Favorite Natives

Notable Natives: Spigelia marilandica is a Red Perennial to Try in Your Garden | By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Aug 3, 2023

August 7, 2023
Posted in

Notable Natives: Spigelia marilandica is a Red Perennial to Try in Your Garden By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Aug 3, 2023 Spigelia marilandica is beautiful perennial that should do well in our resort area and it even attracts hummingbirds.Coastal Point • Stock photo Red perennials are hard to come by, so […]

Read More

Notable Natives: July is National Blueberry Month | By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Jul 20, 2023

July 20, 2023
Posted in

Notable Natives: July is National Blueberry Month By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point July 20, 2023 Since July is blueberry month, I feel obligated to write about them. High bush blueberry (vaccinium corymbosum) is one of my favorite, so of course I need to grow them in my garden. They do very […]

Read More

A Glorious Grass: Chasmanthium latifolium — Sea Oats By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point

July 7, 2023
Posted in

A Glorious Grass: Chasmanthium latifolium – Sea Oats By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Chasmanthium latifolium is one of my favorite grasses! Sea oats is the perfect grass, you can grow it in the shade, in the sun, in partial sun, in moist soil, and they can even tolerate occasional saltwater flooding. […]

Read More

Notable Natives: Golden Ragwort Far Exceeds its Name

April 6, 2023
Posted in

Notable Natives: Golden Ragwort Far Exceeds its Name By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Apr 6, 2023 Don’t let the name fool you, Golden Ragwort is a stunning spring blooming ground cover, a must have for the shade garden. What a beautiful way to welcome spring! Self-seeders, Packera aurea is important to […]

Read More

Notable Natives: Sedges Have Edges By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point March 2, 2023

March 2, 2023
Posted in

Notable Natives: Sedges Have Edges By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point March 2, 2023 Sedges (carex) are my new love. I planted carex pensylvanica, carex plantaginea (seersucker sedge) and carex laxiculmis “Hobb” Bunny Blue in my garden last year. I had never heard of them before, so I am enjoying learning all […]

Read More

Notable Natives American Hornbeam: A Value Native Tree or Hedge By Susu Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point Feb 16, 2023

February 16, 2023
Posted in

Notable Natives: American Hornbeam – A Value Native Tree or Hedge By Susu Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point | Feb 16, 2023   American hornbeam, a wonderful native plant – carpinus caroliniana, also known as musclewood, ironwood and blue beech – is a small tree/large shrub that grows in […]

Read More

Notable Natives: The Hackberry (Wait, What?) Tree By Su Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point Jan 26, 2023

January 26, 2023
Posted in

Notable Natives: The Hackberry (Wait, What?) Tree By Su Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point Jan 26, 2023 Since I am all about that bark, ’bout that bark, the hackberry does not disappoint. Our native hackberries (common hackberry, or Celtis occidentalis) have the most interesting dark and craggy bark. Then, […]

Read More

The Importance of Native Trees to Our Environment | By Su Fiske | Inland Bays Garden Center Dec 29, 2022

December 29, 2022
Posted in

The Importance of Native Trees to Our Environment By Su Fiske | Inland Bays Garden Center Dec 29, 2022   So, if you have not realized already, I love trees. There is nothing that soothes my soul more than a walk in the woods, camping, or enjoying the trees in my own yard. There are […]

Read More

Notable Natives: Sycamores – Fast-Growing, Minimal-Maintenance, Good for the Ecosystem | By Su Fiske | Inland Bays Garden Center Dec 15, 2022

December 15, 2022
Posted in

Notable Natives: Sycamores – Fast-Growing, Minimal-Maintenance, Good for the Ecosystem By Su Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point Dec 15, 2022   The sycamore (platanus occidentalis) – also called buttonwood, ghost tree and water beech – is a native to the eastern and central United States. They are a minimal-maintenance […]

Read More

Willow Oak, a Beautiful Native Shade Tree

December 8, 2022
Posted in

Notable Natives Notable Natives: Willow Oak – A Beautiful Native Shade Tree By Susu Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point | Dec 8, 2022 Quercus phellos, Beech family (Fagaceae) One of my favorite trees, the Willow oak, is stunning in the fall! Willow oak trees are also called swamp willow […]

Read More

Groundsel: A Highly-Tolerant Fall-Blooming Native

November 17, 2022
Posted in

Groundsel: A Highly-Tolerant Fall-Blooming Native By Su Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point Nov 17, 2022 Also called sea-myrtle, consumption weed, eastern baccharis, salt marsh-elder and salt bush, native groundsel is found all over this area, and I love that it is fall-blooming, with densely clustered white flowers. Groundsel (Baccharis […]

Read More

Notable Natives: Distylium – A Minimal-Maintenance Alternative in the Garden By Su Fiske

November 10, 2022
Posted in

Notable Natives: Distylium – A Minimal-Maintenance Alternative in the Garden By Su Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Nov 10, 2022 Distylium is a member of the witch hazel family and is found in a variety of sizes, 3 feet to 10 feet in height and 4 to 8 feet wide, with tiny red […]

Read More

Prairie Dropseed – A Grass with a Fragrance?

November 3, 2022
Posted in

Notable Natives: Prairie Dropseed – A Grass with a Fragrance? By Su Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point Nov 23, 2022   Sporobolus heterolepis or as we commonly know it, Prairie dropseed, does have a fragrance of a hint of coriander, cilantro or some say soap or buttered popcorn(hmm), licorice […]

Read More

Notable Natives Black Gum: A Tree for All Seasons, but Especially the Fall

October 27, 2022
Posted in

Notable Natives: Black Gum – A Tree for All Seasons, but Especially the Fall By Su Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center | Special to the Coastal Point | Oct 27, 2022 Fall is a perfect time to plant, especially one of my favorites – the black gum! This season, with its warm soil temperature, allows […]

Read More

Rudbeckias – not rude but beautiful and tough

August 22, 2022
Posted in

Is it a coneflower? Is it a daisy? No, it’s a Black Eyed Susan, or a Susie. The Rudbeckias (the Latin, or scientific name) are a large genus (a group of living things with similar characteristics that is further subdivided into species), that is familiar to us all. With several different species, there is at […]

Read More

Beach Plum – sweet plant, sour fruit

May 3, 2022
Posted in

If you drive down route 1 between Bethany and the bridge, you might see a shrub starting to bloom now, with white to light pink flowers. This is one of our prettiest natives, the Beach Plum, Prunus maritima. Its native habitat is the dunes, where it grows to around 8’ in dense thickets. It is […]

Read More

Fall Color – how plants celebrate the changing of the season

October 25, 2021
Posted in ,

Who doesn’t love the glowing reds, yellows, oranges and all the other colors that make autumn so beautiful? Did you ever wonder what the mechanism is, or how to get more of that beauty in your yard? Growing conditions throughout the season affect fall color, as does current weather. Fall leaf colors are due to […]

Read More

Brandywine Viburnum – beautiful, adaptable, and reliable

October 20, 2021
Posted in

Brandywine Viburnum – beautiful, adaptable, and reliable The whole Viburnum family are great shrubs, but today we’ll be talking about one that is looking more and more beautiful everyday – Viburnum nudum ‘Brandywine’. Because the berries are desirable to birds and the flowers to pollinators, this is the ideal shrub for your garden to become […]

Read More

Oakleaf hydrangea – amazing fall color in the shade

September 28, 2021
Posted in

Oakleaf hydrangea – a spot of early summer color in the shade The Oakleaf hydrangea , Hydrangea quercifolia, is a dramatic, white-blooming shrub with four seasons of interest. Native to the eastern United States, it is a gorgeous and versatile deciduous shrub which provides a spectacular show all year round. Named after the shape of […]

Read More

Native Shrub Underdog: Fothergilla

September 28, 2021
Posted in

A beautiful native shrub that is blooming now is the Fothergilla.  This native shrub deserves the spotlight for its fall foliage show, and spring flowers, ease of care, and versatility round out a profile of a beautiful and multipurpose plant. (Did I mention the gorgeous fall color?) These native shrubs are useful as foundation plants, […]

Read More