SUMMER BLOOMING
TREES & SHRUBS
Shrubs and trees offer numerous benefits to your landscape
Shrubs and trees are the living structures that make a garden more dynamic. They add depth, weight, height and multiple season interest to a space. Not only do they enrich the landscape with colorful vegetation, flowers, fruit and winter interest, they provide food and shelter for a variety of species. Creating habitat and maximum biodiversity is essential to providing for pollinators. Adding native shrubs and trees transforms environments into climate resilient landscapes through erosion control, drought tolerance and flooding.
****************
Clethra alnifolia
Clethra (in foreground and flanking the stairs)
Clethra alnifolia
SWEET PEPPERBUSH (Native)
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
****************
Vitex castus-agnus with a Rose of Sharon
Vitex castus-agnus
Vitex castus-agnus
CHASTE TREE
Vitex is a beautiful summer blooming shrub. A deciduous, multi-trunk shrub with fragrant lilac blooms and aromatic gray-green foliage. Its flowers attract bees and many other pollinators. In addition, Vitex are deer resistant, moderately salt tolerant and have good drought tolerance once established. Full sun.
USES: Shrub border or a small tree to accent the landscape or patio.
****************
Lagerstroemia
CRAPE MYRTLE
Crape Myrtle is a deciduous tree that performs best in full sun. Loved for their long lasting summer flowers and their naturally sculpted trunks with attractive exfoliating bark. Crape Myrtle comes in a range of sizes from dwarf 2-3’ tall shrubs to standard tree size of about 20-30’ tall. The larger ones are often pollarded, a type of hard pruning that keeps the plant smaller and blooms more profuse.
USE: Focal tree, a hedge or as part of a border
****************
Hypericum
ST JOHNS WORT (native options)
Midsummer this outstanding pollinator shrub is adorned with vibrant yellow blooms with abundant pollen bearing stamens and gray blue fine textured foliage. During the winter the attractive seed pods remain, offering food for birds and late season visual interest. St John’s Wort prefers moist well drained soil but are highly adaptable and can withstand drought and soil compaction. They grow naturally on rocky ledges, in sandy areas and woodland openings. Prune hard in spring . They bloom on the new growth.
Hypericum hidcote is very popular with it’s blue foliage and longevity.
USE: Mass plantings borders or hedges
****************
Hydrangea
paniculata
Panicle Hydrangeas are the ‘no fuss hydrangea’ with long lasting blooms. They are the stars of the autumn garden when most other shrubs are no longer blooming. Hydrangea panicle goes through a color transformation starting with early summer white that fades to shades of pink or red before drying to beige in the winter. While Mophead Hydrangeas don’t attract bees, Panicle Hydrangeas do have pollinator value for generalist pollinators. They adapt to full sun or part sun. Some popular panicle hydrangeas we carry are Limelight, Limelight Prime, Little Lime and Bobo.
USES: Natural fence or border, focal point, erosion control or containers.
****************
Oakleaf Hydrangea
