Wildlife Gardening Guide

BENEFITS OF WILDLIFE

Attracting birds, butterflies and beneficial insects to your garden is easy, fun and valuable. Is there anything better than hearing the sweet sounds of songbirds in the morning or seeing magical hummingbirds and butterflies in your own yard.

Beneficial insects, or good bugs, help with pollination and some even eat the bad bugs! Organic gardeners attract these good bugs to cut down on the use of insecticides. Hummingbirds and butterflies are invaluable when it comes to the task of pollination.

Attracting these to your yard and garden is easy. Add a birdbath, bird feeder, and a nesting box (bird house). Incorporate a few of the following plants in your garden or a few in a container and see who comes to your garden!

Sandy’s Back Porch carries many (but not all) of the plants listed below. (Our plants are delivered throughout the season and are subject to availability.)

KEY
- B = Butterflies
- H = Hummingbirds
- S = Songbirds
- P = Pollinators & Beneficial Insects
- N = Native
- spp. = multiple species
- X = Plants we carry
- D = Drought Tolerant

Annuals

Botanical Name	Common Name	B/H/S/P	Sun/Shade	Native	Notes
Alcea rosea	Hollyhock	B	Sun
Angelonia	Summer Snapdragon	B	Sun		X
Asclepias curassavica	Bloodflower	B	Sun
Begonias spp.	Begonia varieties	B	Part Sun/Shade		X/D
Calibrachoa	Million Bells	B	Sun		X
Cannas (Warm season Bulb)		H	Sun		X
Castilleja coccinea	Indian Paintbrush	B/H	Sun	N
Cassia fasciculata	Partridge Pea	S	Sun	N
Cleome		H	Sun
Cosmos		B/P	Sun		D
Dahlias		B	Sun		X
Gomphrena	Globe Amaranth	B	Sun		X/D
Heliotropium arborescens	Heliotrope	B	Sun /Part Shade
Hibiscus (Tropical)		B	Sun		X
Lantana		B/H	Sun		X/D
Lobularia maritima	Sweet Ayssum	B	Sun		X
Mirabilis jalapa	Four O'Clocks	B/H	Sun/Part Shade
Nicotiana alata	Flowering Tobacco	B/H	Sun
Pelargonium x hortorum	Geranium	B/H	Sun		X/D
Pentas	Star Flower	B	Sun		X/D
Petunias		B/H	Sun		X
Rudbeckia hirta	Black-eyed Susan	S/B	Sun	N	X/D
Salvia spp.	Salvia Varieties	H/P	Sun		X/D
Helianthus annuus	Sunflowers	S/P	Sun		X/D
Tagetes patula	French Marigold	B/H/P	Sun		X/D
Tithonia	Mexican Sunflower	B/H/P	Sun
Tropaeolum	Nasturtium	B/P	Sun
Verbena bonariensis		B	Sun
Verbena spp.	Verbena Varieties	B	Sun		X
Zinnia spp.	Zinnia species	B/H/P	Sun		X/D

Annual Vines

Botanical Name	Common Name	B/H/S/P	Sun/Shade	Native	Notes
Ipomea x miltifuida	Cardinal Climber	H/P	Sun		x
Ipomea quamoclit	Cypress Vine	H/P	Sun
Ipomea spp	Morning Glory	H/P	Sun		D - X
Lablab purpureus	Hyacinth Bean Vine	H	Sun		x
Mandevilla	Mandevilla	B/P	Sun		x
Phaseolus coccineus	Scarlet Runner Bean	H/P	Sun
Thunbergia alata	Black-Eyed Susan Vine	B	Sun		x

Grasses and Sedges

Botanical Name	Common Name	B/H/S/P	Sun/Shade	Native	Notes
Bouteloua curtipendula	Sideoats Grama	S	Sun	N
Elymus canadensis	Canada Wild Rye	S		N
Panicum virgatum	Switch Grass	S	Sun	N	X
Sorghastrum nutans	Indian Grass	S	Sun	N
Sporobolus heterolepsis	Prairie Dropseed	S	Sun	N	D

Perennials

Botanical Name	Common Name	B/H/S/P	Sun/Shade	Native	Notes
Achillea	Yarrow	P	Sun		X/D
Agastache	Anise Hyssop	B/P	Sun		X/D
Amsonia illustris	Shining Blue Star	B	Sun	N	D
Anemone canadensis	Windflower	P	Sun/Part Shade	N	X
Aquilegia canadensis	Columbine	B/H/P	Part Shade/Shade	N	X
Asclepias incarnata	Swamp Milkweed	B/H/P	Sun	N	X
Asclepias tuberosa	Butterfly Weed	B/H/P	Sun	N	X/D
Aster novae-angliae	New England Aster	B/H/S/P	Sun	N	X
Aster oblonifoliius	Aromatic Aster	B/P	Sun	N	D
Aster oolentangiensis	Sky Blue Aster	B/S/P	Sun	N
Baptisia australis	Blue False Indigo	S	Sun	N	X/D
Callirhoe digitata	Fringed Poppy Mallow	B	Sun	N
Callirhoe involucrata	Purple Poppy Mallow	S	Sun	N	D
Chelone glabra	White Turtlehead	B/H	Sun	N
Chelone lyoni	Rose Turtlehead	B/H	Sun	N
Coreopsis lancelota	Lanceleaf Coreopsis	B/H/S/P	Sun	N	X
Coreopsis palmata	Prairie Coreopsis	B/S/P	Sun	N
Coreopsis tripteris	Tall Coreopsis	B/S/P	Sun	N
Delphinium exaltatum	Larkspur	B/H	Sun
Dianthus	Pinks	B/H	Sun		X/D
Dicentra spectabliis	Bleeding Heart	H	Shade		X
Digitalis purpurea	Foxglove (Biennial)	B/H	Sun/Part Shade		X
Echinacea pallida	Pale Purple Coneflower	B/P	Sun	N	D
Echinacea paradoxa	Yellow Coneflower	B/H/S	Sun	N	D
Echinacea purpurea	Purple Coneflower	B/H/S /P	Sun	N	X/D
Echinacea Varieties	Coneflowers	B/S/P	Sun		X/D
Echinops	Globe Thistle	B	Sun		D
Eupatorium purpureum	Joe Pye Weed	B/P	Sun	N
Gaillardia	Blanket Flower	B/P	Sun		X/D
Geranium maculatum	Crane's Bill Geranium	S	Part Shade	N
Glandularia canadensis	Rose Verbena	B/H/S/P	Sun/Part Shade	N	X
Guara	Whirling Butterflies	B	Part Shade		X/D
Helianthus occidentalis	Western Sunflower	B/S/P	Sun	N
Heliopsis helianthoides	Ox-eye Sunflower	B/S	Sun	N	X/D
Hellenium virginicum	Sneezeweed	S/P	Sun	N
Hemerocallis	Daylillies	B	Sun		X
Heuchera spp.	Coral Bells	H	Shade/Part Shade		X/D
Heuchera richardsonii	Alumroot	H /P	Shade/Part Shade	N	D
Hibiscus lasiocarpos	Rose Mallow	B/S/P	Sun	N	X/D
Hibiscus moscheutos	Hardy Hibiscus	B/S	Sun		X
Iris Fulva	Copper Iris	B/H/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Kniphofia	Red Hot Poker	B/H	Sun		X
Leucanthemum	Daisy	B	Sun		X
Liatris pycnostacha	Prairie Blazing Star	B/H/S	Sun	N
Liatris scariosa	Eastern Blazing Star	B/H/P	Sun	N
Liatris spicata	Prairie Blazing Star	B/H/S	Sun	N	D
Lilium spp	Tiger Lilies	B/H	Sun		X
Lobelia cardinalis	Cardinal Flower	B/H	Sun/Part Shade	N	X
Lobelia syphlitica	Great Blue Lobelia	B/H/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Mertensis virginica	Virginia Bluebells	P	Part Shade/Shade	N
Monarda bradburiana	Bee Balm	B/H	Sun	N	X
Monarda fistulosa	Wild Bergamot	B/H/P	Sun	N
Nepeta	Catmint	H/P	Sun		X/D
Onothera macrocarpa	Missouri Evening Primrose	H/S	Sun	N	D
Penstemon cobea	Purple Beard Tongue	H	Sun	N
Penstemon digitalis	Beard Tongue	B/H/S/P	Sun	N	X
Perovskia atriplicifolia	Russian Sage	P	Sun		X/D
Phlox diverticata	Wild Sweet William	B/H	Shade	N
Phlox paniculata	Garden Phlox	B/H	Sun	N	X
Phlox spp.	Phlox species	B/P	Sun	N	X
Physostegia virginiana	Obedient Plant	B/H	Sun	N
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium	Slender Mountain MInt	B/P	Sun/Part Shade	N	D
Ratibida pinnata	Gray-head Coneflower	S/P	Sun	N
Rudbeckia fulgida	Orange Coneflower	B/S/P	Sun	N	D
Rudreckia subtomentosa	Sweet Coneflower	B/S/P	Sun	N	D
Salvia azurea	Blue Sage	B	Sun	N
Salvia spp.	Salvia species	B/ P	Sun		X/D
Scabiosa	Pincushion Flower	B/P	Sun
Silene regia	Royal Catchfly	B/H	Sun/Part Shade	N
Silene virginica	Fire Pink	B/H	Sun/Part Shade	N
Silphium integrifolium	Rosinweed	B/S	Sun	N
Silphium laciniatum	Compass Plant	B/S	Sun	N
Silphium perfoliatum	Cup Plant	B/S/P	Sun	N
Silphium terebinthinaceum	Prairie Dock	S	Sun	N
Solidago flexicaulis	Zig Zag Goldenrod	B/P	Part Shade	N	D
Solidago rigida	Stiff Goldenrod	B/P/S	Sun	N
Solidago speciosa	Showy Goldenrod	B/P/S	Sun	N
Stylophorum diphyllum	Celandine Poppy	P	Shade	N
Tierella cordifolia	Foamflower	P	Part Shade/Shade		X
Tradescantia	Spiderwort	P	Part Shade/Shade	N
Verbena spp.	Verbena Species	B	Sun		X
Veronia arkansas	Ironweed	P	Sun	N
Veronicastrum virginicum	Culver's Root	B/P	Sun	N
Zizia aptera	Golden Alexander	B/P	Sun/Part Shade	N	undefined

Perennial Vines

Botanical Name	Common Name	B/H/S/P	Sun/Shade	Native	Notes
Aristolochia tomentosa	Dutchman's Pipe	B	Sun/Part Shade	N
Bignonia capreolata	Cross Vine	H	Sun/Shade	N
Campsis radicans	Trumpet Creeper	H/P	Sun	N	D
Celastrus scanens	American Bittersweet	S	Sun	N
Clematis virginiana	Virgin's Bower	B/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Clematis spp.	Clematis Species	B/P	Sun		X
Lonicera flava	Yellow Honeysuckle Vine	B/H/S/P	Sun	N
Parthenocissus quinquefolia	Virginia creeper	H/S	Sun / Part Shade	N
Passiflora incarnata	Purple Passionflower	B/P	Sun / Part Shade	N
Vitas aestivalis	Summer Grape	S/P	Sun	N	undefined

Herbs

Botanical Name	Common Name	B/H/S/P	Sun/Shade	Notes
Anethum graveolens	Dill (Annual)	B/P	Sun	X
Borago officinalis	Borage (Annual)	P	Sun
Coriandrum sativum	Cilantro (Annual)	P	Sun	X
Foeniculum vulgare	Fennel (Annual)	B/P	Sun	X
Lavendula	Lavender (Some Perennial)	P	Sun	X/D
Mentha spp.	Mints (Perennial)	B/H/P	Sun	X
Ocimum Basilicum	Basil (Annual)	P	Sun	X
Origanum majorana	Marjoram (Perennial)	P	Sun	X
Origanum vulgare	Oregano (Perennial)	B/P	Sun	X
Petroselinium crispum	Parsley (Biennial)	B/P	Sun	X
Salvia officinalis	Garden Sages (Perennial)	H/P	Sun	X
Thymus vulgaris	Thyme (Perennial)	B/P	Sun	X/D

Trees and shrubs are the backbone of a garden. They provide shade, beauty and help to decrease utility bills. Trees and shrubs provide shelter for songbirds and hummingbirds.

Shrubs and Trees

Botanical Name	Common Name	B/H/S/P	Sun/Shade	Native	Notes
Acer rubrum	Red Maple	B/S/P	Sun/Part Shade
Aesculus glabra	Ohio Buckeye	H	Sun/Part Shade	N
Aesculus pavia	Red Buckeye	H	Part Shade	N
Albizia julibrissin (X)	Mimosa	H	Sun/Part Shade
Amelanchier arborea	Service Berry	S/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Aronia melanocarpa	Black Chokeberry	S/P	Sun/Part Shade	N	D
Asminia triloba	Pawpaw	B/S/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Azalea spp.	Azalea species	H/P	Dappled Sun/Shade		X
Betula Nigra	River Birch	S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Buddleia	Butterfly Bush	B/H	Sun		X/D
Caryopteris		B	Sun
Catalpa speciosa	Northern Catalpa	P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Ceanonthus americanus	New Jersey Tea	B/H/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Celtis occidentalis	Hackberry	B/S	Sun	N
Cephalanthus occidentals	Button Bush	B/H/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Cercis canadensis	Eastern Redbud	B/P	Sun/Part Shade	N	X/D
Chaenomeles japonica	Flowering Quince	H	Sun		D
Chionanthus virginicus	Fringetree	S	Sun/Part Shade	N	D
Clethera ainifolia	Summersweet	B	Sun/Part Shade
Cornus alternifolia	Pagoda Dogwood	B/S/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Cornus drummondii	Roughleaf Dogwood	S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Cornus florida	Flowering Dogwood	B/S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Cornus racemosa	Gray Dogwood	B/S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Crataegus viridis	Green Hawthorn	B/S	Sun	N
Crataegus spp.	Hawthorn Species	B/S/P	Sun	C
Diospyros virginia	Persimmon	B/S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Gymnocladus dioicus	Kentucky Coffeetree	S	Sun	N
Hammamelis virginiana	Witch Hazel	H	Sun/Part Shade	N/C
Hibiscus syricus	Rose of Sharon	B/H	Sun		X
Hydrangea arborescens	Wild Hydrangea	P	Sun/Part Shade	N	X/D
Ilex opaca	American Holly	S	Sun	N
Ilex verticulata	Winterberry Holly	S	Sun		D
Juniperus virginiana	Eastern Red Cecdar	S	Sun	N
Liridera benzoin	Spicebush	B/S/P	Sun/Part Shade
Liriodendron tulipifera	Tulip Tree	H	Sun
Nyssa sylvatica	Black Gum	S	Sun/Part Shade	N	D
Physocarpus opulifolius	Ninebark	P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Physocarpus spp	Ninebark Varieties	B/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Picea pungens	Colorado Spruce	S	Sun
Prunus americana	Wild Plum	H/S/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Prunus serotina	Black Cherry	S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Quercus spp.	Oak Species	S	Sun	N
Rhododendron spp.	Rhododendron Species	P	Part Shade	N	X
Rhus glabra	Smooth Sumac	B/S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Ribes odooratum	Clove Currant	B/S	Sun/Part Shade	N	D
Salix spp.	Willow Species	B	Sun/Part Shade
Sambucus nigra	Black Elderberry	B/S/P	Sun/Part Shade
Sassafras albidum	Sassafras	S/P	Sun/Part Shade	N
Sapindus drummondii	Western Soapberry	S	Sun/Part Shade	N
Syringa vulgaris	Lilac	B/H	Sun
Vaccinium Corymbosum	Blueberries	H	Sun
Viburnum prunifolium	Black Haw	S/P	Part Sun/Shade		D

Wildlife Gardening Guide

BENEFITS OF WILDLIFE

Sandy’s Back Porch carries many (but not all) of the plants listed below. (Our plants are delivered throughout the season and are subject to availability.)

KEY

Annuals

Annual Vines

Grasses and Sedges

Perennials

Perennial Vines

Herbs

Shrubs and Trees

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