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Tag: Agastache

  • The Best Plants to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden

    All week, we’re revisiting the most popular stories of 2025, including this one from March.

    The humble hummingbird has always been a pollinator favorite among gardeners, but lately it’s been attracting more (and new) buzz. Katie Tamony, chief marketing officer and trend spotter at Monrovia, tells us she’s been seeing increased interest in drawing hummingbirds to the garden. “I’ve heard it called the next glamour animal—the one they most want to take a photo of, the one that stops them in their tracks when they encounter it in the garden,” she shares.

    Most devoted hummingbird lovers know that these tiny winged creatures especially love bright, tubular or vase-shaped flowers. “The specific shape of these blooms can accommodate the long bills of the hummingbirds, making it easier for them to gather nectar,” says Katie. Another tip: Plant these plants en masse to create a concentrated nectar source: “Their incredibly high metabolism calls for lots of nectar, and they can get it more easily by visiting a mass of flowering plants in one area.” You may also want to consider staggering blooms times for a longer feeding season.

    “But nectar isn’t the only thing that keeps hummingbirds happy,” says Katie. “They’re also always feasting on small insects, a lesser known but essential part of the hummingbird diet. Encouraging insects by not spraying pesticides in the garden and growing a diverse selection of plants is important.”

    Ultimately, of course, there’s no surefire way to lure hummingbirds to your yard. To up your chance of a sighting, Katie suggests mixing appropriate cultivars, like those listed below, with natives in the garden “to create an insect-rich environment that offers more and longer blooms than natives alone.” Add a hummingbird feeder if you want, but it’s not a must: “We used to have one that seemed like the squirrels were also feasting on, so we got rid of it. And we still see a lot of hummingbirds visit our yard.”

    Below, Katie’s picks for cultivars beloved by hummingbirds.

    Featured image above by BudOhio via Flickr.

    Photography below courtesy of Monrovia.

    ‘Stoplights’ Red Yucca

    �216;Stoplights�217; Red Yucca
    Above: ‘Stoplights’ Red Yucca

    ‘Stoplights’ is a no-brainer when it comes to hot, arid climates. Once established, this low-maintenance plant thrives with little water. Slender green leaves send out tall spikes adorned with crimson-red flowers—the color that hummingbirds are famously attracted to. Recommended for USDA Zones 5-11.

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  • Color Theory: 10 Perfect Plant Combinations for Autumn – Gardenista

    “I don’t do frilly,” say Diane Schaub, director of gardens at Central Park Conservancy. We are standing under the shade of an old magnolia in the English garden, one of three smaller gardens within Central Park’s six-acre Conservatory Garden near the northeast corner of the park. Schaub, who earned a diploma from the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, has been curating the Conservatory Garden for more than 30 years. And while she does not do frilly, she does do color and texture, breathtakingly well. She has a painter’s eye for composition and an architect’s instinct for structural detail.

    Below, we share her best color combinations for fall garden beds:

    Photography by Marie Viljoen for Gardenista.

    Burgundy + Green

    Above: “This is as frilly as I go,” she clarifies, indicating a velvet-leafed plant with burgundy leaves, beside the bluestone path. The plant in question is a Solenostemon (formerly classified as Coleus) and the cultivar is ‘Lancelot.’
     Solenostemon
    Above: Solenostemon ‘Lancelot’ (paired with Salvia ‘Paul’) belongs to a crew of leafy annuals whose impact is felt dramatically in this garden, where the seasonal spectacle owes a great deal to plants whose interest lies in their foliage.

    Purple + Yellow + Blue

    If you thought leaves were boring, think again. Solenostemon
    Above: If you thought leaves were boring, think again. Solenostemon ‘Purple Prince’, black-leafed Dahlia ‘Mystic Illusion’, and Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria Blue.’

    Purple + Red

    Elephant-eared Colocasia esculenta
    Above: Elephant-eared Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’, Solenostemon ‘Redhead’, and Agastache cana ‘Heather Queen.’

    Purple + Lilac

    A bed of Pennisetum setaceum 
    Above: A bed of Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’, Salvia x ‘Indigo Spires’, the leafy and lilac-striped Strobilanthes dyeranus, and elephant-eared Colocasia esculenta ‘Blue Hawaii’. The latter “makes the whole composition work,” says Schaub. Dark purple Pennisetum ‘Vertigo’ is in the background.
    The English Garden is arranged in beds radiating from a central pond overhung by the largest crabapple tree in Central Park, leaves now turning yellow. Designed by Betty Sprout and opened in 1937, this part of the park was by the 1970s considered one of the most dangerous places in New York City. In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy was formed in response to the neglect the park had suffered in the previous two decades. Its founding director, Elizabeth Rogers, earmarked the Conservatory Gardens for renovation.
    Above: The English Garden is arranged in beds radiating from a central pond overhung by the largest crabapple tree in Central Park, leaves now turning yellow. Designed by Betty Sprout and opened in 1937, this part of the park was by the 1970s considered one of the most dangerous places in New York City. In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy was formed in response to the neglect the park had suffered in the previous two decades. Its founding director, Elizabeth Rogers, earmarked the Conservatory Gardens for renovation.

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  • Ditmas Park Backyard: Dirt Queen Redesigns a Brooklyn Garden to Be More Functional

    When a family came to Dirt Queen NYC seeking a backyard makeover, they really just wanted one thing: to be able to use their yard. The existing “garden” was a patchy stretch of grass with garages on three sides. Now that their kids were older, the family no longer felt they needed a lawn for playtime. Instead they craved an adult space for hosting dinner parties and a dedicated firepit area, which might even entice their teens to hang out at home.

    Jarema Osofsky and Adam Bertulli, co-founders of Dirt Queen NYC, took stock of the existing conditions. The family wanted to keep the existing trees, including some arborvitae that were nicely screening the neighbor’s garage and some Norway maples that were creating dense shade on one half of the garden. Bertulli and Osofsky saw an opportunity to give their clients the function they craved, carving out two distinct garden rooms in the small space, while also creating a dynamic pollinator garden.

    Here’s how they did it.

    Photography by Brett Wood, courtesy of Dirt Queen NYC.

    Before

    The yard was nothing but balding grass, arborvitae, and a stand of Norway maples. One impactful move Bertulli and Osofsky made was asking the neighbors if they could paint the back walls of their garages the same color. Luckily, they agreed.
    Above: The yard was nothing but balding grass, arborvitae, and a stand of Norway maples. One impactful move Bertulli and Osofsky made was asking the neighbors if they could paint the back walls of their garages the same color. Luckily, they agreed.

    After

    From uninspired and useless to inviting and functional.
    Above: From uninspired and useless to inviting and functional.
    Native flowering shrubs are the backbone of the new garden. For the garden’s midlayer, Osofsky used Clethra summersweet, oak leaf hydrangeas, and Viburnum dentatum, which she notes provides really beautiful berries for birds.
    Above: Native flowering shrubs are the backbone of the new garden. For the garden’s midlayer, Osofsky used Clethra summersweet, oak leaf hydrangeas, and Viburnum dentatum, which she notes provides really beautiful berries for birds.

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  • Native perennials for late summer create a naturalistic landscape

    When August melts into September, nights are suddenly noticeably longer, while flowering perennials seem to grow wilder, to compensate. One of the greatest gardening pleasures of this cusp-season is the effusion of a tousled collection of native plants whose flowers are the languid counterpoint to spring’s cheerful bursts of blossoms. If we must have winter, then these sultry blooms are a fitting way to celebrate the dying of the light. Here are 11 native perennials for late summer and fall.

    Photography by Marie Viljoen.

    Agastache, anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

    Above: Anise hyssop (with foreground of skullcap), blooms for months, into fall.

    Of all the native perennials that bloom late into the year, if  I had to choose just one to provide summer-to-fall flowers, it would be Agastache foeniculum and its various cultivars. Tall in stature, with licorice or mint-scented leaves, and profuse little blue flowers, these sun-loving hyssops provide height and bulk and filler, all at the same time. They are also elegantly lanky, and are a day-long buffet for bees, other pollinators, and even hummingbirds. If you can bear it, grit your teeth and cut the waning flowers back in late summer for a late fall resurgence; and leave those flowers to set seed for seed-eating birds like goldfinches.

    Asters (Symphyotrichum pilosum, S. ericoides, and others)

    Above: Airy white asters sparkle in early fall landscapes.

    No late summer garden seems complete without asters—low-maintenance and long-blooming. Heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides, above) likes full sun and is hardy from zones 3 to 10. Hairy aster (S. pilosum) can handle more shade and likes moist soil. It is hardy from zones 4 to 8. For woodland gardens, choose wood aster (Eurybia divaricata).

    Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)

    Above: Flowering spurge is a native Euphorbia.

    Clump-forming flowering spurge is one of the native perennials that seems to fly under the horticultural radar. Also known as the baby’s breath of the prairie, it has a loose, breezy habit with wiry stems tipped by flower-like bracts and distinctive, three-celled seed capsules. Flowering spurge pairs well with grasses and golden rods, asters, helianthus, and partridge pea. It flourishes in full sun and is hardy from USDA zones 4 to 9.

    Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis)

    Above: The wine-colored flower spikes of great burnet against a backdrop of Rudbeckia.

    Great burnet is potentially statuesque, but it never dominates, visually. Instead, its threadlike stems hold burgundy flowerheads effortlessly aloft, adding tousled lightness to late summer and autumn gardens. Grow great burnet in full sun, and enjoy its cucumber-flavored leaves in salad. It is hardy from zones 4 to 8.

    Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata and other species)

    Above: Ironweed beginning to bloom on Manhattan’s High Line.

    The vivid amethyst tufts of ironweed are welcome relief from the cheery but often dominant yellow palette of the late summer native garden. Smooth ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) is hardy from zones 4 to 9 and flowers best in full sun. Giant ironweed (V. angustifolia) grows better in partial shade, and is hardy from zones 5 to 8. Both species require ample moisture.

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  • Fall Flowers: Our Favorite Perennials and Annuals for Adding Color in the Autumn Garden

    Fall Flowers: Our Favorite Perennials and Annuals for Adding Color in the Autumn Garden

    While I try to live in the moment as much as possible, it’s harder to be mindful when it c0mes to garden design. After all, planning ahead for the next season is often the key to a beautiful four-season garden. As summer chugs along, I’m already thinking about what flowers will be blooming in the months ahead and what will be supportive to our pollinator friends.

    Here are some favorite late bloomers I’m considering for my and my clients’ gardens this fall:

    Chrysanthemum

    Above: Photograph by Ashley Noelle Edwards, courtesy of Gabriela Salazar, from Garden Visit: ‘Love and Care’ in Florist Gabriela Salazar’s Flower Garden.

    I know what you’re thinking: those supermarket flowers? But take a closer look at the more unique varieties that have hit the market. I totally swoon over the spider, quilled, and pom pom ones, and you might, too. These long-lasting cut flowers boasts autumnal colors and are superbly sturdy, making them a great addition to a cut flower garden. Also, because they contain pyrethrum, a natural insect repellent, consider planting some on the edges of a vegetable bed to ward off nibbly invaders. Hardy in USDA Zones 3-9. Best planted in full sun and soil that drains well. (See Gardening 101: Chrysanthemums.)

    Aster

    Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer, from Gardening 101: Aster.
    Above: Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer, from Gardening 101: Aster.

    Come late summer, when many flowers start fading, asters are here for the bees, butterflies, and other pollinator pals. Depending on the variety, some asters grow to around a foot tall, while others tower to 6-plus feet; they can range in color from purple to blue and white. Plant in a partly sunny to full sun spot with soil that drains well. Potentially deer-resistant as well. I’m fond of Aster chilensis as it is a vigorous California native perennial with pale lilac flowers and is a great butterfly nectar plant. Hardy in USDA Zones 3-8.

    Black-Eyed Susan

    Photograph by Edwina von Gal, from 
    Above: Photograph by Edwina von Gal, from ‘Stop Putting Your Garden into Shapewear’: 12 Tips for Nature-Based Gardening

    A fall favorite, Rudbeckia hirta is also beloved by pollinators and looks fantastic when planted with ornamental grasses for a meadow effect. Growing from 1 to 3 feet, they make great cut flowers and thrive in a sunny spot. Make sure to deadhead the flowers to promote blooming, and then at the end of the season leave the seed heads for the birds to snack on. Favorite hybrids include ‘Prairie Sun’, ‘Sonora’ and ‘Autumn Colors’. Hardy in USDA Zones 3-9. See also Gardening 101: Black-Eyed Susans.)

    Anise Hyssop

    Above: Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer for Jinny Blom’s What Makes a Garden. (See our review of the book here.)

    Contrary to what might be assumed, anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) plant is not anise but is instead in the mint family and the leaves exude a spicy scent similar to licorice. Adored by pollinators and detested by deer, this perennial produces long lasting purplish blooms that can be used in flower arrangements. The vertical habit pairs well with cascading ornamental grasses and other fall-blooming favorites. A sunny spot is best. USDA Zones 4-8.(See also Gardening 101: Hyssop.)

    Japanese Anemone

    Above: Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer for Gardenista, from Gardening 101: Japanese Anemones.

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  • Before & After: Converting an Unusable, Exposed London Rooftop Into a Tranquil, Private Terrace – Gardenista

    Before & After: Converting an Unusable, Exposed London Rooftop Into a Tranquil, Private Terrace – Gardenista

    We generally save the “before” images for the end of our articles, but in this case, it’s helpful and inspiring to see upfront the space pre-remodel. Take a look at this entirely drabby and exposed rooftop. If a tiny, depressing roof can be transformed into a private urban oasis, one that invites lingering and relaxation, then anything’s possible.

    The incredible terrace makeover is the work of London-based landscape designer Lis Eriksson. Her client gave her free rein over the design but did have a few requests: 1) adequate shade as he is fair-skinned; 2) low-pollen plants on account of his allergies; and 3) flowers in shades of purple, his favorite color.

    Here’s what Lis delivered.

    Photography by Rachel Warne.

    Before

    The roof of the Victorian coach house pre-transformation. Skylights protruding onto the roof made it unusable for the homeowner. The entire space measures just 9 square meters (or 29.5 square feet).
    Above: The roof of the Victorian coach house pre-transformation. Skylights protruding onto the roof made it unusable for the homeowner. The entire space measures just 9 square meters (or 29.5 square feet).

    After

    The client can now walk out directly onto a tranquil rooftop deck. Partitions composed of Sapele slats, lightly brushed with Rustoleum paint in Chalk, provide privacy.
    Above: The client can now walk out directly onto a tranquil rooftop deck. Partitions composed of Sapele slats, lightly brushed with Rustoleum paint in Chalk, provide privacy.

    Everything, from the plant design to the custom built-ins, was designed by Lis. A pergola offers ample shade, as promised. “I also added a heater hanging from the pergola so that he can comfortably enjoy the space in the colder months,” she shares. 
    Above: Everything, from the plant design to the custom built-ins, was designed by Lis. A pergola offers ample shade, as promised. “I also added a heater hanging from the pergola so that he can comfortably enjoy the space in the colder months,” she shares. 

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