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bird friendly

This annual vine has a fuzzy stem and attractive flowers. Fruit is a fuzzy pod containing several seeds that are black and shiny. The wild bean is also edible by birds and mammals, including humans.  The plant prefers sandy soils, but can be found in a wide range of soil textures. Best planted as a groundcover, or in a pot. 

 

The attractive flat-topped flower clusters and narrow leaves are distinctive. The branched stems bear long, narrow leaves, and are topped by flat, open clusters of small yellow flowers. The plant spreads by rhizomes (underground rootstalk) to form colonies. The species name means “grass-leaf”.

Attractive soft yellow flowers with a long bloom season make this a desirable garden addition.  The grass-like leaves give the plant a fine texture. May spread aggressively. Considered to be a pollinator magnet. Tolerant of most soils except dry ones, its native habitat is moist to wet areas.

A fine textured vase shaped plant. Flowers are small but clustered into larger heads, resulting in clouds of tiny white flowers which bloom from late summer into autumn. The flowers mature into seed clusters, giving autumn interest. Does best in dry, sandy fields or open woods.

A warm season, low-growing bunchgrass which produces striking plumage in the summer. The inflorescence appears as hazy,  reddish-purple clouds.  Often used for erosion control owing to its fibrous, deep roots. Drought tolerant and low maintenance.

Clump-forming perennial grass with fibrous roots. A decorative green fading to cream panicle (flower array) emerges from a sheath. Grows in forest edges, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes. 

A medium to large deciduous tree with upright-arching branching and a rounded spreading crown.  Insignificant greenish flowers in spring. Female flowers produce round berry-like drupes which mature to deep reddish purple. Many birds, including quail, pheasants, woodpeckers, and cedar waxwings, eat the fruits. Ovate to oblong-ovate green leaves are coarsely toothed from midleaf to the sharply pointed tip. Undistinguished yellow fall color. Commonly used as a street tree because of its ability to withstand drought and tolerate urban environments.

A trailing, evergreen shrub, the thick, leathery leaves  are yellow-green in spring, dark-green in summer, and reddish-purple in the fall. Nodding clusters of pink or white flowers occur on bright-red stems, followed by bright-red berries that persist into winter. Long lived, but a slow grower. Has no serious disease or insect problems. Frequently seen as a ground cover in sandy areas.

Broomsedge is a primary native meadow grass in our region.  Drought tolerant, it requires little care and is virtually disease and pest free.  Seeds along the stems are striking in fall and winter when the fine hairs of the seeds catch the sunlight.  Supports the Common Wood-Nymph and Skipper butterflies.