"Aster" means "star" and when you see how these plants shine in the late-season garden, you'll agree that they deserve center stage. Plus, being natives, they are favored by the birds and the bees.

It's beach plum season and time to celebrate one of the Jersey Shore's wild things. Projects are underway to domesticate and improve this tart little fruit but it's true home is on our windswept beaches.

No vine excites more admiration than clematis, which covers itself with glory -- in spring, summer or fall, depending on variety. Grow these well and you'll be the envy of the neighborhood.

When weeds take over, gardening can be a daunting task. Try some of these tactics to fight back and retake your cultivated ground.

Hibiscus speak of romantic South Sea islands and languid afternoons in palm-shaded hammocks. We can grow the tropical kinds here in summer, overwintering them indoors, or opt for hardy types, impervious to frost.   

First identified in New Jersey in 1916, Japanese beetles have become a major garden pest east of the Mississippi. They spend the summer doing two things they like best: Reducing leaves to a lacy fretwork and making more "JBs" in a frenzy of mating.  

Sunflowers are ripening in the fields as we head into August. Here's one plant that you can (and often must) look up to. The original sun worshipers, they turn through the day to keep their faces in the sun. 

Black-eyed Susans are a mainstay of the summer garden. What's not to like about a plant that blooms its heart out for three months or more?

Real-life remnants of the Jurassic Era, dragonflies and damselflies are fierce predators, belonging to an insect order named for its toothy jaws. Since we're too big to eat, we humans can just admire their jeweled colors and aerial acrobatics.  

Daylily flowers last for just one day but are produced in profusion. The real selling points here are a tough constitution and a tolerance for neglect. 

"Knee-high by the Fourth of July" is an out-of-date standard for that seasonal treat, sweet corn. "As high as an elephant's eye" isn't quite it, either. Learn how modern farming has surpassed these lyrical measures.    

Fireflies are showing up earlier in recent years but their numbers are declining. Remember chasing them across the lawn at twilight when you were a child? 

Even if you're a casual gardener, you've probably heard of Knock Out roses. Introduced in 2000, this breakthrough rose set a new standard for low-maintenance, trouble-free roses -- and made its breeder a tidy little fortune.

Container plantings encourage a sense of adventure and whimsy. Indulge your inner artist with bold color and textures. Bonus: No weeding required.

Hummingbirds are back to spend the warm weather months in New Jersey. Few birds are as entertaining as these feisty little aerial acrobats. Hang a feeder and enjoy them up close.

Poppies are associated with Memorial Day -- do you know why? These brilliant flowers aren't the easiest garden subjects but they are bold and brave, like the soldiers they honor.   

As durable as they are beautiful, peonies live on and on while other plants fade away. You have three choices: herbaceous types, "tree" peonies (which are woody shrubs) or modern crosses between the two.

Garden centers are full of perky six-packs of annual flowers. You can't resist -- but do you know how to keep these hardworking plants looking good all summer?

May is here and irises are about to put on a show. To indulge to the full, plan a visit to the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens where 10,000 plants are in bloom this month.

Whether it's flavoring, scent or tea you're after, homegrown herbs can fit the bill. Growing these venerable plants links you to an older, simpler way of life.