What pollinators like

I did a quick tour around the backyard to see which of the flowers are attracting the interest of local pollinators. Eupatorium 'Phantom' (dwarf Joe Pye weed, eupatoire naine) is evidently close enough to our native Eupatoriadelphus maculatus (formerly Eupatorium maculatum) to attract our native bees. (I got this recently at Valumart at 50% off!) Helianthus annuus (sunflower, tournesol) is a reliable bee attractor (unless you get one of the newfangled pollenless varieties, which may be lovely cutflowers but are useless for pollinators and seed-eaters). Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower, echinacée pourpre), although not quite native here (we're a bit too far north and east), is a favourite of humans as well as pollinators. (Another 50% off deal!) Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan, rudbeckie dressée) is always abuzz. Finally, mint (Mentha sp., menthe), which grows as a weed in the backyard, is a hive of activity when in bloom.

What flowers are attracting pollinators in your garden?

Echinacea purpurea: winter

Echinacea purpurea, known in English as eastern purple coneflower and in French as echinacée pourpre or rudbeckie pourpre, is a perennial native to eastern North America. It is used as a herbal medicine and is becoming popular as an ornamental plant. The flowers are like big purplish-pink daisies with conical brown centres.

The seedheads, which are like spiky dark brown balls, remain ornamental in winter (until the snow gets too deep).

Coreopsis lancelata: seedheads in winter

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.

The dark brown, somewhat crown-shaped seedheads remain decorative in winter (at least, until they're buried by snow).

Lobularia maritima: seeds

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, covered in tiny, four-petalled flowers, usually white or purple but there are pink, pale yellow, pale blue, and peach cultivars available.

Last year I grew alyssum from seed direct-sown in the garden in early spring; but since we also had a number of self-sown volunteers come up (clearly distinguishable since they were a different colour!), clearly this is a great candidate for winter-sowing. The seeds are about 1 long and light to medium brown, not too difficult to handle.

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Gazebo Red': flowers

Cosmos bipinnatus, known in English and French by the genus name, is an annual native to Mexico and the southwestern United states. Blooms may be in different shades of pink; plain white; picot&eeacute;e; or with a darker ring around the yellow centre disk.

I grew these cosmos from Mr. Fothergill's seed, purchased at Canada Blooms. Despite the cultivar name, and the photo of crimson flowers on the package, the flowers are not red, they are fuchsia. They are still pretty, but I do wish that seed sellers would be more honest instead of giving plants misleading names and descriptions and photoshopping their pictures.

Helianthus annuus 'Velvet Queen': flower

Helianthus annuus, known in English as sunflower and in French as tournesol or grand soleil, is an annual native to the United States. As well as the famous very tall, very large, single yellow variety, there are dwarf varieties, and cultivars in cream, light yellow, orange, and rust. Pollen-less cultivars have been created for use as cutflowers, but for wildlife the pollen-bearing varieties are more appealing, as a source not only of pollon but seeds. The cultivar shown, 'Velvet Queen', is widely advertised with misleadingly red (Photoshopped?) images. It looks more rust-coloured to me.

Rudbeckia hirta: flowers

Rudbeckia hirta, known in English as black-eyed Susan, gloriosa daisy, or yellow ox-eye daisy, and in French as Rudbeckie dréssé is a biennial native to most of North America.

These gorgeous flowers grew from seed I received for free from the High Park Nature Centre for Earth Day 2007. I threw them around in the garden but wasn't sure anything had grown until the second year, when suddenly there were big beautiful plants covered in blooms. It's amazing to me that one tiny seed can produce a 40-cm tall plant with 50 flowerheads on it. Each flowerhead lasts a long time; the flowerhead in the foreground, with a flatter centre that's light in the middle, is a younger bloom; as the blossoms age the centres become darker and more conical as seen in the background.

Bees love these flowers!

Matricaria recutita: flowers

Matricaria recutita, known in English as German chamomile, garden chamomile, or wild chamomile, and in French as camomille vraie, camomille sauvage, camomille allemande, or matricaire, is an annual native to Eurasia. The flowers are like tiny white daisies with spherical yellow centres, and have a lovely scent, like pineapple.

I got the seeds whence these plants grew from Florabunda Seeds, an Ontario nursury specializing in heirloom seeds.

Asclepias tuberosa: flowers

Asclepias tuberosa, known in English as butterfly weed, butterfly milkweed, butterfly flower, pleurisy root or glory flower (the last is an apparent marketing ploy to win over gardeners who won't grow "weeds"), and in French as asclépiade tubéreuse, is a perennial native to eastern North America. Although related to the common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, butterfly weed lacks milky sap. The leaves are narrower than milkweed, dark and glossy, and the flowers are a vivid orange (there are yellow and red cultivars available). Like milkweed, butterfly weed (indeed, all of the Asclepias species) is a larval host for the monarch butterfly.

I purchased the plant in the photo from Real Canadian Superstore in 2007. It didn't bloom at all the first year I had it, or show much growth at all. I was pleasantly surprised in 2008 when it emerged at least three times as big as the year before and with lovely blooms.

Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline': flower

Monarda didyma, known in English as bee balm, bergamot, Oswego tea, or firecracker plant, and in French as monarde, thé d'Oswego, bergamote, or mélisse d'or is a perennial in the mint family native to much of eastern North America, and also the northwestern United States. Its flowers are very unusual and hard to describe—some say they look like jester's hats or fireworks; and are a lovely red. They are said to attract hummingbirds, though I haven't witnessed that myself.

The plant photographed originally came from the local Valumart, and was grown by President's Choice. PC called it a "really easy perennial" (or something like that) and it certainly was; I just planted it and it grew rapidly and was covered with long-lasting blooms.

The leaves smell like Earl Grey tea.

Lavandula angustifolia: flowers

Lavandula angustifolia, known in English as true lavender or English lavender and in French as lavande vraie is a small (in Toronto, at least) perennial shrub native to the western Mediterranean, especially northern Spain. It is famous for its fragrant greyish-green foliage and small light purple flowers.

Although lavender can grow to be 1 or 2 metres high, here in Toronto I find that it dies back quite a bit each year and is seldom as tall as 50 cm. It is considered evergreen but in Toronto the foliage, while it stays on all winter, dies and turns grey.

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.

Verbena 'Romance Pink'

Verbena, known in English as "vervain" and in French as verveine, is a genus of about 250 herbaceous and semi-woody flowering plants mostly native to the Americas, though there are some European species. Verbena hybrids, like this one, are widely available annuals bearing flat-topped clusters of small flowers in a wide variety of colours: pink, purple, red, white, peach, and bicolours. They are said to attract butterflies, though I haven't witnessed this myself.