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English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote Blue') is an attractive, fragrant lavender with gray-green foliage. It is a pollinator magnet while it is in bloom, enjoyed by a variety of bees and butterflies. Lavandula angustifolia also reportedly attracts hoverflies, a beneficial insects that feeds on aphids and helps to repel moths and flies. These characteristics make L. angustifolia a very useful companion plant in the garden.

Golden Dead Nettle (Lamiastrum galeobdolon 'Variegatum') does well in medium to dry soil in part shade. Small yellow blossoms crown the silver and green variegated foliage in late spring. This cultivar grows slowly and has spread little in my zone 7a garden. Can be used as a ground cover for dry shady areas.

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia 'Elf') is an attractive flowering shrub native to eastern North America. 'Elf' is a dwarf variety that only grows to 3 to 4 feet tall. The distinctive five-sided, cup-shaped flowers bloom from late spring to early summer. The blossoms of 'Elf' are pink buds, which open to nearly white blooms. Kalmia latifolia is a larval host plant for the laurel sphinx moth.

Holly (Ilex 'Nellie R. Stevens') is a pretty multiseason ornamental tree. Small white flowers bloom in midspring, attracting a wide variety of pollinators. Red berries grow abundantly on 'Nellie Stevens', forming in the summer and ripening to red in the fall and winter, attracting birds. 'Nellie Stevens' will fruit as a single specimen, but it will fruit more abundantly if another holly is nearby.

Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) is a prolific bloomer, typically draped in clusters of delicate white blossoms from mid to late spring. A good 12" or more in height, it spreads slowly in the garden, forming an attractive undergrowth to taller shrubs and perennials. Iberis sempervirens also reportedly attracts hoverflies, a beneficial insect that feeds on aphids.

St. John's Wort (Hypericum calycinum) attracts a variety of native bees, including leafcutter, green sweat, sweat, and bumble bees. St. John's Wort also attracts beneficial insects to the garden, such as syrphid flies and banded long-horn beetles, which feed on a variety of common garden pests. This plant has not spread at all in my zone 7a garden, where it is planted in full sun. It may prefer drier soil than the soil common in our area.

Stonecrop 'Autumn Fire' is a sizeable sedum, growing to a good 2.5 feet in height, with a spread of 18-24". It emerges in the early spring as tiny green rosettes and begins to form flower heads by midsummer. By late summer, the first pale pink bloom begins to show. Flowering continues into the fall, with the bloom color intensifying to a deep pink. The pollinators love Sedum 'Autumn Fire.' It is usually covered in bees and skippers while blooming.

Hydrangea macrophylla Endless Summer® The Original was my first hydrangea, and several hydrangeas later it is still my favorite. It produces a bountiful supply of large blossom globes from early summer to fall. Each blossom retains its color quite well for an extended period of time. Moreover, because Endless Summer blooms on both old and new growth, it will bloom even following harsh winters that cause the shrub to die to the ground.

Hosta 'Little Miss Sunshine' is a less common hosta with unique foliage. The leaves emerge in the spring a healthy green, but then the color lightens as the summer progresses to a lovely gold, and then finally to a very pale yellow before declining into dormancy in the late summer. The mid to late summer flower stalk blooms lavender. 'Little Miss Sunshine' does well in part sun with medium to moist, rich, well-drained soil.

Hosta 'Guacamole' is an attractive, medium sized hosta with variegated leaves that have sort of a swirled look to them in shades of green. The fragrant bloom it puts out in mid to late summer is the most stunning of all my hostas. It produces tall flower stalks with multiple large white to pale lavender blossoms. 'Guacamole' does well in part shade with some morning sun.

Amaryllis 'Flamenco Queen' was an exceptionally prolific bloomer for me this past year. I grow Amaryllis as a houseplant in the winter when nothing else is blooming. 'Flamenco Queen' bloomed early, grew rapidly, and bloomed repeatedly. It must have put out a good half a dozen blooming stalks before going dormant. The red-veined on white color of the bloom is attractive.

'Double Dream' is a stunningly beautiful double-bloomed, luscious pink cultivar, and is one of my favorite amaryllises. It's relatively slow to emerge, but is well worth waiting for due to its exceptional beauty.

Rose Of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus 'Minerva') is a larval host plant for the Grey Hairstreak butterfly. A native to China and India, Rose of Sharon 'Minerva' produces lavender blossoms in mid to late summer. The blossoms are attractive to hummingbirds. 'Minerva' does well in average to moist soil in part sun. Be on the look-out for volunteers, as this pretty flowering tree self-seeds readily.

Hardy Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos 'Plum Crazy') produces huge, dusky mauve blooms in midsummer. 'Plum Crazy' likes full sun and medium to wet soil. Native to North America, 'Plum Crazy' has a mature height of around 4 feet. The Japanese beetles *love* 'Plum Crazy', and I have found companion planting, plus the use of Milky Spore, important to control grubs and beetles around this plant.

Hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos 'Fireball') produces huge, deep red blooms from midsummer into the fall. It is an amazingly prolific bloomer! Later in the fall, its leaves turn an orange-red, making this a multiseason ornamental plant. 'Fireball' likes full sun and medium to wet soil. New growth can be slow to emerge in the spring. Native to North America, 'Fireball' has a mature height of 4 to 5 feet.

False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra) differs from the species plant (Heliopsis helianthoides) by having thicker leaves and hairy, rough-textured or scabrous leaves and stems. Like H. helianthoides, var. scabra is native to North America, enjoys full sun and average to dry soil, and produces bright yellow blossoms in mid to late summer.

Rough Heliopsis (Heliopsis helianthoides) is a nectar source for Monarchs, Crescents, and other butterflies. It also attracts Clearwing moths. A native to North America, it is attractive to a variety of native bees, including leafcutter, longhorn, green sweat, bumble, small carpenter, and cuckoo bees. It may also attract hummingbirds. A perennial, it blooms bright yellow in mid to late summer, and enjoys full sun and medium to dry soil.

Sunroots or Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) is a larval host plant for the Spring Azure and Silvery Checkerspot Butterflies. It also has special value to native bees and to wildlife. Deer and other mammals enjoy its foliage and roots, and its seedheads are enjoyed by birds. Native to North America, this plant can spread aggressively.

Small Wood Sunflower (Helianthus microcephalus 'Lemon Queen') is a prolific bloomer that is very attractive to pollinators and birds. A native to North America, it grows to between 4 and 7 feet tall in a bushy habit with many branching stems and blossoms. Its bushiness provides good ground cover for wildlife, and its height creates perching space for birds, which also enjoy its seeds. The late summer blooms are a cheerful yellow. This self-seeding perennial is hardy in zones 4-9 and will delight year after year.

Sneezeweed (Helenium 'Mariachi Siesta') is a larval host plant for the Dainty Sulphur Butterfly. It is a nectar source for Monarchs and other butterflies, and is a Monarch Way Station plant. A native to North America, Helenium autumnale has special value to native bees. Its common name, 'Sneezeweed', derives from its history as a source of snuff, which was inhaled to produce sneezing. It was at one time thought that sneezing might have beneficial effects on the body. Helenium 'Mariachi Siesta' blooms in the late summer and fall.