Songbird Plants

This vigorous native produces masses of black-eyed golden yellow daisies from mid-summer to fall on tall sturdy stems. A vigorous clump forming perennial common to stream banks and moist areas but will do fine in average garden soils. The sweetly scented foliage gives it its common name. A good choice for the back of the border. Item# 9261.

Wonderfully fragrant of licorice or anise when bruised or dried, Sweet Goldenrod produces medium to large pyramidal clusters of golden yellow flowers in summer that are excellent for attracting pollinators and other beneficials. The flowers and foliage, fresh or dried, is often used to make a very nice herbal tea, as a mild spice in cooking, and could certainly be used in potpourris as well (Bonnie fell in love with the fragrance of the dried seed heads!). Another of the garden friendly clump forming Goldenrods, Sweet Goldenrod makes a nice addition to the garden, as well as in natural areas and along roadsides. Item# 10684.

Loads of glossy black, 3/8", thin skinned, very sweet huckleberries (actually blueberries) begin ripening in mid April often lasting through May. This is one of the earliest ripening native blueberries and we selected this variety for its exceptionally sweet, tender fruit and its heavy bearing characteristics. An excellent berry for pancakes, muffins, pies, and certainly fresh eating. An Almost Eden Exclusive introduction! In limited supply. Item# 10832.

Clusters of soft yellow-orange tubular buds mature into medium orange tubular trumpet-shaped flowers that darken as they age. Flowering begins in late winter to early spring and continues cyclically throughout the growing season and finishing up in fall at the end of hummingbird season. Tangerine Princess Coral Honeysuckle, a Louisiana selection of Lonicera sempervirens, is a native, twining, deciduous, woody vine that is one of the longest flowering vines for attracting hummingbirds. The mother plant was discovered during a tour of the Dr. Charles Allen Nature Preserve in northern Louisiana with its namesake noted botanist, author, and retired professor Dr. Charles Allen, Ken and Sonie Milton, etal. Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle will happily twine through a 6' high chain link fence or up an 8' arbor, trellis, or post. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. 1/4" red berries follow flowering and are a treat for songbirds. Item# 957

Large dark purplish pink rays surround the green and copper tinged cone of nectar rich disk flowers in summer and interestingly the flowers always face eastward. The Tennessee Purple Coneflower is a rare species of Echinacea known only from a small area in central Tennessee around the Nashville area and was one of the very first plants to be added to the Endangered Species list but now the populations are stable enough that it has been unlisted and is a model success story for endangered plant species. A taprooted drought resistant native perennial, provide the Tennessee Purple Coneflower with a well-drained soil in a full to mostly sunny site in the garden and landscape. The flowers attract a menagerie of pollinators, especially butterflies, bees, as well as hummingbirds and other garden beneficials. Item# 11727

A choice native coneflower, the Texas Coneflower produces 3-5" bright golden yellow daisies that  are borne singly, or in small clusters of up 5 flowers, and are held on sturdy upright stems in summer. A rosette of large, rich dark green glossy foliage subtends the flower stalks. Texas Coneflower provides us with a medium-sized Rudbeckia that is similar in habit to the stately Giant Coneflower. Item# 10217.

Clusters of 3" long yellow, orange, orange-red, or red trumpets adorn this vigorous native vine throughout summer. An excellent choice for hummingbirds. Trumpet Creeper's vigor, tolerance of poor soils, and durability lend it to use in difficult sites. Use as an espalier, allow it to climb a sturdy fence, or cover an arbor. These are seedling grown and so the flower color may be range from a rich orange to nearly yellow to a dark brick red. Item# 11295

Dense flattened clusters of dainty white tubular flowers top the narrow blue-green to green fragrant foliage in summer. The small nectar rich flowers of Virginia Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum, attract a wide variety of pollinators, and are especially important to native bees. This is a rhizomatous native perennial that will readily spread especially in moist soils. It is native mainly to the northcentral and northeastern US and is typically found in moist soils but can tolerate drier sites where it is less likely to spread aggressively. Virginia Mountain Mint is tolerant of a wide variety of soil types from clay, to sandy, to rocky as well as calcareous soils. Item# 12355

Another excellent native shrub for the landscape! The dense neat mound of whorled deep green glossy foliage and red tinged stems is topped by clusters of white flowers in spring which make way to red berries ripening through purple and finally black. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators and the fruit attract songbirds and smaller fructivores. Walter's Whorled Class Viburnum is a medium-sized selection of the southeastern native Walter's Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum, and as its name implies, its foliage is whorled around the stem thus providing 33% more greenery as compared to non-whorled selections of this species. This shrub's dense habit lends it to use anywhere a medium-sized shrub is desired in the landscape. It is generally evergreen into zone 8A and tends to be deciduous to semi-evergreen in zones 6 and 7. Use this tough native shrub in place of Dwarf Yaupon, Indian Hawthorne, or anywhere a medium-sized, disease resistant, low maintenance shrub or hedge is desired. Provide a full sun to part shade site in an average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor. Images shown are an example of what to expect with this cultivar but are of the common Walter's Viburnum, Viburnum obovatum. Item# 12730

Clusters of dainty white and green spring flowers are followed by dense clusters of glossy bright red berries that often last into spring (if the birds don't get them all!). The nectar and pollen laden flowers attract bees and smaller pollinators and even provide a caffiene kick. Warren's Red Possumhaw Holly, a selection of Ilex decidua, is a large growing, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub but could potentially be shaped into a small tree form. It has few if any pests or diseases and is quite tolerant of growing conditions from average moist to moderately wet and periodically flooded sites. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum growth, vigor, and fruit set. Almost any male native holly that flowers at the same time will pollinate the female Warren's Red Possumhaw Holly including the American Holly, Ilex opaca, and we also now offer the male Midas Possumhaw Holly as well. Item# 9146

Bright golden yellow daisies top the sturdy and branched, 3-5' stems of this perennial native Sunflower. The Western Sunflower will quickly create a ground-covering colony of plants by multiplying via underground rhizomes. The spent flower stalks hold seeds for songbirds and will die back to the ground in fall but are quickly replaced by a multitude of new rosettes in winter. An easy and durable plant for naturalizing and native to much of the southeastern US. Considered to be one of the least aggressive spreading Sunflowers. Caterpillar host: Milbert's Tortoiseshells. Item# 10240

This white fruited selection of the American Beautyberry adorns itself in dense clusters of 1/8" wide, creamy white, berries that encircle the stems. The fruit begins to ripen and color up in summer but they are most noticeable on the bare winter stems. Apparently the berries sweeten as winter sets in and songbirds find them irresistible. This is a fast growing, native, deciduous shrub that is tolerant of sun to semi-shade but generally flowers and fruits best in full or mostly sunny conditions. Because it flowers on new growth, if the American Beautyberry gets too large it will benefit from periodic hard pruning and still produce fruit the same year if pruning is done before new growth begins in spring. Item# 12224

Clusters of pure white flowers with a darker eye may be born throughout summer and can nearly cover the top of the plant under good conditions. White or Swamp Milkweed is one of the few shade tolerant Milkweeds but it seems to produce a fuller denser plant where it receives at least 4-6 hours or more of direct sunlight. This is an excellent choice for use as a Monarch host as it will remain evergreen in mild winters in zone 8B and warmer and is a good substitute for the Mexican Milkweed for those looking for a reliable locally native perennial Milkweed with a smaller compact habit. Asclepias perennis is native to much of the eastern central US. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist to semi-moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Plant the Aquatic or White Milkweed in spring until about midsummer in zones 6-8 to help ensure plants are well-established before winter. It can also be enjoyed as a container plant but it should be protected if there is a chance that the soil can freeze. Item# 10451

Pure-white 1/2" blooms are born in grape-like drooping clusters from spring/summer to frost on this large tropical shrub sometimes grown as a tender perennial or annual. In freeze-free climates the Duranta can be used as a hedge or screen or train them into beautiful small trees. In the mildest portions of zone 8B-9 it will often act as a die-back perennial. The blooms are followed by 1/2" golden berries giving it the name of 'Golden Dewdrop'. Item# 737.

12-18" long sturdy spikes of white pea-like blossoms contrast with the purplish black stems and are born in spring above the newly unfurling bluish green foliage on tall 3-4' stems. Baptisia's are durable pest and disease resistant native taprooted perennials and could be considered the Lupine for the south. An excellent addition to the perennial border or cut-flower garden that is drought tolerant, deer resistant, durable, and easy. Item# 10230.

In late summer and fall loads of dainty 1/2-1" wide white daisies, with yellow centers or disk flowers that age to red-purple, literally cover the plants for weeks and offer nectar and pollen to a variety of smaller pollinators. The White Wood Aster, Aster divaricatum now Eurybia divaricata, is a medium-sized bushy, shade and drought tolerant, vigorously spreading rhizomatous, native perennial common throughout the Eastern US. This is one of the earliest Asters to begin flowering in late summer and can even be utilized as a mum replacement in containers if desired. The White Wood Aster may be best suited to semi-shaded to shaded, naturalistic areas where it will readily colonize eventually creating a groundcover-like mass of offsets. Provide a partly shaded site in average to well-drained soils with average to dryish (once well-established) moisture conditions. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12991

Clusters of tiny, light pink, tubular flowers are encircled by a mass of velvety white, bract-like leaves in mid to late summer. Whiteleaf Mountainmint, Pycnanthemum albescens, has a strong minty sage-like fragrance and can be used in place of sage in cooking. It is a clump forming native perennial with an upright to rounded growth habit reaching about 3' high by flowering. The dainty flowers are pollinated by a variety of smaller pollinators but are especially relished by bees. Easy to grow and deer and pest resistant. Whiteleaf Mountainmint is somewhat drought resistant once well-established. Item# 10669

The tall stems of this native perennial cover up in 1" light purple daisies in late summer and fall. Willowleaf Aster, Symphyotrichum praealtum, produces a multitude of upright to arching stems once well-established and makes a grand statement in the fall garden, prairie, meadow, or roadsides. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators but are an especially important late summer and fall nectar source for native bees. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Willowleaf Aster or Willow Aster is long rhizomatous, versus clumpforming, and will slowly colonize an area once established creating a dense stand at maturity. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in moist to average moist soils. Cutback to ground level after flowering to prevent unwanted seedlings if desired. Item# 10693.

Clusters of extra large (for a Beautyberry) showy purplish-pink flowers are produced for an extended period beginning in late spring or early summer and continuing into fall all the while ripening clusters of showy rich purple berries. The Willowleaf Beautyberry, Callicarpa salicifolia, is something of a rarity in the horticultural trade but is gaining in popularity for being one of the showiest. This large growing deciduous shrub has a naturally upright to rounded, well-branched habit lending it to use as a specimen plant and as an informal hedge or screen. The fruit attracts songbirds, small mammals, as well as likely deer and other wildlife while the nectar rich flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Provide the Willowleaf Beautyberry with a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12455

Tall spikes of bright yellow pea-like blossoms are held above the gray-green foliage. Baptisia's are durable pest and disease resistant native taprooted perennials and could be considered the Lupine for the south. An excellent addition to the perennial border or cut-flower garden that is drought tolerant, deer resistant, durable, and easy. Item# 9813.