Jim:If you live in NY area,and not in the northen part of New York State,Then what grow best here in New Jersey will grow in New York too. So far here in my backyard,Hardy Chicago,and Marseilles vs black made it into large trees,and again this winter they come out in one piece,in ground. I did protect them from the cold ,the first 2 or 3 winters,by using old blanchets,rugs,and wrapping them the best I could. Now They are about 7 years old or more and finally adult trees,so I do not plan to protect them anymore. I did have a lots more fig tree in trial here but can't say that any have done as well as this 2 when it comes to winter resistance. Best Regards VS

@sandy (z5b nys) ha! I first planted nepeta for my own housecats (with some nagging guilt about being a parent encouraging drug use, lol). My cats have passed on but the catmint stays and has done better than possibly anything else in my garden (with the exception of madonna canadian anemones, which are crazy invasive, and the native columbines and lupins that volunteer up here in ME like weeds). The white version of nepeta is hard to find in my area but I snagged some a few years back and it’s just wonderful, smaller, more compact and tidy — actually, possibly a perfect plant for anita the OP? blooms a bit later than the blue and lasts a long time, looks a bit like baby’s breath. @anita55 – in terms of old-fashioned flowering perennials, some other straight ones that do well for me without floppage are maltese cross (3-4 ft when established — they take a few years — red-orange, about four weeks from june into early july and sporadic thereafter). Also giant hyssop is very tall and straight, to 5-6 feet, with lovely purple wands from july-august, and it always brings the monarchs. Have you tried bee balm?

Looks like Galium aparine growing up through a peony.

They don’t pose for me so the pictures arent great. can you tell what kind of bees they are? thank you. Also there are various other insects on this beautiful tree would there be a chance of any being honeybees? they look striped like wasps but not exactly like a wasp ill try to get pictures of them too adding photos of the other guys for ID if possibleTHANKs!