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Native Plants Around the Town
The Town strives to increase the use of native plants in its landscapes due to their benefits for wildlife and the environment. The Town has native pollinator plantings in Gerry Park, Clark Botanic Garden, Fuschillo Park, Whitney Pond Park, Manhasset Valley Park, Town Hall, Ridder's Park, Bunky Reid Park, Yes We Can Center, and North Hempstead Beach Park. See below for photos of some of these gardens as well as plants that are commonly used in them.
Clark Botanic Garden
Gerry Park
Manhasset Valley Park
Fuschillo Park
Whitney Pond Park
Town Hall
Native Plant Trial Garden at Clark Botanic Garden
In fall 2022, three beds were planted at Clark Botanic Garden within its community garden area. They contain uncommon native plants that provide resources for pollinators and other wildlife species. They are being assessed for floral display, size and form, pest and disease resistance and pollinator visitation. This will determine where they can best be planted on Town properties and in the community. Click HERE for more information on plant species in the garden.
Common Native Plant Species Used in Town Gardens
Perennial Wildflowers
Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Anise hyssop (Agastache 'blue fortune')
Giant hyssop (Agastache 'purple haze')
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
False indigo (Baptisia australis)
Wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria)
Turtle head (Chelone glabra)
Threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata 'zagreb')
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Common Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Coastal Plain Joe pye weed (Eutrochium dubium ‘little joe’)
Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)
Scarlet strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)
False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)
Blazing star (Liatris spicata)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
Scarlet bee balm (Monarda didyma)
Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)
Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa)
Foxglove Beardtongue ‘dark towers’ (Penstemon digitalis)
Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
Garden phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Moss phlox (Phlox subulata)
Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Slenderleaved Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
Black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Rough goldenrod ‘fireworks’ (Solidago rugosa)
Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
Smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
New York aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii)
Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolius 'Raydon's favorite')
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)
Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginianum)
Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)
Grasses and Sedges
Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica)
Purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum)
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
Trees and Shrubs
Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis)
Common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)
Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
River birch (Betula nigra)
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
Button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
Silky dogwood (Cornus amomum)
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Northern Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
Inkberry (Ilex glabra)
American Holly (Ilex opaca)
Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
Sweet Bay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
Northern Bayberry (Morella pensylvanica)
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Bayleaf Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum)
Swamp Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)
Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana)
Carolina rose (Rosa carolina)
Mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum)
American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens 'amethyst falls')
Ferns
Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum)
Cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)
Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
For more information on helping to conserve monarch butterflies and other pollinators, visit:
Monarch Conservation Page
Protecting Pollinators Page