Adding native plants, shrubs and trees to your yard is easier than you think and important to supporting habitat and addressing climate change. Native plants provide a rich element to design and require no more maintenance than anything else.
Lists below are not exhaustive, there are many choices out there. The lists are plants I have experience with and are easy to maintain and to find in local and online nurseries.
Bulbs
Camassia, Camassia cusickii
Perennials for Sunny to Part Sun
Aster, Aromatic, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Aster, New England, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae Aster, New York, Symphyotrichum novi-belgii Beardtongue Pentemon, x 'pretty pettycoat' Beebalm, Scarlet Monarda didyma Beebalm, Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa Blue Star, Amsonia hubrichtii Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa Cone Flower, Echinacea purpurea Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis False Indigo, Baptisia australis Geranium Geranium maculatum Goldenrod, Canadian Solidago altissima L. ** Goldenrod, Showy Solidago Solidago speciosa ** Ironweed, New York Vernonia voveboracensis Ironweed, Prairie Vernonia fasciculata Lavender Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum Liatris, Liatris Spicata Little Blue Stem Grass, Schizachyrium scoparium Mist Flower, Eupatorium coelestinum ** Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum muticum ** Mountain Mint, Virginia Pycnanthemum virginianum Switch Grass, Panicum virgatum
Perennials for Shade to Part Shade
Aster, Woodland , 'Eurybia divaricata' Black Cohosh , Actaea racemosa Christmas Fern , "Polystichum acrostichoides Columbine , Aquilegia canadensis Corel Bell , Huchera Foam Flower , Tiarella Ginger, Wild , Asarum canadense Joe Pye Weed , Eupatorium Lady Fern , Athyrium filix-femina Maidenhair Fern , Adiantum pedatum Ostrich Fern , Matteuccia struthiopteris Scented Fern , Dennstaedtia punctilobula Sensitive Fern , Onoclea sensibilis Solomon Seal , "Polygonatum falcatum 'Variegatum' Sweet Joe Pye Weed , Eutrochium purpureum Virginia Blue Bells, Mertensia virginica Woodland Fern, Dryopteris marginalis
Shrubs for Sun, Part Sun Beauty Berry, Callicarpa dichotoma
Bottle Brush, Fothergilla Bottlebrush Buckeye, Aesculus parviflora, Carolina All Spice, Calycanthus floridus, 'Michael Lindsey' Honeysuckle, Lowbush, Dievilla Lonicera Ink Berry, Ilex glabra Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ Pussy Willow, Salix discolor Spice Bush, Lindera glauca va. salicifoliia Sumac - Fragrant, Rhus aromatica Sweet Pepperbush, Clethra alnfolia Viburnum - Blackhaw , Viburnum prunifolium Viburnum - Burkwood , Viburnum × burkwoodii, ‘Mohawk’ Viburnum- Cranberry Highbush, Viburnum trilobum
Witch Hazel - Hamamelis
Shrubs for Shade, Part Shade Leucothoe, Coastal , Leucothoe axillaris Mountain Laurel , Kalmia latfolia Rhododendron, Rosebay , Rhododendron maximum
Trees American Basswood, Tilia Americana
American Elm, Ulmus americana
American Holly, Ilex opaca
American Plum ,Prunus americana
Blackgum, Nyssa sylvatica
Hickory, Shagbark, Carya laciniosa
Hornbeam, American , Carpinus caroliniana
Maple, Sugar, Acer saccharum
Oak, White, Quercus alba
Oak, Willow, Quercus phellos
Pignut, Carya glabra
Redbud, Forest Pansey, Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy'
Redbud, Northern, Cercis canadensis
Service Berry, Shad Bush , Amelanchier canadensis
Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum
Sweetgum, Liquidambar
Sycamore, American , Platanus occidentalis
Tulip Tree, Liriodendron tulipifera