Waldsteinia fragarioides in bud!

Somehow while I was distracted by all the early-flowering bulbs, this nice clump of barren strawberry (waldsteinie faux-fraisier) popped up! If you click the photo to enlarge it, you will see a number of nice plump flower buds, which surpised me because I thought this plant didn't bloom so early. You can also see fading Iris reticulata and a small Aquilegia seedling (don't know if it's native A. canadensis or non-native A. vulgaris) in front of the Waldsteinia, and some kind of lovely fern that stayed green all winter behind the Waldsteinia (haven't identified it yet).

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, October 2009

It's definitely autumn now, and most of the flowering plants are either finished or on their last legs. Here are the brave hangers-on: Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon, muflier) volunteers in the front garden.

Chrysanthemum sp. (chrysanthème), courtesy of my landlord.

Helianthus annuus (sunflower, tournesol) volunteer.

Impatiens walleriana 'Accent Lavender Blue' (impatience).

Lobularia maritima (alyssum, alysse odorante), volunteer offspring of 'Rosie O'Day'.

Cynoglossum sp. (forget-me-not, souvenez-vous-de-moi).

Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan, rudbeckie dressée).

Sutera cordata (bacopa, bacopa) volunteer in the Sedum spurium (rock cress, orpin bâtard).

And here are some plants that are not blooming now but are looking pretty:

Heuchera 'Bressingham Hybrid' (coral bells, heuchère).

Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod, verge d'or du Canada).

Tiarella cordifolia (foamflower, tiarelle cordifoliée).

Waldsteinia fragaroides (barren strawberry, waldsteinie faux-fraisier).

Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in gardens around the world!

Waldsteinia fragaroides: foliage and flowers

I've posted a couple of pictures of my new barren strawberry plant already, but here is a nicer clump I discovered growing in a garden down the street.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day May 2009

Once again, it's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. This is not the best picture of my new barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragaroides), which I got at the North American Native Plant Society's plant sale last weekend.

This pansy (Viola x wittrockiana 'Delta Pure Rose') led me to break my promise to myself not to buy plants I could have grown from seed if I had been more organized. There are so many interesting new varieties of pansies these days; I especially like the pink ones.

I think this little viola is the grandchild of the 'Sorbet Coconut Duet' violas I had two years ago. (The first generation of volunteers, last year, looked nothing like the original.)

I love it when plants volunteer, at least when they are pretty like this yellow viola.

Here is one of the 'Angelique' tulips I got for almost free from Brecks (they had a $25 off sale, no minimum purchase). Unfortunately only about half of them bloomed; at least I didn't have to pay much for them.

Some of the bulbs the landlords' kids and I rescued from a neighbour who was replacing the previous owner's garden with sod are blooming. We had no idea what would come up from these bulbs, of course, so I'm happy that they are so far all very pretty, like this pale pink tulip,

and this striking bicoloured dark pink and white one.

My landlords' pretty pale yellow tulips are back again this spring.

I don't know where this pink tulip in the front yard came from; a gift from the squirrels, perhaps?

The pear tree (Pyrus sp.) has just started blooming. So far we have never got edible fruit from it, but it still works as an ornamental.

My grape hyacinths (Muscari sp.) are behind the rest of Toronto, for some reason, even though they were one of the earliest plants up in our garden. This is the only one in bloom; the rest have just tiny undeveloped green buds.

My landlord just got these pretty yellow flowers, which I believe are Dahlia?

My daffodils are on their way out (Narcissus 'Cheerfulness' from Vesey's). I'm very pleased with the vigor of these plants.

Finally, the bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is doing well. This was one of the first flowers I learned to recognize, for obvious reasons.

Thanks, Carol, for hosting Bloom Day!

Waldsteinia fragaroides: flowers

Waldsteinia fragaroides, known in English as "barren strawberry" and in French as waldsteinie faux-fraisier, is a low-growing perennial native to eastern North America. Its three-part leaves and five-petalled yellow flowers are reminiscent of strawberry leaves and flowers (Fragaria spp.), but the flowers are yellow and it does not bear edible fruit.

When I was growing up in eastern Ontario, barren strawberries carpeted the forest floor; i.e. they can make a good groundcover for shade in the right conditions. I bought this plant at the North American Native Plant Society plant sale last weekend.