Nooks Hill Rd
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After an extensive battle with just about every invasive species known to Connecticut (that is, of course, still ongoing), our yard is now home to over 70 native species of perennial, grasses, ferns, shrubs and trees. Through experimentation we have learned, often the hard way, what plants can thrive in our sandy soil. We have a small sun garden, a large shade garden, and a hill that we are currently in the process of turning back into a small wildflower meadow. Our gardens are between seventy and eighty percent native, though we still have some non-native favorites that we love. It has been such a reward to see the diversity in our small plot increase as we have eradicated the invasives and replaced them with natives. We are even able to participate in Monarch Watch’s tagging program, watching monarch caterpillars grow, cocoon, and emerge right in our front walkway garden! Observing the goldfinches on the coreopsis and coneflowers, the various types of bees and moths, and butterflies has been our true joy. We make sure we help support these animals by creating puddles and bird baths in addition to providing food sources and habitat. We’ve also seen an increase in predator species such as dragonflies, red-tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawks, and barred owls that like to occasionally sit in the tall trees or soar around our property. We have also added a bat box in attempts to promote them as our small ecosystem has developed and grown more diverse and complex. While we have learned a lot over the past few years, we still have a lot more to learn and that is what we love about thinking and planning for native plants in our gardens. While our gardens and land area are small, our impact is visible and, hopefully, lasting.
Perennials
Wild Bergamot (Mondarda fistulosa)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Lance-leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceota)
Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
New York or Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)
Fire Pink Silene (Silene virginica)
White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima)
Nodding Onion (Allium cernum)
Wild Leek Ramps (Allium tricoccum)
Canada Windflower (Anemone canadensis)
Tall Windflower (Anemone virginiana)
Plantain-Leaved Pussy Toes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Northern Horse Balm (Collinsonia canadensis)
Pink Tickseed (Coreopsis rosea)
Threadleaf Tickseed (Creopsis verticillata)
Showy Tick Trefoil (Desmodium canadense)
Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia)
Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Fleabane (Erigeron pulchellus)
White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)
Coral Bells (Heuchera americana)*
New England Blazing Star Liatris (Liatris novae-angliae)
False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum)
Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)*
Garden Phlox (Phlox paninculata)
Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginia)
May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum)
Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium reptans)
Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Cut-leaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Zig-zag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis)
Gray Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
Blue Wood Aster (Symphytotrichum cordifolium)
Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Early Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dioicum)
Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Violet (Viola sagittata)
Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)
Bunch Flower (Veratrum virginicum)
Heath Aster (Symphytotrichum ericoides)*
Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)
Grasses and Sedges
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Appalachian Sedge (Carex appalachia)
Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Shrubs
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
Maple-leaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra spp. canadensis)
Red Twig Dogwood (Swida (Cornus) sericea)
Ferns
Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiosteris)
Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)
Hay-scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)
Blunt-lobed Grapefern (Sceptridium oneidense)
Trees
Sugar Maple (Accer saccharum)
American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
White Pine (Pinus strobus)
*Signifies cultivar