Acalypha rhomboidea: flowers

Acalypha rhomboidea, known in English as common three seed mercury and in French as ricinelle rhomboïde is an annual native to much of eastern and central North America, with spikes of green flowers interspersed with leaves.

These plants volunteered in the garden, and when I found out they were a native plant I couldn't bear to pull them out, even if they aren't conventionally showy. I think they look kind of cool, actually.

Oxalis stricta: flowers

Oxalis species, known as wood sorrel in English or oxalide in French, are a group of small flowering plants with three-part leaves that may be confused with clover; however the flowers are quite different than clover, being single with five petals. There are a number of species of Oxalis with yellow flowers, and I'm not sure which one this is, but it volunteered all over the garden so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt and assuming it's the native Oxalis stricta species.

Coriandrum sativum: flowers

Coriandrum sativum, known in English as "cilantro", "Chinese parsley", or "coriander", and in French as coriandre, is an annual herb native to southwest Asia and north Africa. Its leaves are deliciously (or revoltingly, to some people) fragrant, and its seeds are an important ingredient in Indian cooking. By the time it bolts, like in this photo, the leaves are no longer good for eating, but the delicate flowers are pretty and there are the seeds to look forward to. I find that cilantro self-seeds to some extent.

Ipomoea tricolor 'Heavenly Blue': flower

Ipomoea tricolor, known in English as morning glory or grannyvine and in French as ipomée tricolor is a tender perennial* climbing vine native to the tropics of the Americas. The large trumpet shaped blossoms, which may be blue, purple, white, or pink, open early in the morning and close as the temperature rises. The cultivar shown, 'Heavenly Blue', has especially large blossoms in an exquisite true blue. Seeds are best directly sown in the garden after the last frost; soak them 24 hours before planting.

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* grown as an annual in Toronto.

Hibiscus syriacus: flower

Hibiscus syriacus, known in English as Rose of Sharon or Rose of Althea and in French as althéa, is a large shrub native to Asia. It is the national flower of south Korea and symbolizes immortality. The gorgeous blossoms may be mauve, pink, or white, often with a red centre, and appear in late summer. It self-sows readily.

Lobularia maritima: flowers

Lobularia maritima, known in English as sweet alyssum or sweet Allison and in French as alysson maritime, alysse odorante, or corbeille d'argent, is a hardy annual native to southern Europe. Alyssum grows rapidly from seed sown directly in the garden in early spring (or even in the fall: it will self-sow) and is soon covered in tiny, four-petalled flowers, usually white or purple but there are pink, pale yellow, pale blue, and peach cultivars available. In our yard alyssum was still blooming well into autumn; it was the last flower to disappear.

Alyssum makes a nice flowering groundcover for sunny areas with a lovely honey fragrance.

Tropeolum majus: flowers

Tropeolum majus, known in English as nasturtium and in French as capucine is a fast growing annual native to the Andes with flowers in orange, yellow, red, or cream. The distinctive parasol-shaped leaves have a spicy flavour; the flowers are edible as well. Because the whole plant is edible, the seeds are large and easy to handle, and the plants grow rapidly and are undemanding (they prefer poor soil), nasturtium is a good first plant for children and other beginning gardeners. Nasturtiums don't like being transplanted, so sow them directly in the garden after the last frost.

Coreopsis lanceolata: flower

Coreopsis lanceolata, known in English as lanceleaf coreopsis or lanceleaf tickseed and in French as coréopsis lancéolé or œil de jeune fille is a perennial native to much of North America. The bright yellow daisy-like flowers have wide petals with scalloped edges.

Coreopsis is happiest in the sun; my plant (which I bought at the Toronto Botanical Garden's spring plant sale) struggled in what I had thought was a "partial shade" location. Deadheading will result in more blooms.

Puschkinia libanotica: flowers

Puschkinia libanotica, known in English as "snowdrift", "early stardrift", or "striped squill", and in French as scille de Liban, is a flowering bulb native to Asia and the Middle East. One of the earliest spring bloomers, it bears spikes of blue-white flowers, each petal having one blue stripe.

This gorgeous bed of snowdrift was at a neighbours. I'm glad I took a photo because soon afterward the new owner decided to rip out all of it (and all the other bulbs too) and replace it with sod. My landlords' kids and I attempted to rescue some of them, though how successful we were remains to be seen.

Iris reticulata 'Cantab': flowers

Iris reticulata, known in English as reticulated iris, dwarf wild iris, and rockgarden iris, and in French as iris réticulé, is a dwarf perennial native to southern Russia, Iran, and Turkey. The flowers appear very early in the spring, about 10 cm from the ground; later long thin leaves grow to 20-30 cm before the plant goes dormant at the end of spring.

This light blue cultivar is 'Cantab', which I bought at Veseys; different cultivars include blues and violets, as well as white.

Aquilegia canadensis: flowers and seed pods

Aquilegia canadensis (known in English as wild columbine, red columbine, or Canada columbine and in French as ancolie du Canada or gants de Notre-Dame is a short-lived herbaceous perennial native to southeastern Canada and northeastern United States. Like most columbines, its flowers have five long spurs. This is my favourite wildflower, in part because it is one of the few red flowers found in the Canadian wilderness.

I photographed this pretty clump of wild columbine at Toronto Botanical Garden in late June. Columbine blooms in the spring so I was pleasantly surprised to see there were still some blooms left, as well as the brown seedpods.