Field cards
Garden cards
What blooms when in my garden, and why each plant matters to bees, caterpillars and birds.
30cards
48types I grow
10keystone plants
5host plants
Coll. Haley MaddoxOct 2026
Bloom calendar
Every plant with a known bloom time, earliest first. Tap a name to open its card.
Show
Blooming
What the tags and numbers mean
- Native
- Grows wild in this region; it wasn't brought here by people.
- Perennial
- Comes back from the same roots every year.
- Keystone
- A genus on the Ecoregion 8 keystone chart: it feeds far more caterpillars or specialist bees than most plants.
- Host
- The only food a particular caterpillar can eat, like milkweed for monarchs.
- Specialist bee
- A bee that collects pollen from one group of plants and nothing else.
- Caterpillar species
- How many moth and butterfly species raise their caterpillars on this genus.
- Endangered
- Federally listed as endangered in the wild. Nursery plants don't take from wild populations.
- Edible
- Has parts you can eat. Only eat a plant you have positively identified.
- Bloom bar
- The months the types in my garden flower.
Cards
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Sorted A to Z. Tap “Show details” for the numbers, bee, caterpillar and fun fact.
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Asters Symphyotrichum
NativePerennialKeystone
Blooms
100caterpillar species
33specialist bees
- Bee to watch
- Aster mining bee, Andrena asteris
- Caterpillar
- Pearl crescent, Phyciodes tharos
- Birds
- Wild turkey
- Fun fact
- Its bee nests underground, marked by tiny sand mounds
In my garden
- Aster 'Lady in Black' S. lateriflorum
- Aster 'Wood's Pink' S. dumosum
- White wood aster Eurybia divaricata

Bee balms Monarda
NativePerennialEdible
Blooms
12caterpillar species
3specialist bees
- Bee to watch
- Beebalm shortface, Dufourea monardae
- Caterpillar
- Gray marvel moth, Anterastria teratophora
- Birds
- Hummingbirds
- Edible
- Leaves and flowers, in tea or salads
- Fun fact
- Sand wasps on its nectar hunt stink bugs
In my garden
- Wild bergamot M. fistulosa
- Spotted bee balm M. punctata
- Bee balm 'Pardon My Pink' M. didyma

Blackberries Rubus
NativePerennialKeystoneEdible
Blooms
127caterpillar species
1specialist bee
- Bee to watch
- Mining bee, Andrena melanochroa
- Birds
- Songbirds eat the fruit, and the seeds in winter
- Fun fact
- Native bees nest in its hollow dead canes
In my garden

Blue vervain Verbena hastata
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bee to watch
- Calliopsis bee, Calliopsis nebraskensis
- Caterpillars
- Common buckeye, Junonia coenia
Verbena moth, Crambodes talidiformis - Birds
- Cardinals, sparrows, juncos
- Fun fact
- Blooms from the bottom up, with only a few open at a time
In my garden

Blueberries Vaccinium
NativePerennialKeystoneEdible
Blooms
217caterpillar species
19specialist bees
- Bee to watch
- Southeastern blueberry bee, Habropoda laboriosa
- Caterpillar
- Brown elfin, Callophrys augustinus
- Birds
- Robin, bluebird, catbird, cardinal
- Fun fact
- The berries are high in iron
In my garden

Brown-eyed Susan Rudbeckia triloba
NativePerennialKeystone
Blooms
20caterpillar species
29specialist bees
- Bee to watch
- Rudbeckia mining bee, Andrena rudbeckiae
- Caterpillar
- Wavy-lined emerald, Synchlora aerata
- Birds
- Goldfinch and other seed-eating songbirds
- Fun fact
- Its caterpillar glues flower petals on its back as camouflage
In my garden
- Brown-eyed Susan R. triloba

Columbines Aquilegia
NativePerennialHost
Blooms
- Bees to watch
- Bumble bees
- Caterpillar
- Columbine duskywing, Erynnis lucilius
- Birds
- Hummingbirds
- Fun fact
- Aquilegia means eagle: its spurs look like claws
In my garden
- Wild columbine A. canadensis

Coneflowers Echinacea
NativePerennialKeystone
Blooms
- Bees
- Long-horned bees, Melissodes
- Caterpillar
- Silvery checkerspot, Chlosyne nycteis
- Birds
- Goldfinch, northern cardinal, blue jay
- Fun fact
- Echinos is Greek for hedgehog, for its spiny cone
In my garden
- Pale purple coneflower E. pallida
- Coneflower 'Pretty Parasols' E. purpurea
- Coneflower 'Green Twister' E. purpurea
- Coneflower Kismet 'Pink Lemonade' hybrid

Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Birds
- Songbirds and ruffed grouse
- Fun fact
- It was crossed with Heuchera to make a new genus, ×Heucherella
In my garden
- Foamflower 'Cutting Edge' hybrid

Goat's beard Aruncus dioicus
NativePerennialHost
Blooms
- Caterpillar
- Dusky azure, Celastrina nigra (only food)
- Birds
- Songbirds
- Fun fact
- Male and female flowers grow on separate plants
In my garden
- Goat's beard 'Fairy Hair' hybrid

Goldenrods Solidago
NativePerennialKeystone
Blooms
104caterpillar species
42specialist bees
- Bee to watch
- Goldenrod cellophane bee, Colletes solidaginis
- Caterpillars
- The asteroid, Cucullia asteroides
Goldenrod gall moth, Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis - Birds
- Goldfinch, swamp sparrow
- Fun fact
- It doesn't cause hay fever; ragweed does
In my garden
- Goldenrod 'Solar Cascade' S. shortii Endangered

Great white trillium Trillium grandiflorum
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Caterpillar
- American angle shades, Euplexia benesimilis
- Fun fact
- It is the provincial flower of Ontario, and it dislikes being transplanted
In my garden
- Great white trillium T. grandiflorum

Heuchera Heuchera villosa
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bee to watch
- Alumroot cellophane bee, Colletes aestivalis
- Fun fact
- Called crag-jangle for the rocky slopes it grows on
In my garden
- Heuchera 'Autumn Bride' H. villosa

Joe Pye weeds Eutrochium
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bees to watch
- Bumble bees and long-horned bees
- Caterpillar
- Three-lined flower moth, Schinia trifascia
- Birds
- Swamp sparrow
- Fun fact
- Botanists recently split it from the bonesets
In my garden
- Spotted Joe Pye weed E. maculatum

Lupines Lupinus perennis
NativePerennialHost
Blooms
31caterpillar species
3specialist bees
- Bees to watch
- Southeastern blueberry bee, Habropoda laboriosa
Mason bee, Osmia integra - Caterpillars
- Karner blue, Plebejus samuelis (only food)
Persius duskywing, Erynnis persius - Fun fact
- The pods twist open and fling their seeds
In my garden

Milkweeds Asclepias
NativePerennialHost
Blooms
12caterpillar species
450+insects
- Caterpillars
- Monarch, Danaus plexippus
Milkweed tussock moth, Euchaetes egle - Bees
- Special value to native bees
- Fun fact
- Monarchs store its toxins, so birds avoid them
In my garden
- Common milkweed A. syriaca
- Swamp milkweed A. incarnata
- Butterfly weed A. tuberosa
- Whorled milkweed A. verticillata

Mountain mints Pycnanthemum
NativePerennialEdible
Blooms
- Bees
- Many kinds of bees
- Caterpillar
- Wavy-lined emerald, Synchlora aerata
- Birds
- Winter cover and nesting material in the seedheads
- Edible
- Leaves and flowers, in tea
- Fun fact
- The silvery bracts last longer than the flowers
In my garden
- Clustered mountain mint P. muticum

Obedient plants Physostegia
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bees to watch
- Bumble bees, its main pollinators
- Birds
- Ruby-throated hummingbird
- Fun fact
- Push a flower to one side and it stays put
In my garden
- Obedient plant P. virginiana

Pale spiked lobelia Lobelia spicata
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bees to watch
- Native bees, plus small butterflies and skippers
- Birds
- Hummingbirds
- Fun fact
- Its milky sap is toxic to small mammals
In my garden
- Pale spiked lobelia L. spicata

Phlox Phlox paniculata
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Caterpillar
- Phlox moth, Schinia indiana (eats downy phlox)
- Birds
- Hummingbirds
- Fun fact
- Reblooms if sheared back, and resists mildew
In my garden
- Phlox 'Opening Act Romance' hybrid
- White phlox name to come

Prairie coneflowers Ratibida
NativePerennialKeystone
Blooms
- Bee to watch
- Agile long-horned bee, Melissodes agilis
- Caterpillar
- Common pug, Eupithecia miserulata
- Birds
- Goldfinch
- Fun fact
- Crushed seedheads smell like anise
In my garden
- Gray-headed coneflower R. pinnata

Purple giant hyssop Agastache scrophulariifolia
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bee to watch
- Rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis
- Birds
- Goldfinches and hummingbirds
- Fun fact
- Short-lived, but its seed heads stand all winter
In my garden
- Purple giant hyssop A. scrophulariifolia

Raspberries Rubus
NativePerennialKeystoneEdible
Blooms
127caterpillar species
1specialist bee
- Bee to watch
- Mining bee, Andrena melanochroa
- Birds
- Songbirds eat the fruit, and the seeds in winter
- Fun fact
- Native bees nest in its hollow dead canes
In my garden
- Black raspberry 'Jewel' R. occidentalis
- Red raspberry 'Heritage' R. idaeus
- Gold raspberry 'Double Gold' R. idaeus

Rose mallow Hibiscus laevis
NativePerennial
Blooms
25caterpillar species
1specialist bee
- Bee to watch
- Rose-mallow bee, Ptilothrix bombiformis
- Caterpillars
- Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus
Straight-lined mallow moth, Bagisara rectifascia - Birds
- Hummingbirds
- Fun fact
- Its bee walks on water to soften soil for its nest
In my garden

Rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bees
- Early native bees come for its pollen
- Fun fact
- It vanishes by summer, and native bees nest in its hollow dead stems
In my garden
- Rue anemone T. thalictroides

Sunflowers Helianthus
NativePerennialKeystoneEdible
Blooms
66caterpillar species
50specialist bees
- Bee to watch
- Sunflower miner bee, Andrena helianthi
- Caterpillar
- Silvery checkerspot, Chlosyne nycteis
- Birds
- Goldfinch, mourning dove, red-winged blackbird
- Edible
- Seeds, which the Choctaw ground into bread
- Fun fact
- Its pollen cuts a common gut parasite in bumble bees
In my garden
- Sawtooth sunflower H. grosseserratus
- Swamp sunflower H. angustifolius

Tickseeds Coreopsis
NativePerennialKeystone
Blooms
7caterpillar species
22specialist bees
- Bee to watch
- Coreopsis longhorn bee, Melissodes coreopsis
- Caterpillar
- Wavy-lined emerald, Synchlora aerata
- Birds
- Songbirds eat the seeds
- Fun fact
- Named tickseed because its seeds look like ticks
In my garden
- Tickseed 'Moonbeam' C. verticillata
- Tickseed Nova 'Sunstone' C. verticillata
- Tickseed 'American Dream' C. rosea

Turtleheads Chelone
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bee to watch
- Half-black bumble bee, Bombus vagans
- Caterpillar
- Baltimore checkerspot, Euphydryas phaeton
- Fun fact
- Bees have to pry its petals open to get inside
In my garden
- White turtlehead C. glabra
- Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' C. lyonii

Violets Viola
NativePerennialHostEdible
Blooms
31caterpillar species
1specialist bee
- Bee to watch
- Violet miner, Andrena violae
- Caterpillar
- Great spangled fritillary, Speyeria cybele
- Birds
- Mourning dove, wild turkey
- Edible
- Flowers and young leaves, raw or in tea
- Fun fact
- Ants plant its seeds, lured by a fatty snack on each one
In my garden
- Violet 'Silver Gem' V. walteri
- White violet V. blanda

Wild indigos Baptisia
NativePerennial
Blooms
- Bees to watch
- Queen bumble bees, its main pollinators
- Caterpillar
- Wild indigo duskywing, Erynnis baptisiae
- Fun fact
- Its roots add nitrogen to the soil
In my garden
- Wild indigo Decadence Deluxe 'Pink Lemonade' hybrid