Forms clumps of stiff upright stems bearing flowers in a candelabra shape with a long bloom season.  Pinch the tops to encourage branching and a bushier growth habit.  Spreads slowly through roots and self-seeding. Use in moist sites such as around ponds and in rain gardens. 

This dainty plant has showy flowers. Plants can produce numerous seeds, making the plant readily self-seed. It's native habitat is dry, open, sandy sites.

Fast growing, generally pest and disease-free, and drought-tolerant. Colonies are often single-sexed, formed from a single, suckering parent. Only female plants produce flowers and berries. Leaves are extremely colorful in the fall.

This plant is prized for its long bloom season, and is good for naturalizing or in a rain garden. Has a minty aroma when crushed.  Can spread aggressively.

An easily grown, attractive, deciduous vine. In the fall, the leaves turn  bright red and make a showy contrast with its blue berries. Unlike some climbing vines, it adheres via adhesive discs rather than penetrating rootlets. Will easily climb deer netting. May be grown as a ground cover.

Yes, Long Island has a native cactus! The Prickly Pear Cactus is a mounding, low-growing perennial found closer to the shoreline in sandy patches.  Easy to grow, hard to kill, and great for containers, too.  Be careful of the tiny hairlike spines when handling!  The paddles (nopales) and fruit (tuna) are edible and feature in Mexican cuisine. 

This bushy, medium-sized milkweed is one of the hosts to the Monarch Butterfly.  Its bright orange flower clusters, ease of growing, and tolerances make it a great choice for home gardens.

Also known as Eastern False Willow, Groundsel bush is found in saltmarshes and along the coastal areas of Long Island.  Grows showy white flowers and many seed heads that attract pollinators and birds alike. It is the only member of the Aster family to reach tree size.  Great for salt tolerant and coastal landscaping.

The Common Milkweed is the plant that most people associate with the word “milkweed”.  It is one of the few host species for Monarch butterflies, but the flowers are very popular with many other kinds of insects.  It is an aggressive spreader both by seed and by underground growth, so best in larger garden areas.

Black chokeberry is an adaptable shrub native with hardiness and wide tolerance to a variety of soil conditions, but prefers wet soils.  The bitter fruit is a food source for birds and other wildlife, and used to make jams, jellies, syrup, tea, juice and wines.  In autumn, leaves change to vibrant reds, oranges and purples.