Snowy owl in the garden!

Although theoretically we live in its winter range, I'm not sure if snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus, harfang des neiges) live in Toronto any more. (Apparently there are some owls here though, check out these sweet photos of owls in Toronto by Jean Iron.)

Nicky and I took advantage of the recent "extreme" snowstorm here in Toronto (which would have been considered perfectly ordinary February weather where I grew up in the Ottawa Valley) to create this snow scupture (obviously we weren't looking at an image of a real snowy owl when we did it!). The coloured parts were done with Wilton Icing Colors in Lemon Yellow, Black, and mixture of Lemon Yellow and Christmas Red, available at Bulk Barn. I don't know if I'll try adding colour to a snow sculpture again; the colour kept bleeding, and I kept having to scoop out areas and replace them with fresh snow.

Here's a nostalgia-inducing video about the snowy owl from the Canadian Wildlife Federation's classic Hinterland Who's Who series of PSAs. (Regular readers, I'm sorry I've been away from the blog so long. My fibromyalgia flared up in early autumn and for a while I forgot that I even had a garden, never mind a garden blog! And of course although this blog is supposed to be about gardening all year round, winter is not really prime gardening time in Toronto. But I'm feeling better now and have a whole backlog of photos to post, and there are exciting things coming up in terms of garlic mustard eradication in High Park later this year!)

Juglans cinerea (I hope) Juglans nigra at the end of winter

Juglans cinerea, known in English as "butternut" or "white walnut", and in French as noyer cendré, noyer blanc, or noyer à beurre, is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America. Currently butternut is endangered in Canada, because of a canker disease which has killed up to 90% of butternut trees (which were not common to start with).

This tree, and its twin (not shown), caused a bit of consternation as we attempted to identify them. My landlord's son was convinced they were a weed; he was probably confusing it with Ailanthus altissima, an invasive species here in southern Ontario. Luckily the people at Dave's Garden were able to confirm that this is not Ailanthus, though there was no agreement on what it is. Here's a close up of the fuzzy buds, for what it's worth. And here's the bark, which doesn't seem right for butternut but doesn't seem right for the other leading possibility (black walnut, Juglans nigra) either. I haven't seen flowers or nuts on this tree, but maybe it will produce some this year and I'll be able to ID it.

Update March 29

After I posted a photo of the chambered pith in a twig from this tree, plant identification guru Resin at Dave's Garden confirmed that it is Juglans nigra (black walnut), not the endangered butternut. It's still a nice native tree and I'm sure the squirrels will be happy when it produces nuts!

Dianthus: foliage in early spring

Dianthus, a genus with species known in English as "pinks", "sweet William", and "carnation", and in French as œillets, includes about 300 species of perennial, annual, and biennial flower plants native mostly to Eurasia, although some are native to north Africa and one to North America.

I was interested to see that this perennial dianthus in a neighbour's garden kept its glaucous foliage through the winter.

Solidago canadensis: seeds at winter's end

Solidago canadensis, known in English as Canada goldenrod and in French as verge d'or du Canada, is a perennial native to most of North America. Its bright yellow/gold plumes of tiny flowers are a familiar sight in late summer and early autumn.

The delicate, fluffy seeds, still arranged in the characteristic plumes, persist through the winter.

Campanula rapunculoides: seed pods

Warning: this plant is invasive in Toronto. Campanula rapunculoides, known in English as "creeping bellflower" (or as I call it, "creepy bellflower"), and in French as campanule fausse raiponce, is a perennial native to Eurasia with pretty light blue-violet bell-shaped flowers.

In my neighbourhood, ladybells volunteers in a lot of gardens. Unfortunately it's listed in Invasive Exotic Species Ranking for Southern Ontario (PDF).) In our garden, its mats of roots prevent other plants from growing.

Here are the remains of the delicate seed pods at the end of winter (left on because I didn't realize at the time that this was an invasive).

Geum triflorum: winter's end

Geum triflorum, known in English as "prairie smoke", "old man's whiskers", and "three-flowered avens", and in French as benoite à trois fleur is a perennial native to western and central North America. It has dainty rose-violet flowers followed by striking whiskery seed heads.

I bought this prairie smoke plant at Toronto Botanical Garden's spring plant sale last year. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but it seems to me that among the mostly dead ferny foliage from last year I can see a bit of new growth coming up? It didn't bloom last year, but I have high hopes for this year!

Petroselinum crispum: at winter's end

Petroselinum crispum, known in English as parsley and in French as persil, is a common biennial herb native to the Mediterannean.

I never thought of parsley as an evergreen, but it has stayed a bright green through the winter, despite having spent months crushed under snow!

Gaultheria procumbens: foliage at winter's end

Gaultheria procumbens, known in English as wintergreen, tea berry, or checkerberry, and in French as gaulthérie couchée, thé du Canada, palommier, or thé de Terre-Neuve is an evergreen low-growing shrub (10-15 cm tall) native to eastern North America.

I bought this little plant last August at Sheridan Nurseries (near Yonge and Eglinton) to provide some winter colour. Of course it was buried under the snow most of the time. Over the winter it turned an interesting dark red, which is especially bright on the undersides of the leaves.

Platanus occidentalis: winter

Platanus occidentalis, known in English as American sycamore and in French as platane d'occident, is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America. In Canada, sycamore is considered an indicator species for the unique Carolinian ecoregion in southern Ontario.

In winter, the distinctive bark of the sycamore can be best appreciated.

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).

Rosa: bushes and berries in winter

Rosa spp., known in English and French as roses, are shrubs, most native to Asia, but some are native to Europe, North America, and north west Africa. While commonly grown for their beautiful, often fragrant flowers in shades of pink, red, white, or yellow, allowing them to set fruit ("rosehips") extends the shrubs appeal through the cold winter months.

Hydrangea: flowers in winter

Hydrangea spp., known in English as hydrangeas and in French as hydrangées or hortensias, are shrubs native to south and east Asia, and North and South America.

Here in Toronto, these are probably the only flowers you can see outside in the winter (unless they are buried by snow). The flowers persist for months, drying to a light brown but remaining attractive.

Liatris spicata: winter

Liatris spicata, known in English as dense blazing star or prairie gayfeather and in French as liatride à épis, plume de Kansas, is a perennial native throughout much of eastern North America. In summer, it bears vivid purple spikes of flowers. Even in winter, though the seeds have fallen from these spikes, the stems remain in the clump of liatris.

Verbascum thapsus: winter

Don't plant this—it's invasive! Verbascum thapsus, known in English as great mullein or common mullein, and in French as molène thapsus, molène Bouillon-blanc, Bouillon-blanc or Bouillon jaune is a biennial native to Eurasia and north Africa. In Canada it is generally considered a weed, and a number of sources call it invasive, but this gardener has included it, presumably as a vertical accent. (You can't see it now, but the plants are mulched, so their presence here is deliberate.) In the first year, the plants are low rosettes of fuzzy greyish leaves about 25 long; in the second year, a striking 2-metre tall spire of yellow flowers appears, with the resulting seedheads persisting well into winter.

There are lots of showier plants that would provide a vertical accent without being invasive, for example, Penstemon digitalis. Hopefully this gardener will switch to one of these alternatives.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy': winter

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is a hybrid of different Sedum (stonecrop) species popular in Toronto gardens for providing true four-season interest with minimal care. Here is a clump of Autumn Joy seedheads, persisting well into winter despite heavy snowfall. I find it amazing that such slender stems can support such large clumps of snow.

Rhododendron: winter

Rhododendron spp., known in English and French by the genus name, are shrubs native to many parts of the world, especially in the northern hemisphere. The species shown is (obviously) a broad-leaf evergreen, one of the very few broadleaf evergreens which can survive Toronto winters.

Rhododendrons are sometimes suggested as a source of "winter interest", but here in Toronto many of them are buried under snow. Also, the leaves become limp in winter; I personally do not find this appealing. The plump buds with their promise of gorgeous spring blossoms are lovely, however.

Hibiscus syriacus: winter

>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.

In the winter, the light brown seed pods add a touch of interest.

Gleditsia triacanthos var inermis: winter

Gleditsia triacanthos var inermis known in English as thornless honey locust and in French as févier d'Amérique sans épine or févier d'Amérique inerme is a deciduous tree native to much of the continental United States and part of southern Ontario.

In winter, large trees like this are the stars of the landscape—especially when most of the gardens in our area are buried under one or two metres of snow!