#attracts bees

[homegrownharvestct]

Spotlight on Sage

When my daughter returned home from college one semester a few years ago, our house became one of the most saged houses in town, if not the entire state. “It gets rid of negative energy”, she would say as she made a beeline for her brother’s room.

Sage is an ancient herb which has been highly valued for its medicinal and culinary purposes for centuries.Considered a purifying herb in Ayurvedic…

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[stefentures]

Solidago sempervirens- Seaside goldenrod

ASTERACEAE (ASTER FAMILY)

This perennial produces a tight clump of narrow, evergreen basal leaves topped by leafy, erect or arching, 2-8 ft. stalks. The terminal or upper axillary flowering heads are dense, the lowest branches somewhat recurved. Flowers are deep-yellow and the leaves are somewhat succulent. Succulent-leaved salt-marsh Goldenrod with arching branches that bear one-sided clusters of large, bright yellow flower heads.

Plants found from Florida to Texas and Mexico are recognized by some experts as a different species (S. mexicana), but as another variety of this single species, S. sempervirens var. mexicana, by others. It also hybridizes regularly with Rough-stemmed Goldenrod (S. rugosa).

Height 3-6 ft Spacing 18 Inches

Bloom Color Yellow USDA Hardiness Zone 3-9 PLANT CHARACTERISTICS

Duration: Perennial Habit: Herb Leaf: Dark Green Flower: Fruit: Size Class: 3-6 ft. 

BLOOM INFORMATION

Bloom Color: Yellow Bloom Time: Aug , Sep , Oct DISTRIBUTION

Native Habitat: Saline places along the coast GROWING CONDITIONS

Water Use: Low Light Requirement: Sun Soil Moisture: Moist CaCO3 Tolerance: Low Soil Description: Sandy soils. Conditions Comments: Pinch the growing tips in June for a more compact plant. This goldenrod does not spread by rhizomes or become invasive. It is resistant to salt spray. BENEFIT

Conspicuous Flowers: yes Attracts: Birds VALUE TO BENEFICIAL INSECTS

Special Value to Native Bees Special Value to Honey Bees Supports Conservation Biological Control

Sources:http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=SOSE

http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/plantName/Solidago-sempervirens-

[stefentures]

Vaccinium angustifolium- Lowbush Blueberry

Common lowbush blueberry is fire-tolerant and rhizomatous, and a very common colonizer of open ground. Its small (1.5-3.2 cm or 0.8-1.5 inch long) leaves have margins with tiny, regularly spaced serrations. The white, bell-shaped flowers are 0.4-0.8 cm (0.2-0.4 inches) long. Many blueberry (Vaccinium) species interbreed, making definitive identification a challenge. Low-bush blueberry is the leading source of commercial blueberries in North America. The edible berries are rich in vitamin C and sugars. Bears and other animals also eat the fruits. Because it can tolerate challenging soils, even mine tailings, lowbush blueberry is occasionally used to revegetate disturbed sites. Blueberries also make excellent native shrub plantings because of their tolerance, easy growth and berry production. Blueberries require bees for pollination, but intensive use of pesticides in agricultural barrens has reduced natural pollinator density.

Habitat Alpine or subalpine zones, cliffs, balds, or ledges, grassland, meadows and fields, mountain summits and plateaus, ridges or ledges, woodlands

Hardiness zone: 3-7

Characteristics Habitat terrestrial New England state Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont Growth form the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base) Leaf type the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets) Leaves per node there is one leaf per node along the stem Leaf blade edges the edge of the leaf blade has teeth Leaf duration the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant) armature on plant the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns Leaf blade length 15–32 mm Leaf blade width 5–20 mm Leaf stalk the leaves have leaf stalks Fruit type (general) the fruit is fleshy Bark texture the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth Twig winter color green Bud scale number there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed

BENEFIT

Use Wildlife: Berries are relished by most birds and mammals. Use Food: Fruit edible. Attracts: Birds VALUE TO BENEFICIAL INSECTS

Special Value to Native Bees Special Value to Bumble Bees

Sources:https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/vaccinium/angustifolium/

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=VAAN

[stefentures]

Pieris floribunda- Fetterbush

Mountain fetterbush is known only from Vermont in New England, where it occurs far north of its native range in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern U.S. This shrub of the heath family grows to about 2 meter (6 feet) tall, producing glossy foliage and panicles of drooping, urn-shaped, white flowers, which are pollinated by bees.

Evergreen shrub with hairy twigs; leaves alternate and simple, leathery; flowers in terminal, erect clusters, each white, inverted urn-shaped, the short, 5 lobes spreading; fruit a round capsule

Dark green foliage year round; attractive flower buds form in fall; compact habit; dislikes high temperature and humidity; resistant to lace bugs; very cold hardy; good specimen plant

Height: 4-6 ft.

Foliage: Alternate, simple leaves; glossy dark green year round; 1 to 3 in. long

Flower: 2 to 4 in. upright panicle of creamy white flowers in spring; fragrant; attractive flower buds form in fall

Zones: 4 to 6

Site: Partial shade to shade; moist, well-drained soil; dislikes high temperatures and humidity

Texture: Medium

Form: Low, rounded to oval bush habit; stiff branches

Exposure:Partial shade; moist, well-drained soil

Fruit: Creamy white upright clusters in early spring; fragrant

Family: Ericaceae

Distribution: Mountains, very local

Poison Part: Leaves and nectar from flowers

Poison Delivery Mode: Ingestion

Symptoms: Tingling sensation, salivation, nose and eyes watering, nausea, vomiting, sweating, abdominal pain, headache, weakness, convulsions; may be fatal Severity: HIGHLY TOXIC, MAY BE FATAL IF EATEN! Found in: Forest or natural areas, on rocky, exposed mountain tops

Fall Foilage: elliptical, evergreen leaves

1" to 3" long 0.5" to 1" wide alternate leaf arrangement leaf margins are ciliate leaves are dark green and leathery

Liabilities::can be difficult to transplant and establish

prone to stem rot diseases, especially where soil drainage is not good fortunately, not afflicted by lacebug like P. japonica winter burn can occur in exposed locations

Propagation:

by seed cuttings are difficult, but can be rooted

Sources:

http://hort.uconn.edu/detail.php?pid=317

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/pieris-floribunda/