Sweet Pepperbush, or Summersweet, a lover of moist soils and dappled shade, fits the category of sought-after plants that flower in mid-summer, just when you thought all the blooming had passed.
 
     This mid-summer nectar is just the ticket for pollinators feeling the pinch after a bountiful spring.  Hummingbirds, butterflies, beetles, wasps, flies, native bees -- they're all on the move for the Sweet Pepperbush.  It's also a larval host to the White-M Hairstreak and other butterfly and moth species.
 
     With its airy, mounded form, Summersweet is a slow spreader that works well in a garden setting yet still retains a wild-ish look.  It grows fast and figured out the magic trick of blooming in its first season.  
 
     Its leaves give off an attractive two-toned effect, starting out bright green and maturing to dark green, contrasting beautifully against spikes of white flowers before yellowing in the fall.
 
     Photos: Creative Commons