Bee Balm is a tall summer-blooming perennial with brilliant red flowers subtended by a whorl of showy, red-tinged, leafy bracts. The aromatic leaves can be used for tea, but are susceptible to mildew, so this plant needs good air circulation. A member of the mint family, bee balm spreads readily by rhizomes and self-seeding to form large colonies, so be prepared to divide it every few years.
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This plant features brilliant orange flowers that light up the garden and are attractive to pollinators, including monarchs and honeybees.
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The vibrant red blooms of the cardinal flower makes it an ideal plant for the shady summer garden. It reseeds readily and is ideal for naturalizing and sharing with friends.
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Named for the time of day the bloom opens, four o'clocks will attract hummingbirds and nocturnal pollinators to your garden. This bushy plant reseeds readily, producing hundreds of large black seeds that resemble hand grenades.
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This tall, late blooming perennial adds a pleasant blue to shady glades in the summer. Native to Virginia, it is often found along stream banks and in wetland areas. It self seeds enthusiastically.
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One of the most cold tolerant hibiscuses, this plant has pale pink flowers with a red eye. It adds an interesting texture to the summer border.
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This versatile hydrangea tolerates a wide variety of conditions and is ideal for borders or natural areas. It benefits from an annual pruning in late winter to prevent the heavy blooms from flopping.
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This tall plant is crowned with purple-pink flowers in the late summer. It is an American native and tolerates a wide variety of environmental conditions. Its height and bloom time can be controlled by by pruning it back by half when it reaches about two to three feet.
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This large, suckering tree produces fragrant showy flowers, followed by a bean-like seedpod and was used in times of scarcity to make a coffee-like beverage. The seeds are very toxic before roasting and should never be eaten raw.
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This iconic evergreen tree of the south forms a wide spreading canopy and is often draped with Spanish moss. They are extremely resilient, which allows them to survive the severe weather patterns of the southern part of the country.
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