Ceanothus Marie Simon
Hybrid New Jersey Tea

This shrub is a hybrid with two native cousins to our local New Jersey Tea, and boasts clusters of soft pink flowers in late spring and early summer.

I have seen our small Spring Azure butterfly lay eggs on the flowers, and Hairstreaks and other small butterflies and pollinators use them for nectar.

Plants stay only 2 to 3' tall and wide and prefer well-drained soil in sun or moderate shade.

This hybrid gets good drought tolerance from one parent and interesting glossy, reddish seed capsules from another.

Abelia mosanensis - Fragrant Abelia

Spiraea Snow Storm - Snow Storm Spirea

Like many spirea, this variety is versatile and gives the garden multi-season interest. Foliage is a soft blue-green all summer, taking on muted shades of plum-purple and burgundy. The colors combine well with all other leaf colors - bright green, reddish-purple and yellow. White flower clusters open in late spring and continue on-and-off into summer.

A light trimming can encourage a faster, fuller re-blooming once the first flowers fade. This spirea will grow to about 4' tall and wide and thrives in full sun and well-drained soil. All spirea are moderately deer-resistant.

Big Daddy Hydrangea

One of the few plants nowadays that has a very appropriate name! Surely the largest-flowered hydrangea I’ve ever seen, this one carries mophead flowers in pastel blue, purple or pink.

Great for making a statement when you like your plants to “kick it up a notch.” As with many hydrangeas, strongly acidic soil will turn them blue; weakly acidic soil will keep them pink. In between, it’s purple – or a potluck party of all three colors at once!

Evergreens

I usually consider evergreens first when deciding on what to put in a new garden. While it’s true that the commonplace boxwoods, euonymus, laurels and hollies make great foundation plants, other evergreens truly shine as specimens and accents.

All give you year-round interest and many change color in the winter. Several are even quite deer-resistant. Use fast-growing evergreens as screening plants to block a view; as anchors to a garden of ephemeral color; or give the slower growers a try in containers.

There are evergreens for wet spots and dry spots; there are sprawling groundcovers and skinny upright spires; there are pet-able, soft, fluffy ones and don’t-even-think-about-touching-me prickly ones that make great security blankets of sharp needles. This is a great opportunity to go for the more uncommon plants – the dwarf, the unusual – or for gathering quantities of something simpler for basic needs.

Shade Trees

Every home could benefit from a good shade tree. Or several! Every time I walk in the woods on a hot day I marvel at how much more bearable the temperature is under all those leaves. Shade trees are nature’s little (well, not so little) air conditioners, cooling you, your yard and your home. Add to that plenty of real estate for birds, squirrels and frogs (Yep! We have tree frogs here) and a range of seasonal decoration, and you’ve got a fantastic addition to any place you call home.

Many of these trees are fast growers and provide showy flowers, bark and fall color. Several have great wildlife value and are native species. Let them grow along with your family and they will reward you with soothing shade and a majestic presence for decades to come.