various species of birds, especially thrushes. Spicebush is the host plant for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly, the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly as well as the promethea moth.

Ilex opaca ‘American Holly’

Family: Holly / Aquifoliaceae
Height: 15 to 30 feet
Bloom Time: March to June
Bloom Color: White, green
Sun: Full sun to full shade
Water: Moist soil

American holly is one of the most important native evergreens for wildlife in the eastern United States. It provides food for 25 bird species and pollinators. The small greenish-white flowers bloom in spring for pollinators and the bright red berries ripen in fall and persist through winter, providing a critical food source for birds when needed most. It’s also a host plant for the holly azure butterfly.
American holly can grow as a shrub or tree and it has spiny leaves that remain green year-round. The newer leaves are glossy and older leaves more matte.

Parthenocissus quinquefolia ‘Virginia Creeper’

Family: Grape / Vitaceae
Height: 3 to 40 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Color: Green
Sun: Full sun to full shade
Water: Moist soil

Virginia creeper can be used either as a climbing vine or ground cover. Its leaves consist of 5 leaflets which start out green and turn red-orange to burgundy in the fall. The flowers bloom in small clusters, and the dark blue berries produced by the plant are toxic to humans. Virginia creeper has tendrils that end in adhesive-like tips, allowing it to grip onto rocks, tree bark, and walls. The sap of the Virginia creeper can cause skin irritation to some people; this, combined with the the 5 leaflets, can cause it to sometimes be mistaken for poison ivy.

Miscanthus sinensis Chinese Silvergrass– Invasive Species Removal in Progress!

Family: Poaceae
Height: 10-12 feet
Bloom Time: Late summer/early fall
Bloom Color: Beige
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry/well drained

Chinese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) is a popular perennial, ornamental plant, which can be found in disturbed areas, meadows, roadsides, and other open areas. Chinese silver grass can quickly spread and become unmanageable with thick, clumping rhizomes, as well as wind-dispersed seeds. One plant can produce thousands of seeds.

Silver grass is still sold in garden nurseries, and the aggressive spread outcompetes native plants in the ecosystem. It poses a fire risk, as all parts of the plant are extremely flammable.

Silver grass should not be planted. Flower stalks should be cut before setting seed; stalks and rhizomes should not be composted but bagged and thrown in the trash. Non-selective herbicides, such as glyphosate and imazapyr can be used, according to label instructions. Repeated applications to cut rhizome masses will be necessary over several seasons.