Plants in Bloom

Dahlias are a genus of composite flowers native to Mexico and South America that come in a spectacular variety of forms and hues. 

Dahlia cultivar (dahlia) in the Rose Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

This late-blooming perennial and its tiny dusty-pink flowers are a magnet for pollinators. Native to eastern North America, it's a favorite pick for butterfly gardens. 

Eupatorium purpureum (Joe-pye weed) in the Water Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Lovely anemones first bloom in late summer and continue through fall, attracting pollinators when many sources of pollen and nectar have gone to seed.

Anemone hupehensis ‘September Sprite’ (Japanese anemone) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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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.

Solidago nemoralis (gray goldenrod) in the Water Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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This popular water-lily cultivar opens in a lovely apricot-yellow and matures over the next few days to a deeper pink hue.

Nymphaea ‘Paul Hariot’ (hardy water-lily) on Lily Pool Terrace. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This versatile groundcover, native to China, has vivid blue flowers that appear later in the summer. Like many groundcovers, it spreads by sending out rhizomes, or horizontal underground stems.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (hardy blue-flowered leadwort) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Monarda punctata (spotted bee balm) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Helianthus decapetalus (forest sunflower) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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.

Chasmanthium latifolium ‘River Mist’ (river oats) in the Fragrance Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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.

Lagerstroemia spp. (crape-myrtle) on the Overlook. Photo: Michael Stewart.

This native perennial can often be found in swamps and along streams. Its scarlet flowers attract bees and hummingbirds (but not cardinals!).

Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower) in the Rock Garden, Native Flora Garden, Discovery Garden, and Water Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Hibiscus ‘Lord Baltimore’ (hardy hibiscus ‘Lord Baltimore’) in the Water Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Lotuses can resemble water-lilies, but lotus flowers and leaves tend to stretch above the surface instead of floating. All parts of this plant are edible! Lotus seed paste is a traditional filling for mooncakes eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Nelumbo nucifera species (sacred lotus) on Lily Pool Terrace. Photo: Michael Stewart.

This charismatic plant is pollinated by hummingbirds in its native range in western South America. Its relatively inconspicuous yellow flowers are hidden inside of brightly hued clawlike bracts. 

Heliconia rostrata (lobster claw) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Flowering crape-myrtles like this cultivar dot the Overlook, providing a welcome burst of interest in mid-to-late summer. 

Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’ (crape-myrtle) in the Overlook. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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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.

Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia) in the Water Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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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.

Clerodendrum trichotomum (harlequin glory-bower) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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. 

Carica papaya (papaya) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Clematis ‘Rooguchi’ (integrifolia clematis) in the Rose Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Rudbeckia triloba ‘Prairie Glow’ (brown-eyed Susan) in the Perennial Border. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This perennial species, native to the prairies of the central U.S., attracts butterflies and other pollinators.

Helianthus salicifolius (willowleaf sunflower) in the Water Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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 reach a height of up to five feet tall. 

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster) in the Water Garden. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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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.

Iris domestica (blackberry-lily) in the Perennial Border and Rock Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Coreopsis tinctoria (dyers’ tickseed) in the Water Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

Airy sprays of lavender-purple flowers and lacy blue-green foliage adorn this tall, herbaceous perennial, which blooms from midsummer through early fall.

Thalictrum rochebruneanum (meadow-rue) in the Woodland Shade Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nigra’ (black stem bigleaf hydrangea) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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Costus barbatus (spiral-ginger) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Kaempferia pulchra (peacock ginger) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Also known as pelican flower, this climbing plant is native to Central and South America. Its large velvety flowers, which resemble a piece of meat (!), are pollinated by flies in the wild.

Aristolochia gigantea (giant Dutchman’s-pipe) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Rosa GOURMET POPCORN = ‘Weopop’ (miniature rose) in the Rose Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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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.

Cynara cardunculus (cardoon) in the Shakespeare Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This native wildflower blooms from summer into early fall and attracts butterflies and bees of all kinds.

Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan) on the Overlook. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Large, lush cup-shaped flowers adorn this floribunda shrub rose, which blooms repeatedly from early summer through fall.

Rosa POSEIDON = ‘Korfriedhar’ (floribunda rose) in the Rose Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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.

Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium ‘Nutans’ (nodding pond cypress) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This fragrant lavender cultivar, native to the Mediterranean, is a drought-tolerant plant that thrives in the sun.

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ (English lavender) in the Rock Garden, Herb Garden, and Fragrance Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Hibiscus plants, like this striking cultivar, belong to the mallow (Malvaceae) family. One distinctive characteristic of this family is that their stamens (male flower parts) are often fused together to form a tube around the pistil (female flower parts). 

Hibiscus ‘Red Flyer’ (hibiscus ‘Red Flyer’) in the Perennial Border. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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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.

Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ (catmint) in the Fragrance Garden and Perennial Border. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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