My Top Five Guide to Plants in the Northeast and New England

If you live in the Northeast area of the US or New England and plan on planting a new garden or adding new colors to your existing garden, then you have come to the right place. Here you will find my top five favorite garden plants for the Northeast and New England area.

Trumpet Vines

Trumpet vines are an excellent choice plant for adding color to your fence lines or a fenced in garden. This plant attracts hummingbirds and blooms throughout the summer months. The trumpet vine does not need help to climb the fence area, but may need pruning if you are trying to keep the vines contained to one specific area. They produce beautiful trumpet shaped flowers that are orange and salmon colored.

Aster

Asters are a great addition to any flower garden. There are varied colors and they grow multiple flowers. If you are looking for color and would like to add a few to your garden, aster is the best choice. There are pink and purple puffy asters, blue thin asters, white, red, and lavender asters mostly with yellow centers. They are similar to a sunflower but in a much smaller degree. The flowers grow to about 1 1/2 inches, and grow nicely during the late months of summer to early fall depending on the species. They need watering at the roots, and should be planted in a sunny area to keep mildew away. They are mostly perennials, but there are some annuals and biennials. They do attract butterflies, bees, and birds, because of their smell and colors. To keep them looking their best, large mature plants should be divided every 3 to 4 years.

Eastern Blazing Star

The Eastern Blazing Star is a beautiful addition to your flower garden. It's bright purple foliage gives your garden brilliant color. They grow up to 5 feet and need an average amount of moisture. They grow on tall stems, and flower from the top down. This flower is a perennial and blooms in August and September. You can plant the Eastern Blazing Star in sunny or partly sunny areas. This plant attracts hummingbirds, songbirds, and butterflies.

Heartleaf Foam Flower

The heartleaf foam flower is an excellent addition to an early spring wildflower garden. This flower grows on stems with white spires that grow from the top down. They grow to about 1 foot and need average to moist areas to continue attractive growth. They should be planted in shade to partly shaded areas. The foam flower is a perennial and blooms in March, April, and May. The foliage turns evergreen in the mild winters and reddish bronze in the fall. They grow very fast and spread wide.

The Cardinal Flower

Just like the name, this plant produces bright red foliage just like the cardinal bird. This plant grows in moist areas and full to partly sunny areas. It attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, because of it's vibrant red color. This plant is native to the New England area, and is a wonderful addition to any flower garden. It will definitely stand out in the crowd. The foliage grows on stems that grow from 2 to 4 feet high and bloom from July to September. Planting this in an area of your garden that is wet will make sure that your cardinal flower plants bloom at their best.

Sources:

www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowersandseasons/aster

www.easywildflowers.com/quality/tiarella%20cordi.htm

www.easywildflowers.com/quality/lia.scari.htm

www.amandagarden.com/redcardinal.html

http://landscaping.about.com/od/colorfulflowers/ig/orange-flowers/trumpet_vine_flowers_large.htm