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)

Phlox divaricata 'Sweet Lilac': a better photo

I'm starting to get used to the weird colour, but I still wish it was the natural lavender colour instead.

Phlox divaricata 'Sweet Lilac' in bloom

Last year, we bought this woodland phlox (phlox bleu) at Valumart. It wasn't blooming, but based on the tag I thought it would look like the wild type. Unfortunately, now I find that it is this weird shade of magenta instead of the pretty lavender blue of the natural form. I guess that's what I get for trying to buy a native plant at a supermarket instead of a more reputable source.

It does smell nice, at least.

Mertensia virginica in bud!

I planted this Virginia bluebells plant(mertensie de Virginie) last year, past the blooming season, so this is a first for me. You can see two clusters of small pale pink buds, which will grow into beautiful blue bells. Yay!

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).

Monarda fistulosa seeds

I was enchanted to see wild bergamot (monarde fistuleuse) blooming in High Park last summer, so when I saw this packet of seeds from the High Park Volunteer Stewardship Program at Seedy Saturday in Scarborough, I snatched them up!

First snowdrops of the year!

Once again, the snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis, perce-neiges) are the first flowers in bloom in my neighbourhood, and once again, there are none in my garden (these are in a neighbour's yard). But I planted some last fall! I don't know where I put them, but I don't see any sign of them. Where did I go wrong?

Phlox paniculata 'Katherine': bare root plant

Phlox paniculata, known in English as "garden phlox", "fall phlox", or "summer phlox", and in French as phlox paniculée, is a perennial native to eastern and central United States. It bears clusters of showy five-petalled flowers in shades of pink, purple, or white. This cultivar will have lavender flowers with white eyes.

Garden phlox looks similar to dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis, julienne des dames). You can distinguish the two by counting petals: phlox has five petals, dame's rocket has four. It's important to be able to distinguish them because dame's rocket is seriously invasive here in southern Ontario according to the Invasive Exotic Species Ranking for Southern Ontario (PDF). Since dame's rocket is considered "a threat to natural areas wherever they occur because they can reproduce by means that allow them to move long distances," I hope that other Toronto gardeners will join me in growing the equally pretty but non-invasive garden phlox instead.

Iris × hollandica 'Blue Pearl' bulbs

Iris × hollandica, known in English as "Dutch iris" and in French as iris de Hollande, is a bulbous perennial available in a variety of colours including blue violet (e.g. 'Blue Magic'), white (e.g. 'Casa Blanca'), yellow (e.g. 'Crown Jewel'), bronze (e.g. 'Bronze Beauty'), and more. These ones should be a rich blue violet.

Tulipa tarda bulbs

Tulipa tarda, known in English as "tarda tulip" or "species tulip" and in French as tulipe tarda or tulipe botanique, are bulbous perennials native to Turkey and the surrounding area. Unlike the usual hybrid tulips, species tulips will self-sow and are more perennial in nature (hybrids may come back in future years but often decline). Tarda tulips are petite plants with showy 6-petalled star-shaped flowers in yellow with white tips.

Galanthus nivalis bulbs

Last year snowdrops (perce-neige) were the very first flowers up in our neighbourhood, and very welcome after the long winter. (Last year, Helen's first snowdrop came up in late February!

Cyclamen hederifolium tubers

The plants I ordered from Veseys have arrived (except the phlox, which is back-ordered), so I have a busy weekend ahead!

You can see that one of these tubers seems to have sprouted already. I do hope it will be okay.

Cyclamens are sometimes wild-collected for the horticultural trade, and some species have become endangered because of this. So when you buy cyclamens, make sure that they are nursery propagated!

Crocus chrysanthus corms

Crocus chrysanthus, known in English as "snow crocus" and in French as crocus de printemps, are bulbous perennials native to Eurasia. A variety of cultivars are available, in colours ranging from white (e.g. 'Snow Bunting', pale lavender blue (e.g. 'Blue Pearl', and pale yellow (e.g. 'Romance') to dark purple (e.g. 'Lady Killer') and bronze ('Zwanenburg Bronze').

Of course at this stage they all look pretty much the same. The top photo shows 'Romance' (light yellow blooms) and the bottom photo shows 'Blue Pearl' (very pale blue).

Chionodoxa forbesii bulbs

More treasures from Veseys: Chionodoxa forbesii (glory-of-the-snow, gloire des neiges). These little beauties, native to Turkey, bear six-petalled light blue flowers in early spring—here are some photos at Dave's Garden. I've seen these in real life so I know they really are as pretty as the pictures!

Helianthus divaricatus in bloom

Helianthus divaricatus, known in English as "woodland sunflower" and in French as hélianthe à feuilles étalées, is a perennial native to eastern North America. I love the contrast between the clear yellow flowers and the dark green foliage.

My son photographed these plants at High Park.

Dahlia 'Pooh'

The Dahlias are a genus of perennials native to Mexico, central America, and Colombia. Unfortunately they are not hardy here in Toronto, which is why I haven't tried growing them (I avoid plants that require coddling). But this beauty, 'Pooh', is sorely tempting me.

Photographed at Toronto Botanical Garden.

Veronica longifolia 'Eveline' : a lush carpet of purple spires

Veronica longifolia (speedwell, véronique à longues feuilles) is a Eurasian perennial bearing spikes of small purple (or blue, or white) flowers.

There are a few veronicas which are native to Ontario. They are not as flamboyant as the Eurasian veronicas sold to gardeners, but I think Veronica americana (American brooklime or American speedwell, véronique d'Amérique) and Veronica anagallis-aquatica (water speedwell, water pimpernel, mouron aquatique) have potential as water garden plants. Both have dainty blue flowers which some find reminiscent of forget-me-nots. In our garden, I'm encouraging the native volunteer Veronica serpyllifolia (thyme-leaf speedwell, véronique à feuilles de serpolet) as a groundcover.

There are also some unrelated natives with spires of purple flowers. I like Verbena stricta (hoary vervain, verveine veloutée), and Agastache foeniculum (lavender hyssop, hysope anisée), a mint-relative with a strong licorice scent.

Lobelia siphilitica: glorious azure spires

After admiring photos of great blue lobelia (lobélie syphilitique), and botching my attempt to grow it from seed, I was excited to find it at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Even at the end of the season and a bit past its prime, it's gorgeous! Definitely worth further attempts to grow it in our own garden.

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!