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New Duke Island Park Native Plant Brochure Posted!

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Ellen Locker ’20, Karen MacNaul ‘22

A screenshot of the Duke Island Park Native Plants page on the Somerset County Parks Commission Website describes the importance of native plants and features images of native wildflowers.

In 2023 and 2024, the Rutgers Master Gardener Native Plant Team Hiking team hiked, sleuthed, identified, photographed, catalogued and researched fun facts on native plants found in Duke Island Park (DIP), part of the Somerset County Park Commission (SCPC) system in Bridgewater.  The team identified 75 native plants, of which 45 were unique to DIP, i.e., not observed at Washington Valley Park, which has its own native plant brochure from a previous RMG Hiking Team project.  An educational brochure of many of these native plants was created to include bloom time and color as well as fun facts about the plants.  Working with SCPC management, a poster will now be displayed on the DIP kiosk with QR codes directing park visitors to the educational brochure and/or more information on how to become a Master Gardener. 

Thank you to all the dedicated Master Gardener hikers for their active participation in hikes, contribution of fun facts and patience as we pulled this brochure together.  SCPC management is thrilled with this collaboration and contribution of educational content to park visitors! 

Now, just in time for the spectacular Virginia bluebell display, follow the link below to view the website landing page and click “Learn more” to view the brochure! 

Duke Island Park Native Plants

Know Your Natives: Holly

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Writted by Debbie C. Somerset County Rutgers Master Gardener

Who doesn’t cheer at the sight of the iconic red berries and evergreen branches of Holly during the December holidays? Over 480 species populate the genus Ilex yet the term “Holly” traditionally references English Holly (Ilex aquifolium), a Christmas decoration brought to the United States with colonists. The Latin Ilex means “evergreen oak” but some are deciduous and lose their leaves. All Ilex produce insignificant flowers and are dioecious. Male and female plants are required to produce drupes or stone fruits, not true berries. The drupes provide an important food source for birds, though they are toxic to humans. All Ilex prefer acidic soil. This versatile group includes four species native to New Jersey and Somerset County.

Ilex opaca cultivar "Miss Butler" with red berries
Ilex opaca “Miss Butler.” Plant Image Library, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Ilex opaca cultivar "Bird Park" with white flowers
Ilex opaca “Bird Park.” Cbaile19, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

American Holly (Ilex opaca) a pyramidal, evergreen tree with gray bark, most reminded colonists of English or Christmas Holly. The greenish white flowers appearing in May and June provide nectar for honeybees and butterflies. The tree serves as a host plant for butterfly and moth larvae and provides cover and nesting for birds as well as red drupes.  Reaching 40-50 feet in height and 18-40 feet in width, this highly deer resistant tree thrives in full sun, part sun and shade. It prefers soil which drains well. The only native Holly with spiny, leathery green leaves, the fine textured and white wood of American Holly found use in cabinetwork as inlays. An interesting fact: The Holly collection at Rutgers Gardens began as a collaboration between the Holly Society of America and Dr. Elwin Orton to produce locally grown decorative branches for the holidays.

Ilex glabra cultivar "Pretty Girl" with rounded leaves and black berries
Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Inkberry (Ilex glabra), an evergreen shrub often used as a boxwood substitute in borders, hedges and foundation plantings, also blooms in May and June with greenish white insignificant flowers. Reaching 8 feet high and wide, Inkberry prefers full sun or part shade. It can naturalize in wet locations but will grow in dry soil as well.  Inkberry tolerates deer and rabbit and produces black drupes.

Ilex verticillata, pointed green leaves with clusters of red berries along stem
Ilex verticillata, “Winterberry” Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Ilex laevigata with oval leaves and red berries trailing along each stem
Ilex laevigata, Richard Webb, Self-employed horticulurist, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Closely related Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and Smooth Winterberry (Ilex laevigata) are deciduous shrubs reaching 6-10 feet in height and spread.  Difficult to distinguish from each other when not in flower or fruit, Winterberry produces greenish white flowers in June and July and drupes in late summer to fall, while Smooth Winterberry produces white to cream flowers from May to July and fruits from September to February. Both prefer full sun or part shade and moist soil. They tolerate boggy, swampy conditions making them useful for rain gardens and along streams. Most noticeable after leaf drop, the red drupes help provide year-round interest.

You may be able to spot these varieties and more in the Holly Collection at Rutgers Gardens.

Know Your Natives: Solidago sp.

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Written by Debbie C., Somerset County Rutgers Master Gardener

Solidago species, commonly known as goldenrod, signal the changing of seasons from summer to autumn.  A short-day, herbaceous, perennial in the Composite or Asteraceae family, different Solidago species bloom from July through October. Often challenging as a group to identify down to species, the golden yellow inflorescences consist of ray and disc flowers. One process, the Peterson Identification System, attempts to simplify the task by grouping flower forms as wand-like, plume-like, club-like, elm branched or flat topped.

Goldenrod grows from rhizomes, and some species can be aggressive, forming colonies. Native bees, honeybees, wasps, butterflies, moths, and beetles consume the pollen and nectar and act as insect pollinators of Solidago sp., spreading the heavy, sticky pollen. Nectar produced by goldenrod very often provides one of the final food sources for migratory butterflies. The plant also attracts predatory insects such as parasitoid tachinid flies which specialize in attacking squash and stink bugs. Parasitoid flies lay eggs on goldenrod growing points. The hatchling larva penetrate the stems which produce galls in response. Small galls in turn attract parasitoid wasps and beetles to insert their eggs, producing larva which feed on the original occupant larva. Larger galls are preferred by birds such as chickadees and small woodpeckers in the Spring. Additionally, goldenrod seeds feed some birds. 

The Native Plant Society of New Jersey lists eleven species of Solidago as native to Somerset County, including the only white variety, Solidago bicolor. Depending on the species, goldenrod can be found in woodlands, openings, edges including roadsides, old pasture, and moist open thickets. Goldenrods are deer resistant. Incorrectly blamed for allergies this time of year, goldenrod blooms concurrently with another Composite family member: wind-pollinated, green-flowered, hay fever-producing ragweed. Historically, goldenrod found use in herbal medicine, dyes and in “Liberty Tea” made by colonists after the Boston Tea Party and the boycotting of British tea.

Fun fact – Goldenrod was first used as a yellow color name in 1915 and the Crayola Company coined it as a crayon color in 1958 in the 64-crayon box. 

For more information about Solidago sp. and other native plants of New Jersey, or incorporating them into your home landscape, see the following links:

Rutgers Fact Sheet 1140: Incorporating Native Plants in Your Residential Landscape

Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance

A close up of the yellow solidago flower against a background of green blades of grass
Matt Lavin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pollinator Gardens in Autumn

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Written by Kris G., Somerset County Rutgers Master Gardener

Many pollinators depend on leaf litter, herbaceous plant stalks, and plant debris to lay their eggs for overwintering. If we remove these items in the fall, then we are essentially removing the next generation of pollinators. Instead of disposing of leaf litter, dead herbaceous plant stalks, and plant debris from the pollinator garden, create a brush pile to put these items in so the next generation of pollinators can survive and flourish in the spring.

Having a general understanding of a native pollinator plant is helpful, but knowing what is offered to pollinators in the way of food and shelter is equally important. Planting a host plant, such as northern spice bush (Lindera benzoin), can offer both food and shelter to the spicebush swallowtail butterfly (Papillio Troilus). Similarly, swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and common milkweed (Asclepias syrica) are host plants for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) as are other species of milkweed. If you have a host plant in your pollinator garden, chances are there will be countless eggs on leaf litter, inside dead hollow plant stalks, and plant debris so leaving the garden alone until springtime, once the eggs have had a chance to hatch would be ideal. Another option to ensure the health and safety of the next generation of pollinators would be to relocate the leaf litter, dead plant stalks, and plant debris to a brush pile in your yard.

Creating a colorful chart with the name of your native pollinator plant, a photo of the plant, the type of food (pollen, nectar, or both) offered, bloom time of the year, if the plant provides shelter, and whether the plant is a host plant to a specific pollinator would make for a fun fall project while helping you learn more about the bigger “pollinator picture.”

See below for links to additional information on pollinator survival:

Visit the Pollinator Garden at Rutgers Gardens.
Penn State Extension: Fall Garden Care for Pollinators
University of New Hampshire: How to Help Bees and Butterflies Survive Winter

Mountain mint, anise hyssop, Echinacea, and rudbeckia grow in a long garden lining a sidewalk.
Photo by Lauren Randolph, 2024. Franklin Township Library Pollinator Garden

Plant This, Not That: Honeysuckle

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Written by Mimi J, Somerset County Rutgers Master Gardener

Although its appearance and fragrance remind many of us of summer, invasive honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) can cause ecological harm. Being a vine, it can both form a mat on the forest floor and climb up trees and shrubs. Its robust growth can shade out native understory plants and kill shrubs and saplings by crowding and girdling them.

There is a beautiful, native, alternative – the coral or trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). Its red tubular flowers bloom from late spring through fall and attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. It also serves as a host plant to the spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon) and the snowberry clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe). Coral honeysuckle produces berries in the late summer to early fall, which are enjoyed by many species of birds. As a bonus, it’s both drought tolerant and deer resistant.

To get the most flowers from this native vine, plant it in a sunny location with rich, moist, well-draining soil.

For more information on alternatives to invasive species, see Rutgers Fact Sheet 1353: Invasive Plants and Native Alternatives for Landscapes.

This article originally ran in the September/October 2023 issue of “In the Garden,” the Somerset County Rutgers Master Gardener newsletter.

A close up of the coral colored flowers of Lonicera sempervirens
Photo: Lynn Pyle, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Native Bee and Native Plant Garden Sign Refresh

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Our sign at the Environmental Education Center (EEC) just got a refresh! It features information about the Native Bee Garden which is a project by two Rutgers Environmental Stewards, Ellen L. and Shona E. The sign also includes details about the nearby Native Plant Garden, which is maintained by a dedicated group of Rutgers Master Gardeners, as well as instructions for accessing the both gardens’ companion guides . Both gardens are located in a lovely area of the park, off an accessible boardwalk trail for those who are looking for a short walk.

Go check it out any time from dawn until dusk at 190 Lord Stirling Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920!

A signpost with a green poster that reads "Native Bee Garden, Native Plant Garden" sits in front of a garden. In the background is a wooden bee hotel.
Photo by Dan Ross, 2024. Environmental Education Center