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Michelle’s Starter Guide to High Value Plants for your space (Mid-Atlantic US)

Tip: Remove lawn or non-native/invasive species to make room for more of the following essential plants!

High value trees and shrubs for caterpillars (essential bird food!)

  • Native oaks

  • Native cherry species

  • Native birch species

  • Native willow species

  • Native maple species

  • Native dogwoods 

  • Native viburnums

  • Blueberries

  • Alder species

  • Raspberries/Blackberries

  • American hazelnut

  • Serviceberries

  • Native hollies

Shrubs with berries for birds (migrating and resident)

  • Dogwood species (Cornus sericea, racemosa, amomum)

  • Possumhaw viburnum (Viburnum nudum)

  • Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) 

  • Black Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

  • Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata)

  • American spikenard (Aralia racemosa)

  • Northern bayberry (Morella pensylvanica)

  • Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

  • Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

  • Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

High value perennials for caterpillars (more essential bird food!)

  • Goldenrod species

  • Strawberry

  • Asters (Symphyotrichum species)

  • Joe Pye weeds

  • Violets

  • Rose Mallows

  • Swamp milkweed for monarchs (Asclepias incarnata)

  • Native grasses

Seeds for birds

  • Hollow-stemmed Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)

  • Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

  • Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

  • Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

  • Purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis)

Butterfly nectar plants

  • Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’

  • Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium species)

  • Blazing star (Liatris ligulystyls, L. squarrosa, L. scariosa)

  • Pasture thistle (Cirsium discolor)

  • New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

Nectar plants for hummingbirds

  • Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempirvirens)

  • Scarlet beebalm (Monarda didyma)

  • Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

  • Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis and pallida)

Nectar and pollen plants for native bees

  • Native hollies (Ilex opaca, Ilex verticillata, Ilex glabra)

  • Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)

  • Red maple (Acer rubrum)

  • Basswood (Tilia americana)

  • Virginia and Ohio spiderworts (Tradescantia species)

  • Figworts (Scrophularia marilandica)

  • Eastern columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

  • St. John’s wort (Hypericum prolificum)

  • Native bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia)

  • Perennial sunflower species (Helianthus)

  • Native mint species (Pycnanthemum species)

  • American alumroot (Heuchera villosa)

  • Smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)

  • Native asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium and others)

  • Goldenrod species (Solidago species)

Maintenance tips

Leave stems, rotting wood, snags, leaves on the ground, no pesticides/fertilizers