Plants in Bloom
August highlights
Papaya Fruit
Known as pawpaw in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago (different from the American pawpaw), green, unripe papaya is used in chutneys, salads, relishes, and pawpaw balls—a gelatinous, sugar-dusted dessert.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Spotted Bee Balm
This native plant has distinctive spotted, tubular flowers that are stacked along the stem. The bright pink bracts under each flower help attract wasps and bees.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Lotus
Lotuses are blooming in the Garden’s Lily Pools. Lotuses can resemble water-lilies, but lotus leaves tend to stretch above the surface (instead of floating). Lotuses also have a large round seedpod inside.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Gray Goldenrod
This small goldenrod, named for its downy gray stems, produces clumps of yellow plumes that attract butterflies. Individual plants bloom at varying times, giving it an extended blooming season from late summer into early fall.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Japanese Anemone ‘September Sprite’
Lovely anemones first bloom in late summer and continue through fall, attracting pollinators when many sources of pollen and nectar have gone to seed.
Photo: Lee Patrick.
Cardinal Flower
This native perennial can often be found in swamps and along streams. Its scarlet flowers attract bees and hummingbirds (but not cardinals!).
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Hardy Hibiscus ‘Lord Baltimore’
This hybrid cultivar of our native hibiscus—also known as swamp mallow or rose-mallow—has large flowers up to ten inches across that only last one day.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Great Blue Lobelia
Like the cardinal flower, a close relative, this native plant is found in wet areas of the eastern United States. It’s a great addition to rain gardens and woodland gardens.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Harlequin Glory-Bower
Native to Eastern China and Japan, this deciduous shrub has fragrant star-shaped flowers in midsummer and dark blue berries in fall. It is sometimes called the “peanut butter tree” in reference to the scent emitted from crushed leaves.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Clematis ‘Roguchi’
Clematis species are excellent climbers, and popular perennial garden vines. This hybrid cultivar, developed in Japan by plant breeder Kazushige Ozawa, has bell-shaped purple flowers that bloom throughout the summer.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Hardy Blue-Flowered Leadwort
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is a mat-forming perennial groundcover with vivid blue flowers. Like many groundcovers, it spreads by sending out rhizomes, or horizontal underground stems.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Brown-Eyed Susan
Native to the eastern and midwestern prairies of the United States, this short-lived perennial attracts bees, butterflies, and birds. Brown-eyed Susan grows taller than black-eyed Susan, and has distinct three-lobed leaves.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Willowleaf Sunflower
This perennial species, native to the prairies of western Missouri, attracts butterflies and other pollinators.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
New England Aster
This popular garden plant has flower heads that are darker and larger than those of other native asters. They also have more ray flowers, and can grow up to five feet tall.
Photo: Alvina Lai.
Black Huckleberry
Gaylussacia baccata is a native deciduous shrub that belongs to the blueberry family. Its purplish berries, which start to ripen in the summer, are loved by wildlife and delicious in pies.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Wild Bergamot
A member of the Lamiaceae, or mint family, this herbaceous perennial is native to North America. You can find wild bergamot—often covered in bees—blooming in the meadow of the Native Flora Garden.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Forest Sunflower
Native to the eastern and central United States and Canada, these woodland wildflowers bloom from midsummer through fall. Forest sunflowers attract bees and butterflies, and can grow up to five feet tall.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Blackberry-Lily
The flowers of this short-lived perennial mature to clusters of round seeds, resembling blackberries. The petals of spent flowers twist together, forming a corkscrew shape.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
River Oats ‘River Mist’
This perennial grass is native to the river banks and moist woodland borders of the eastern and midwestern United States. It boasts gently nodding, flat flower spikelets that dangle above the leaves.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Crape-Myrtle
Crape-myrtles have long been favorite garden plants in the South, but many cultivars can grow in New York City, too. Their extravagant panicles of crinkly flowers appear in late summer.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Dyers’ Tickseed
This annual boasts bright yellow and maroon flowers that bloom alongside wispy, lacelike foliage. A member of the Asteraceae, or daisy family, dyers’ tickseed attracts insect pollinators as well as granivorous birds.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Meadow-Rue
Airy sprays of lavender-purple flowers and lacy blue-green foliage adorn this tall, herbaceous perennial, which blooms from midsummer through early fall.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Cosmos
Who doesn't love cosmos? These flowering annuals, native to Mexico and the southwestern U.S., are bright, delicate, and easy to grow from seed.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Black Stem Bigleaf Hydrangea
The large, showy summer flowers of hydrangeas make them a popular garden plant. The bloom color of some species is influenced by soil pH. More acidic soil will produce bluer flowers, while more alkaline soil will produce pinker ones.
Photo: Blanca Begert.
Cardoon
Native to the Mediterranean, this herbaceous perennial has spiny leaves and thistle-like, bright purple flowers. Also known as artichoke thistle, cardoon has edible stalks.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Black-Eyed Susan
This native wildflower blooms from summer into early fall and attracts butterflies and bees of all kinds.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Wild Strawberry
This ground-hugging native plant produces five-petaled white flowers and a sweet edible fruit.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Floribunda Rose
Large, lush cup-shaped flowers adorn this floribunda shrub rose, which blooms repeatedly from early summer through fall.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Hardy Water-Lily ‘Paul Hariot’
This popular water-lily cultivar opens in a lovely apricot-yellow and matures over the next few days to a deeper pink hue.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Nodding Pond Cypress
This deciduous conifer is found at pond edges. Related to the bald cypress, it is narrower with shorter, overlapping needles. This cultivar, ‘Nutans’, has slightly weeping branches.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
English Lavender
This fragrant lavender cultivar is actually native to the Mediterranean. It’s a drought-tolerant plant that thrives in the sun.
Photo: Michael Stewart.
Catmint ‘Six Hills Giant’
Species in the Nepeta genus are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Though not as compelling to cats as true catnip, this aromatic perennial species is still a feline magnet.
Photo: Alvina Lai.