American Beauties Plant Shopping List

'Little Lanterns' is a compact columbine that only grows 10" tall. Deep red and yellow nodding flowers top blue-green foliage for many weeks in spring. This is a good choice for shade gardens, woodland gardens, rock gardens and naturalized areas.

Asters are the backbone of many late summer and fall landscapes. The white woodland aster is a terrific ground cover and is especially valuable because it grows so well in dry shade. Thin, nearly black stems are topped with clouds of white flowers in early fall.

A low, dense groundcover that is smothered in 1/2" single white flowers with gold centers in September. A good strong grower and a totally new look and use for an aster. Narrow grey-green foliage is a great host plant for many varieties of butterflies. Easy to grow, this tolerant perennial thrives as a groundcover in dry conditions. Butterflies flock to the masses of tiny flowers for nectar in early fall.

'Lady in Red' has sultry red stems surrounded by bright green, lacy fronds. New fronds arise gracefully from the crown all season long, keeping plants from getting worn looking. Clumps are dense and upright. This deciduous fern is vigorous and easy to grow. Ferns provide seasonal cover and hiding places for ground feeding birds such as ovenbirds, waterthrushes, wood thrushes, robins and Carolina wrens.

This sedge forms short clusters and spreads slowly by rhizomes to form a lush carpet. This thick mat of growth provides excellent seasonal cover for foraging small songbirds and the insects and other small animals they love to eat. Reddish-brown, thimble-like flowers top the narrow, fine textured leaves in spring. A number of birds and small mammals feed on the seeds.

Drooping seed heads hang in clusters from slightly arching stems topping an upright clump of bamboo-like foliage. Green leaves turn copper in fall and the seed heads emerge green but turn purplish bronze by late summer then dry to a straw color. The more water it receives, the more tolerant it will be of intense sun, but it still prefers shade. Clumping grasses like this provide nest sites and winter cover for quail, sparrows and other wildlife. They also provide fall and winter seeds for a number of birds including cardinals, towhees, juncos, sparrows and finches.

Gray twig dogwood is a deciduous shrub bearing dome-shaped clusters of white flowers in late spring. The flowers give way to clusters of small white berries held on licorice red stems, a delightful contrast. Gray-green leaves turn dusky purple-red in fall. This thicket-forming shrub is a good source of food and cover for birds and other wildlife. Can be used as a hedge and for erosion control on slopes. 

This plant's yellow-green fronds are distinctive as they rise and arch to create great texture and an aggressive carpet of foliage for moist areas. It's perfect for massing and reclamations in shade, while it provides essential cover for woodland animals.

Bold red-brown foliage keeps its color all season long. Pale pink flowers stand out against the handsome leaves in spring. This is a good groundcover in shaded areas with dry soil. Attracts native bees, butterflies, skippers and chipmunks love the seed.

'Dale's Strain' has unique silver-blue marbled foliage that grows in handsome mounds. It is an excellent drought tolerant ground cover for shady areas. Long wands of white flowers attract native bees and hummingbirds when they bloom in spring.

Prized by gardeners for its beauty and its versatility.  It grows well in sun or shade, in boggy soil as well as average garden soil. Fragrant, white flower spikes, 3-6" long, cover the shrub with flowers in early summer. Dark green leaves turn scarlet and crimson in fall, sometimes persisting until December. 'Henry's Garnet' is known for having larger flowers and superior fall color to that of the species.

This evergreen conifer is the best bird attracting tree in Eastern North America. Its 25' pyramidal form provides dense cover year round, and its shredding bark is used by many birds for nest construction. Female trees produce round, gray or bluish berry-like cones which 80 species of birds adore. Cedar waxwings earned their common name because of their reliance on the fruit.

'Glauca' features silvery-blue needle like foliage and a tidy upright form that is perfect for a variety of landscape situations. It provides outstanding cover for a myriad of native songbirds while providing food in the form of copious small blue berries. Easy to grow and tolerant of poor soils.

Black gum is a stately, slow-growing, deciduous tree with a straight trunk and rounded crown (more pyramidal when young). Small, greenish-white flowers appear in spring and are not showy, but they are an excellent nectar source for honey bees, native bees and other pollinators. Insect-eating birds such as kinglets, phoebes, pine warblers and others visit the tree to feed on the small insects it attracts. Flowers give way to oval, 1/2" long, dark blue fruits that are attractive to a variety of birds. Foliage turns spectacular scarlet, yellow and orange in the fall.

Virginia creeper is a deciduous, woody vine that climbs vigorously. Attaching to walls and other surfaces with adhesive disks, handsome, five-fingered leaves emerge purplish in spring, mature to green in summer and change to purple or crimson-red in fall. Clusters of small green-white flowers give rise to dark blue or black berries, which are a bountiful source of food for migrating songbirds in late summer and early fall. Attracts chickadees, nuthatches, mockingbirds, catbirds, finches, flycatchers, tanagers, swallows, vireos, warblers, woodpeckers, and thrushes. A larval host for several species of sphinx moths.

This old fashioned, deciduous shrub forms a neat thicket that weeps over at the top. June flowers are small, white to pink colored and attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Pure white berries last into winter and local native birds devour them. Easy to grow and tolerant of all but very wet soils.

Clusters of bell-shaped, white flowers tinged with red bloom in spring. Flowers are followed by tasty blue berries, which ripen in summer. The fruit is a favorite among humans as well as birds, small mammals and box turtles. Lowbush blueberry has lustrous blue-green leaves that turn bronze, scarlet and crimson in fall. It grows well in dry, acidic, nutrient poor soil.

Clusters of dainty, waxy, bell-shaped, white flowers bloom in spring. Flowers are followed by tasty blue berries, which ripen in summer. The fruit is a favorite among humans as well as birds, small mammals and box turtles. 'Northland' has bright green leaves that turn orange in fall. It is also well adapted to a variety of growing conditions. Reddish stems can be attractive in winter.

Blackhaw is a large, upright, multi-stemmed, densely twiggy deciduous shrub that can be pruned to grow as a small tree. Creamy white flowers in flat-topped clusters to 4.5" across appear in spring. Flowers provide nectar for butterflies, native bees and other pollinators. Flowers give way to blue-black, berry-like fruits, which are a good source of food for birds and wildlife in fall and early winter. This handsome plant has glossy dark green leaves changing to shades of red and purple in fall.