Penstemon hirsutus in bloom!

The hairy penstemon (aka "hairy beardtongue", "eastern penstemon", penstémon hirsute) that I purchased a few weeks ago at the North American Native Plant Society plant sale a few weeks ago is already blooming, despite the stress of moving to a new home and this crazy heat wave we've been having. I knew very little about this plant when I got it, except that it was a purple penstemon. I'm quite happy with it.

In this close-up, you can see that the dainty flowers are actually bicoloured, mauve and white. Walter Muma's Ontario Wildflowers site has much better close-ups; in the fourth photo down you can see why one of the common names is "beardtongue".

Hairy penstemon is a larval host plant for the beautiful Baltimore checkerspot butterfly. According to Michigan State University, hairy penstemon attracts beneficial insects, including parasitic wasps and pirate bugs, which prey on nuisance insects. This lovely plant also provides nectar for hummingbirds, according to the Ontario Hummingbird Project.

Campanula rapunculoides: my new most hated plant?

I have posted before about the evils of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, herbe à l'ail), which is devastating forests in the Toronto area, but in our own garden the biggest invader is Campanula rapunculoides (creeping bellflower, or as I call it, creepy bellflower, campanule fausse raiponce).

Although I knew creepy bellflower is invasive in southern Ontario, I hadn't been trying to remove it from our garden because the landlords' son is very fond of it, and it is very pretty (see photo at bottom of post). I thought I would just stop it from spreading by deadheading it. Ha.

Creepy bellflower spreads mainly by roots. It forms a thick mat of roots which make it impossible for anything else to grow. Realizing that creepy bellflower was part of the reason good plants I put in weren't making it, I decided I would try to at least thin it out.

The pile of roots above represents about an hour of hard work. Unlike garlic mustard, which pulls up quickly and easily, creepy bellflower roots break off and stay in the ground when you try to pull them up. Sites recommend digging up at least the top 15 cm of soil and removing all roots. Any bits of root remaining in the ground will regrow.

And here is the depressingly small area I removed those roots from. You can see the heart-shaped leaves of more creepy bellflower poking through the fence. I could just pull off the leaves, but that seems pretty pointless when the massive root system under and beyond the fence is inaccessible to me. I think that my landlords' son doesn't need to worry about not having his creepy bellflowers any time soon.

And here's a picture of creepy bellflower from last July. Yes, it is pretty, but it isn't prettier than the other campanulas. The USDA PLANTS Database lists three campanulas and kin native to Ontario:

• Campanula aparinoides: marsh bellflower (campanule faux-gaillet)
• Campanula rotundifolia: harebell (campanule à feuilles rondes)
• Campanulastrum americanum (formerly Campanula americana) tall bellflower (campanule d'Amérique)

Verbena stricta in bloom

This Verbena stricta (hoary vervain, verveine veloutée) is putting on a show in the boulevard beds near the Grenadier Café in High Park. The boulevard beds were planted with native plants by the High Park Volunteer Stewardship Program in 2000. Here's a closer look at a flower spike. Only a few blooms at a time are open, giving a longer blooming period. Since I started some Verbena stricta seeds this spring, perhaps I'll see these lovely lavender flowers in our own garden next summer!

Monarda fistulosa in bloom

Monarda fistulosa, known in English as "wild bergamot" and in French as monarde fistuleuse, is a perennial native to much of North America. As you can see it looks a lot like its close relative, M. didyma, but with pretty mauve flowers.

This photograph was taken at High Park.

Desmodium canadense in bloom

Desmodium canadense, known in English as "showy tick trefoil", "Canada tickclover", "beggar's lice", or "Canadian tick-trefoil" and in French as desmodie du Canada, is a perennial native to eastern Canada and northeastern and central US.

This picture does not show showy tick trefoil at its prime; for photos where it actually looks showy, see the Desmodium canadense page at Missouri Plants, which includes some amazing closeups of individual flowers. The "tick" in the English common name refers to the seeds, which, like ticks, cling to animals' fur (and peoples' clothing).

I photographed this plant at High Park.

Hesperis matronalis

Warning: this is a very invasive plant in southern Ontario Hesperis matronalis, known in English as "dame's rocket", "damask violet", "dame’s violet", "dames-wort", "dame’s gillyflower", "night-scented gillyflower", "queen’s gillyflower", "rogue’s gillyflower", "summer lilac", "sweet rocket", "mother-of-the-evening" or "winter gillyflower", and in French as julienne des dames is a biennial or short-lived perennial native to Eurasia. It can be distinguished from similar-looking phloxes by the four petals (phlox has 5 petals).

This is a very pretty flower, and it is easy to see why some gardeners allow it or even encourage it in their gardens. Unfortunately, here in southern Ontario dame's rocket is seriously invasive. According to Invasive Exotic Species Ranking for Southern Ontario, dames rocket is a Category 1 invasive (the worst category, like the dreaded garlic mustard). They describe Category 1 species as follows:

Aggressive invasive exotic species that can dominate a site to exclude all other species and remain dominant on the site indefinitely. These are a threat to natural areas wherever they occur because they can reproduce by means that allow them to move long distances. Many of these are dispersed by birds, wind, water, or vegetative reproduction.

These are the top priority for control, but control may be difficult. Eradication may be the only option for long-term success.

Similar-looking alternatives for Toronto gardeners include Phlox pilosa (native) or Phlox paniculata (not native, but not invasive and widely available).

Calibrachoa

Calibrachoa, known in English as "million bells" and in French by the genus name is a genus of tender perennials native to tropical South America, especially Brazil, treated as annuals in Toronto gardens. They look similar to their relatives, petunias, but have smaller flowers. A wide range of cultivars is available.

Scaevola aemula

Scaevola aemula, known in English as "fairy fan-flower" or "common fan-flower" and in French as scaevola émuleis a tender perennial native to southeast Australia, treated as an annual in Toronto.

I found these plants growing outside at the Hospital for Sick Children.

Syringa vulgaris: flowers

Syringa vulgaris, known in English as "common lilac" and in French as lilas commun or lilas français, is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to southeast Europe. Its fragrant flowers, usually mauve, are a well known event in spring. This huge lilac is in our neighbours' back yard.

Matthiola incana 'Vintage' series

Matthiola incana, known in English as "garden stock", "ten-week stock", or "gillyflower", and in French as matthiole, giroflée quarantaine, giroflée des jardins, giroflée rouge, quarantaine or violier, is tender biennial (grown as an annual in Toronto) native to Eurasia. It bears spikes of deliciously fragrent flowers in a variety of colours.

A whole slew of bedding plants, including these 'Vintage' series stocks, have arrived at the corner store (Mimi's Convenience, 1686 Danforth), and are testing my resolve to grow everything from seed this year wherever possible.

I knew I should have ordered some seeds for stocks when I was placing my order with Stokes. (I did pick up some seeds for night-scented stocks, Matthiola longipetala, at Canadian Tire, but I haven't started them yet, and I don't know if they'll smell the same.)

The 'Vintage' series of stocks comes in a wide range of colours, including not only the 'Vintage Yellow', 'Vintage Peach', 'Vintage Lavender', and 'Vintage Copper' in this post, but also 'Vintage Red', 'Vintage Burgundy', and 'Vintage White', and has a height of about 25 cm. I think the "copper" is particularly interesting.

More beautiful crocuses

It's a beautiful sunny day today (8°!) and the neighbours' crocuses are out in all their glory. These mauve crocuses are my favourites, closely followed by the pale yellow.

Eupatorium purpureum: seeds

Eupatorium purpureum, known in English as sweet Joe Pye weed and in French as eupatoire pourpre is a perennial native to eastern and central North America, bearing fluffy umbels of pink-mauve flowers.

This is my first time growing Joe Pye weed. I bought these seeds from the North American Native Plant Society at Seedy Saturday. I am cold-moist stratifying them in the fridge to simulate a North American winter.

Verbena stricta: seeds

Verbena stricta, known in English as hoary vervain and in French as verveine veloutée, is a perennial native to central and eastern Canada and most of the continental United States. It bears delicate spikes of mauve flowers.

This is my first attempt at growing hoary vervain. I bought these seeds from the North American Native Plant Society at Seedy Saturday. I am cold-moist stratifying them in the fridge to simulate a North American winter. According to the hoary vervain page at Dave's Garden, it will bloom the first year!

Rhododendron simsii

Rhododendron simsii, known in English as Indian azalea and in French as azalé de l'Inde and azalé de Formose, is an evergreen shrub from Asia grown for its masses of pink, white, red, or mauve blossoms.

Not surprisingly, Indian azalea is not hardy enough to withstand Toronto winters. It can, however, be grown as a houseplant, and spend summers outside if desired. I photographed these azaleas at Allan Gardens. And of course, there are hardy azaleas available.

Brunfelsia pauciflora: flowers

Brunfelsia pauciflora, known in English as "yesterday, today and tomorrow" or "lady of the night" and in French as brunfelsie pauciflore is an evergreen shrub native to Brazil. The English name "yesterday, today and tomorrow" refers to an unusual property of the flowers—they change colour daily from purple to mauve to white.

Since this is a tropical plant, it's not going to survive outside in Toronto for long (it can be grown as a houseplant, or in a greenhouse like this specimen at Allan Gardens). Even with the right conditions, BackyardGardener.com describes Brunfelsia as being "high maintenance". It's also poisonous according to many sources. So I don't think I'll be attempting to grow this flower, beautiful as it is, any time soon.

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).

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.

Ipomoea purpurea 'Crimson Rambler': flowers

Ipomoea purpurea, known in English as morning glory and in French as gloire du matin or ipomoée pourpre is an annual vine native to Mexico and Central America. It bears numerous showy trumpet-shaped flowers, about 10 cm across, in purple, pink, or white.

This is another one of those misleadingly labelled cultivars. To me this is not crimson, it is fuchsia. It's still pretty, but it would be easier to plan the garden if people didn't give plants misleading names and descriptions.

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.