Living in Jersey means you won’t have a boring landscape. It’s called the Garden State, seriously! It’s not hard to maintain our state’s good reputation with beautiful New Jersey perennials like American bellflower, black-eye Susan, and purple coneflower, as long as you have some basic gardening knowledge.
Let’s explore perennials that bring color and texture to your landscape and come back every year with a stunning effect.
Factors to Consider
Not every perennial plant is suitable for every environment. A perennial plant can only thrive if it is well-suited to a specific climate. When deciding which plants to choose, we took into account the climate in New Jersey. We selected plants that not only look good, but also can handle the amount of rain and type of soil in our area. These plants are able to thrive in the different weather conditions we experience throughout the year. For instance, New Jersey falls into USDA Hardiness Zones 6 and 7. This means that the perennials you choose should be able to tolerate temperatures as low as -10 to 10°F.
American Bellflower
The American bellflower is easy to recognize because it has beautiful lavender-blue flowers, each with a white ring in the center. It easily spreads its seeds in the garden and helps other plants become established as if they were growing naturally.
Black-Eyed Susan
Black-Eyed Susan plants produce yellow-orange flowers that look like daisies with a dark brown center. This happens from June to September. This plant reproduces on its own and grows rapidly, to the point where it requires other plants to prevent it from becoming too abundant. Butterflies really like these flowers because they provide a strong surface for them to land on.
Black-Eyed Susan does not enjoy long periods of wet weather, but it is tough and can tolerate some drought. If you are making bouquets, Black-Eyed Susans are a great choice for fresh-cut flowers. They do very well in the summers in New Jersey and make gardens more colorful. We love that these plants can grow well in various types of soil, including sandy soils found near the Jersey Shore.
Butterfly Milkweed
The bright orange flowers of butterfly milkweed represent the feeling of late summer here in New Jersey. These flowers are loved by butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds because they enjoy the nectar. Butterfly milkweed is different from other milkweeds because it does not have a milky sap.
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Great Blue Lobelia
The Great Blue Lobelia, also called the “blue cardinal flower,” has purple-blue tubular flowers. The bright blue color and pretty arrangement of flowers on tall stems catch the attention of pollinators and provide food for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Under the right conditions, it can spread on its own and create beautiful groups of plants.
Tall Larkspur
To add a touch of blue to your garden, you can plant tall larkspur in your Jersey landscape. The plant has a big, rough stem with lots of leaves. It also has groups of blue, purple, and occasionally white flowers. Birds, bees, and hummingbirds are attracted to them, while deer are not.
Oriental Poppy
If you don’t like blue, how about considering more vibrant colors like orange and red? The Oriental Poppy has big flowers in colors like red, orange, white, or pink. These flowers have black centers. After the summer show, the lower leaves take over during the fall and winter months until spring when they start growing upwards.
Rose Mallow
Rose mallow, also called the “hairy-fruited hibiscus,” is a plant known for its big, beautiful white flowers that only bloom for one day. The plant is called that because it has hairy leaves, stems, and fruit capsules. It is a good choice for New Jersey landscapes because it attracts butterflies and is also resistant to deer, which is important because we have a lot of deer in our area.
Purple Coneflower
Purple coneflower is a type of plant that is native to the area and can grow well in different types of soil and conditions. It is often chosen by people in New Jersey for their gardens because it is versatile and easy to grow. The plant produces flowers that are pinkish-purple in color and have brown centers. These flowers bloom from summer to fall. Bees, butterflies, and songbirds all really like pollinators.