Favorite Natives

Fall Cleanup …not in my garden & here’s why!

December 22, 2023
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Fall Cleanup …not in my garden & here’s why! By Susu Fiske of Inland Bays Garden Center special to the Coastal Point   I love bird watching (and so do my cats) from my living room window. I am always amazed by the different ones that come to my gardens and feeders. Imagine if I cut […]

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Pinkly muhly grass: A must-have for native fall color By Susu Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center Special to the Coastal Point Sep 14, 2023

September 26, 2023
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Pinkly muhly grass: A must-have for native fall color By Susu Fiske, Inland Bays Garden Center Special to the Coastal Point Sep 14, 2023 Pink Muhly grass offers not only a low maintenance requirement in the garden, with a lack of pests and resistance to deer grazing, but a brilliant pop of pink color, with […]

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Yarrow — a cross-continental native with local benefits By Susu Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Aug 24, 2023

September 26, 2023
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Yarrow — a cross-continental native with local benefits By Susu Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Aug 24, 2023 Flowering yarrow plants and hybrids can vary in color, and are a great local native plant you add to your garden or yard. Yarrow, yarrow, yarrow — what can I say about yarrow? During my […]

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Aster (symphyotichum) is September’s flower By Susu Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Sep 7, 2023

September 26, 2023
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Notable Natives Aster (symphyotichum) is September’s flower By Susu Fiske | Special to the Coastal Point Sep 7, 2023   Fall is in the air — at least for the day I’m writing this, Friday, Sept. 1 — so we need to think about fall flowers to help the pollinators. Asters are an exceptionally large […]

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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
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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 […]

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

July 20, 2023
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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 […]

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

July 7, 2023
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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. […]

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Notable Natives: Golden Ragwort Far Exceeds its Name

April 6, 2023
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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 […]

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

March 2, 2023
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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 […]

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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
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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 […]

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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
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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, […]

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

December 29, 2022
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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 […]

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

December 15, 2022
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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 […]

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Willow Oak, a Beautiful Native Shade Tree

December 8, 2022
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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 […]

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Groundsel: A Highly-Tolerant Fall-Blooming Native

November 17, 2022
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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 […]

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

November 10, 2022
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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 […]

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Prairie Dropseed – A Grass with a Fragrance?

November 3, 2022
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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 […]

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

October 27, 2022
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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 […]

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Rudbeckias – not rude but beautiful and tough

August 22, 2022
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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 […]

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Beach Plum – sweet plant, sour fruit

May 3, 2022
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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 […]

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