Lavatera trimestris is an upright annual that grows in a shrubby tall form. It is planted as an annual in Maine, and it has large, saucer shaped white to pink flowers in midsummer. Rounded medium green leaves have heart-shaped bases and 3-7 shallow lobes. It is a good cut flower.

Rabbit tolerant. 'Stella de Oro' features profuse 2.75-inch diameter yellow flowers with ruffled edges and deeper yellow throats. Individual flowers open for one day on a compact plant. This multiple AHS award winner has become perhaps the most popular daylily in cultivation in large part because of its compact size, vigorous growth, profuse bloom and extremely long bloom period. For best performance, daylilies should be divided every 3-4 years in either fall or spring. It is rabbit tolerant, but, use deer repellent!

Fragrant Delight is a traditional favorite annual that bears loose, flat heads of intensely fragrant lavender blooms. It attracts pollinators including Monarchs and Swallowtails.

Cranesbill geranium Rozanne is a hybrid clump forming geranium that typically grows in a mound shape, often as a groundcover. It is noted for its non-stop flowering habit and has exceptional heat tolerance. Side stems may be removed or trimmed at any time to control spread. Rozanne is an exceptional, unique, and unsurpassed geranium selection for any garden and is rabbit and deer tolerant.

Also known as Indian Blanket and Firewheel, this New England native perennial plant is easy to establish in a sunny well drained location. Bee and Butterflies including Red Admirals, Monarchs, Great Spangled Friillaries and Silver Spotted Skippers will use it as a nectar source.

Blanket Flower is one of the easiest perennial wildflowers to establish. Blooms provide nectar for many butterflies and native bees. 'Arizona Sun' has large, 3 to 4 in. wide, fiery orange red blossoms with yellow-tipped petals and is very drought and salt tolerant.

Taplow Blue has silver leaves and a metallic blue globular flowerhead 1-2 inches in diameter. This is an important pollinator plant to butterflies and bees. It is the host larval plant for the Painted Lady butterfly. Cut flower stems can be used fresh or dried for arrangements.

Giant Globe Thistle is an old-fashioned tall garden perennial for the back of the border. It has numerous tennis ball-sized spikey globular flower heads that are loved by bees and butterflies. Flower color slowly changes from silver to pale blue. The blooms can be used fresh or in dried arrangements. Easily grown from seed.

Showy daisy-like white coneflowers (to 5" diameter) bloom throughout summer atop stiff stems clad with coarse, dark green leaves. Good fresh cut or dried flower. Dead flower stems will remain erect well into the winter, and if flower heads are not removed, the blackened cones may be visited by goldfinches or other birds that feed on the seeds. Deer tolerant.

‘Cheyenne Spirit’ was introduced in 2012 and has won top awards for garden performance. It comes in a mix of colors including gold, scarlet, orange, rose-red, cream, purple and yellow and all colors attracts birds and butterflies. Dead flower stems will remain erect well into the winter, and if flower heads are not removed, the blackened cones may be visited by goldfinches or other birds that feed on the seeds. Deer tolerant.

The Sonata series of Cosmos are dwarf plants about half the size of the regular species. Each plant has multitudes of blossoms and will keep going strong with continuous deadheading and repeat light applications of fertilizer.

This tall variety of Cosmos in colors of white and shades of pink blooms best when the day length is 14 hours or less, which means that is a colorful nectaring plant for bees and butterflies into the fall.

Coreopsis verticillata is a native airy yellow perennial from the daisy family that grows in dense bushy clumps. The plants can be sheared in mid to late summer to promote fall re-bloom. It has been a popular garden flower since the 19th century.

Sunkiss coreopsis has huge, nearly 3" wide yellow flowers with burgundy centers. It is a cottage garden plant that has excellent heat-tolerance and is easy to grow.

Centaurea scabiosa is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees, flies, Moths & Butterflies. The plant is self-fertile. The flowers have been used to treat digestive disorders and it has been known to be used to treat scabies (hence its Latin name scabiosa) and other skin complaints. The thistle like flowers have attractive light purple heads.

Centaurea montana is a clump-forming perennial which features solitary, fringed, rich blue cornflowers. This plant from the Asteraceae family is easy to grow in poor soils but can spread somewhat rapidly by stolons to form colonies in optimum growing conditions, particularly in rich fertile soils. The plant is robust in our cooler Maine climate.

A pretty summer perennial that has lavender to rosy pink blooms. Attracts bees and butterflies as a nectaring plant.

Campanula has large white or blue outward facing, broad bell-shaped flowers that bloom in late spring to early summer. If the spent blossoms are deadheaded, it will repeat bloom with a nice display.

Edible annual or short-lived perennial herb that likes growing in our cool temperate climate. Colorful daisy like yellow, orange, or white blooms continue all summer. It is a pollinator plant that bees and butterflies love, but it is not a true marigold (tagetes).

This is a native plant that was used medicinally by Native Americans. With blue blooms and pretty pea like foliage, Baptisia is often flowering at the same time as wild lupines, cooler early summer temperatures.