Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Over 40 Years of Growing Gardens and Gardeners
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
While primarily native to several southeastern states, this trouble-free shrub, also known as Carolina Allspice, grows well in NoVA. It delights the senses with showy and fragrant flowers when planted as a specimen or a screening hedge near a front door or patio.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Though native to parts of the Mid-Atlantic Region (but not NoVA), Sourwood is more common in the South, including Virginia’s southern half. In residential landscapes, this decorative tree offers year-round appeal: lily-of-the valley-like flowers, brilliant fall foliage, persistent fruit capsules, and reddish twigs.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Found in fields and forests and in dry soils and wet, this native vine is widely distributed in Virginia. It can be a vigorous spreader, but its attractive foliage and low maintenance can make it a feasible option for difficult-to-grow places.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Native to the eastern United States, Spotted Beebalm inhabits dry prairies and sandy areas. This showy plant with tubular flowers, colorful bracts, and a stacked, whorled appearance provides interesting form and texture to gardens and attracts a variety of pollinators and beneficial insects.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Golden sprays of flowers brighten gardens and natural habitats across the Mid-Atlantic Region from late summer to frost, supporting 115 species of pollinators—moths, butterflies, native bees... The cultivar ‘Fireworks’ is more compact, easier to contain, and flowers more vigorously than the species.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Common throughout the Mid-Atlantic, this elegant shrub grows mainly in thickets and woods. The oval crowns of young plants often become, with age, irregular with drooping lower branches. Creamy white flowers give way to pink berry-like fruits (drupes), edible when ripened to blue-black.
