Trilliums are blooming in High Park right now!

Torontonians, now's the time to see our provincial flower, Trillium grandiflorum (white trillium, trille blanc) blooming in the wilds of High Park! You'll find them in the woods in the south west corner of the park. There are also lots of Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, podophylle pelté) in bud, and some Tiarella cordifolia (foam flower, tiarelle cordifoliée), also in bud.

NANPS spring plant sale pre-ordering now open!

The North American Native Plant Society's annual spring plant sale is coming up! This is the biggest native plant sale in all of Canada, and the best source for locally ethically grown native plants for Toronto gardeners. You can preorder online now, or just do what I do and shop on the day itself. The prices are very reasonable ($5 for most forbs, $12 for most trees) and the selection is amazing! (The photo above is the Penstemon hirsutus (hairy beardtongue, penstémon hirsute) which I bought at last year's sale. It started blooming within weeks of planting it in my garden!

Beautiful Eumorpha pandorus: another reason to grow native plants!

On the wall of the Danforth/Coxwell Library, my son and I were thrilled to spot this big (8-9 cm) beautiful moth, who was kind enough to stay put while we ran home to get a camera and bug book.

This beauty is intriguingly named Pandora sphinx moth (sphinx Pandore). Its larval hosts include Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia, vigne vierge de Virginie), and sure enough there is a Virginia creeper climbing on the wall of the library, which I photographed last year. (The larvae also feed on Vitis spp. (grapes, raisins).

I have been meaning to get some Virginia creeper growing in the backyard, and seeing this beautiful moth makes me all the more determined.

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.

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).

Natives in our garden

Andrew Keys at Garden Smackdown is calling on bloggers to list the native plants in our gardens. Here's what's currently growing in our garden:

Volunteered or planted before we moved in and thriving

• Acalypha rhomboidea (three-seed mercury, ricinelle rhomboïde)
• Acer rubrum (red maple, érable rouge)
• Amaranthus tuberculatus (roughfruit amaranth)
• Anemone canadensis (Canada anemone, anémone du Canada)
• Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane, vergerette annuelle)
• Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash, frêne rouge)
• Gleditsia triacanthos (honeylocust, févier d'Amérique)
• Juglans nigra (black walnut)
• Solanum ptycanthum (eastern black nightshade, morelle noire de l'est)
• Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod, verge d'or du Canada)
• Veronica serpyllifolia (thyme-leaf speedwell, véronique à feuilles de serpolet)

Planted by me and thriving for a couple of years

• Asclepias tuberosa (butterflyweed, asclépiade tubéreuse)
• Geum triflorum (prairie smoke, benoite à trois fleurs)
• Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke)
• Liatris spicata (blazing star, liatride à épis)
• Monarda didyma (beebalm, monarde)
• Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed susan, rudbeckie dressée)

Planted by me last year, don't know if they survived the winter

• Actaea rubra (red baneberry, actée rouge)
• Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf coreopsis, coréopsis lancéolé)
• Gaillardia aristata (blanket flower, gaillarde)
• Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed, hélénie d'automne)
• Maianthemum canadense (wild lily-of-the-valley, maïanthème du Canada)
• Phlox divaricata (woodland phlox, phlox bleu)
• Tiarella cordifolia (foamflower, tiarelle cordifoliée)
• Verbena stricta (hoary vervain, verveine veloutée)
• Waldsteinia fragaroides (barren strawberry, waldsteinie faux-fraisier)

Planted by me and died

• Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf coreopsis, coréopsis lancéolé)
• Gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen, gaulthérie couchée)
• Physostegia virginiana (obedient plant, physostégie) (mistaken for a weed by landlords after it was done flowering)

Attempting to grow from seed this year

• Agastache foeniculum (lavender hyssop, anis hysope)
• Allium cernuum (nodding wild onion, ail penché)
• Anemone virginiana (thimbleweed, anémone de Virginie)
• Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine, ancolie du Canada)
• Asclepias tuberosa (butterflyweed, asclépiade tubéreuse)
• Campanula rotundifolia (harebell, campanule à feuilles rondes)
• Desmodie canadense (showy tick trefoil, desmodie du Canada)
• Eupatorium perfoliatium (boneset, eupatoire perfoliée)
• Eupatorium purpureum (Joe Pye weed, eupatoire pourpre)
• Gaillardia aristata (blanket flower, gaillarde)
• Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed, hélénie d'automne)
• Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia, lobélie syphilitique)
• Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot, monarde fistuleuse)
• Potentilla argentea (silver cinquefoil, potentille argentée)
• Solidago bicolor (silverrod, verge d'or bicolore)
• Solidago caesia (blue-stemmed goldenrod, verge d'or bleuâtre)
• Symphyotrichum ericoides (heath aster, aster éricoïde)
• Tradescantia ohiensis (Ohio spiderwort, tradescantia de l’Ohio)
• Verbena stricta (hoary vervain, verveine veloutée)
• Vernonia sp. (ironweed, vernonia)
• Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver's root, veronicastrum)
• Zizia aurea (golden Alexanders, zizia d'oré)

What natives are you growing in your garden?

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!

Tradescantia ohiensis seedling!

It's only one seedling, but that's one more Tradescantia seedling than I got last year, when I managed to screw up most of my native plant seeds by putting them in peat pellets outside (which were impossible to keep from drying out).

My son Nicky doesn't usually appreciate native plants, but I piqued his interest in this one by telling him one of its common names in English is "snotweed", because the flowers disintegrate into slimy goo. He was also impressed by the gorgeous photos at Missouri Plants—scroll down for an amazing close-up of the stamens.

Does growing invasive plants help birds?

This past week I was very excited to pick up a beautiful book, Bird by Bird Gardening by Sally Roth (Rodale, 2006), about designing gardens to attract various families of birds to the garden. And in many ways it is an excellent book, with a wealth of information about the needs of different birds in terms of food, shelter, water, etc., with lists of plants and garden plans for all sorts of lovely birds (she's an American writing for American gardeners but of course a lot of it will apply here in Canada too). It's a beautiful book, lavishly illustrated with full colour photographs, and a wealth of information.

As I read the book more closely, however, I became troubled, as she recommended plants which may be invasive in parts of the US (and Canada too, though I can't fault her for that if she wasn't intending to cover Canada in the book). For example, she suggests

• Berberis spp. (barberries, berbéris) without distinguishing between the native and invasive varieties (B. thunbergii is invasive in the northeastern US, B. vulgaris invasive in many states from coast to coast; they both are listed in the Invasive Exotic Species Ranking for Southern Ontario (PDF))
• Eucalyptus spp. (Australian natives which are invasive in California, especially, but also in the Pacific north west including part of BC)
• Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus, fusain ailé) which is invasive in the northeastern US (and southern Ontario)
• Pyrus calleryana (Callery pear, poirier de Chine) which is invasive in the eastern US

(These are just the most notorious invasives I noticed flipping through the book; I didn't do an exhaustive investigation.)

Now, there are a lot of older wildlife gardening books that recommend various invasives, especially berry plants, but I was very unhappy to see them still being recommended in such a recent book.

I was horrified when I got to a three page essay, "Invasive Implications", on pp. 74-76.

First, she implies that the term "invasive" was created by the USDA and is based on agricultural concerns, and that all non-native plants are invasive. Now, even if invasive plants were only a problem for agriculture, that is still an extremely serious problem since virtually all people in North America are completely dependent on agriculture for our food. To me that would be reason enough to avoid gardening with invasives.

Of course, in reality, there are many ecologists concerned about the impact of invasive species on ecosystems. Invasives are definitely not only a concern for farmers.

Then, she says that invasives mostly affect disturbed areas, and so are not a problem for native plants. Even if invasives only affected disturbed areas, to me that is still a problem, for they are displacing the native plants which would normally colonize disturbed areas. Invasive plants can prevent native plants from returning to disturbed areas, so this habitat is permanently rather than temporarily lost.

(And unfortunately, there are invasive species which invade undisturbed habitat; witness the heartbreaking blanket of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, herbe à l'ail) carpeting the forests in High Park and around the Ontario Science Centre, for example.)

She suggests that invasives are mainly a concern in warm areas (southeast US, California, and Hawaii) or near wetlands. In reality, while invasives may be worse in those areas, that doesn't mean they aren't a serious problem here.

Then she points out that sometimes authorities use environmentally questionable practices (herbicides). There is real debate on if/when pesticides should be used to control invasives, but surely if we don't want the authorities to feel driven to use pesticides we should avoid growing plants that are invasive in the first place! She also describes an instance she witnessed of a birds' nest being destroyed when the plant they were living in was removed. Again, all the more reason to prevent these situations by not growing invasives in our gardens.

Most upsettingly, she writes that since birds use some invasives for shelter or food:

I stick up for many invasives [because] we've destroyed so much bird habitat, so many native plants, and such multitudes of insects, that I believe birds deserve some extra help.

Aargh!

The sad truth is, these invasives she's defending are a leading cause of habitat loss. In particular, the multitudes of insects she mourns depend on a multitude of native plants for food. Most herbivorous insects can only eat certain species; even a closely related non-native plant often supports many fewer insects (in both number of species and number of individuals) compared to its native counterpart. Birds can seek cover and build nests in many locations, and fruit and nectar of many plants are palatable, but without a healthy insect population most birds won't be able to get the nourishment they need.

Invasive plants don't help birds, they harm birds.

If you want to grow plants to help birds, there are many native plants (many listed in Bird by Bird Gardening, and Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy) which provide shelter, berries, and the insects which are such a crucial part of many birds' diets.

For more information about the impact of native vs. non-native plants on wildlife, please read Bringing Nature Home.

Great podcasts by Doug Tallamy on gardening and wildlife

I've already mentioned Doug Tallamy's wonderful book, Bringing Nature Home (Timber Press). I just discovered these fascinating and inspiring podcasts online. Enjoy!

Part 1: the crisis faced by wildlife, making friends with insects. (8:02)

Part 2: how many native vs. non-native plants do you need, which native plants have the most benefit for wildlife. (11:11)

Part 3: how to distinguish native vs. non-native plants, how invasive plants affect the environment, using herbicides to control invasive plants, organic gardening. (9:24)

Part 4: can one garden really make a difference in helping wildlife? How to get started. (9:15)

Part 5: do lawn alternatives help wildlife, what is the most destructive landscaping practice? Current research on the impact of plants on wildlife, especially birds. Effects of native vs. invasive insects. (11:29)

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.

Which natives are easy to grow from seed?

Although I really botched this last season's attempt to grow native plants from seed, I'm not giving up. I was pleased to see that William Cullina's Growing and propagating wildflowers of the United States and Canada (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000) lists which genera are easy to grow from seed. Here's a summary of the genera relevant to Toronto gardeners:

Genus	Species native to Toronto
Agastache	Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop, anis hysope) Agastache nepetoides (yellow giant hyssop, faux-népéta)
Ageratina	Ageratina altissima (white snakeroot, eupatoire rugueuse)1
Antennaria	Antennaria howellii (Howell's pussytoes, immortelle)* Antennaria neglecta (field pussytoes, antennaire négligée)* Antennaria parlinii (Parlin's pussytoes, antennaire de Parlin)
Asclepias	Asclepias exaltata (poke milkweed, asclépiade très grande) Asclepias hirtella (tall green milkweed, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)* Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed, asclépiade incarnate) Asclepias purpurascens (purple milkweed, asclépiade pourpre) Asclepias quadrifolia (four-leaf milkweed, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)* Asclepias sullivantii (Sullivant's milkweed, asclépiade de Sullivant)* Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed, asclépiade commune) Asclepias tuberosa (butterflyweed, asclépiade tubéreuse) Asclepias variegata (white milkweed, asclépiade blanche) Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed, asclépiade verticillée) Asclepias viridiflora (green milkweed, asclépiade à fleurs vertes)*
Baptisia	Baptisia tinctoria (yellow wild indigo, indigo sauvage)
Campanula	Campanula aparinoides (bedstraw bellflower, campanule faux-gaillet)* Campanula rotundifolia (harebell, campanule à feuilles rondes)
Chamerion	Chamerion angustifolium (fireweed, épilobe)2
Chelone	Chelone glabra (white turtlehead, galane glabre)
Conoclinium	Conoclinium coelistinum (mist flower, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)3
Coreopsis	Coreopsis lanceolata (lanceleaf coreopsis, coreopsis à feuilles lancéolées) Coreopsis tinctoria (calliopsis, coréopsis des teinturiers)* Coreopsis tripteris (tall coreopsis, coréopsis trifoliolé)
Dalea	Dalea purpurea (prairie clover, petalostemon pourpre)
Echinacea	Echinacea pallida (pale purple coneflower, échinacée pâle)*
Eupatoriadelphus	Eupatoriadelphus maculatus (spotted Joe Pye weed, eupatoire maculée)4
Eupatorium	Eupatorium altissimum (tall boneset, eupatoire élevée)* Eupatorium perfoliatum (common boneset, eupatoire perfoliée) Eupatorium purpureum (sweet Joe Pye weed, eupatoire pourpre)*
Geranium	Geranium bicknellii (Bicknell's cranesbill, géranium de Bicknell)* Geranium carolinianum (Carolina geranium, géranium de Caroline)* Geranium maculatum (wild geranium, géranium maculé) Geranium robertianum (herb Robert, géranium de Robert)*
Geum	Geum aleppicum (yellow avens, benoîte d'Alep)* Geum canadense (white avens, benoîte du Canada)* Geum lacinatum (rough avens, benoîte laciniée)* Geum macrophyllum (large-leaf avens, benoîte à grandes feuilles)* Geum rivale (water avens, benoîte des ruisseaux) Geum triflorum (prairie smoke, benoîte à trois fleurs) Geum vernum (spring avens, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)* Geum virginianum (pale avens, benoîte de Virginie)*
Gillenia	Gillenia trifoliata (Bowman's root, gillenia à trois feuilles)5
Helianthus	Helianthus decapetalus (thin-leaf sunflower, hélianthe à dix rayons)* Helianthus divaricatus (woodland sunflower, hélianthe à feuilles étalées) Helianthus maximilliani (Maximillian sunflower, hélianthe de Maximilien) Helianthus nuttallii (Nuttall's sunflower, hélianthe de Nuttall)* Helianthus pauciflorus (stiff sunflower, hélianthe raide)* Helianthus strumosus (pale-leaf wood sunflower, hélianthe scrofuleux)* Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke, topinambour)
Heuchera	Heuchera americana (American alumroot, heuchère d'Amérique)
Hibiscus	Hibiscus laevis (halberd-leaf rose mallow, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français) Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp rose mallow, ketmie des marais)
Hydrophyllum	Hydrophyllum appendiculatum (appendaged waterleaf, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)* Hydrophyllum canadense (broad-leaf waterleaf, hydrophylle du Canada) Hydrophyllum virginianum (Virginia waterleaf, hydrophylle de Virginie)
Liatris	Liatris aspera (rough blazing-star, liatride rugueuse) Liatris cylindracea (Ontario blazing-star, liatris cylindrique)*
Lobelia	Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower, lobélie cardinale) Lobelia dortmanna (water lobelia, lobélie de Dortmann)* Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco, lobélie gonflée)* Lobelia kalmii (brook lobelia, lobélie de Kalm)* Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia, lobélie syphilitique)
Lupinus	Lupinus perennis (wild lupine, lupin sauvage) Lupinus polyphyllus (big-leaf lupine, lupin polyphylle)
Mimulus	Mimulus alatus (sharp-winged monkey-flower, mimule ailé)* Mimulus glabratus (round-leaf monkey-flower, mimule glabre)* Mimulus moschatus (muskflower, mimule musqué)* Mimulus ringens (square-stemmed monkey-flower, mimule à fleurs entrouvertes)
Monarda	Monarda didyma (beebalm, monarde écarlate) Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot, monarde fistuleuse) Monarda media (purple bergamot, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)* Monarda punctata (spotted beebalm, monarde ponctuée)
Oenothera	Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose, onagre bisannuelle)* Oenothera clelandii (Cleland's evening primrose, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)* Oenothera fruticosa (sundrops, onagre frutescente) Oenothera nutans (nodding evening primrose, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun en français)* Oenothera oakesiana (Oakes' evening primrose, onagre d'Oakes)* Oenothera parviflora (small-flowered evening primrose, onagre parviflore)* Oenothera perennis (little evening primrose, onagre vivace)* Oenothera pilosella (meadow evening primrose, onagre piloselle)* Oenothera villosa (hairy evening primrose, onagre velue)*
Penstemon	Penstemon digitalis (foxglove beardtongue, penstémon digitale) Penstemon grandiflorus (large-flowered beardtongue, penstémon à grandes fleurs) Penstemon hirsutus (hairy beardtongue, penstémon hirsute)
Phlox	Phlox divaricata (wild blue phlox, phlox divariqué) Phlox pilosa (downy phlox, phlox nain) Phlox subulata (moss phlox, phlox mousse)
Physostegia	Physostegia virginiana (obedient plant, physostégie de Virginie)
Potentilla	Potentilla arguta (tall cinquefoil, potentille âcre)* Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil, potentille du Canada)* Potentilla norvegica (rough cinquefoil, potentille de Norvège)* Potentilla paradoxa (bushy cinquefoil, potentille paradoxale)* Potentilla rivalis (brook cinquefoil, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun en français)* Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil, potentille simple)*
Pycnanthemum	Pycnanthemum incanum (hoary mountain-mint, pycnanthème gris) Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (slender mountain-mint, pycnanthème à feuilles étroites) Pycnanthemum virginianum (Virginia mountain-mint, pycnanthème de Virginie)*
Ratibida	Ratibida columnifera (upright prairie coneflower, chapeau mexicain)
Rudbeckia	Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan, rudbeckie dress&eaucte;e) Rudbeckia lacinata (green-headed coneflower, rudbeckie laciniée)
Scutellaria	Scutellaria galericulata (marsh skullcap, scutellaire à casque)* Scutellaria lateriflora (mad-dog skullcap, scutellaire latériflore) Scutellaria nervosa (veined skullcap, scutellaire)* Scutellaria parvula (smaller skullcap, scutellaire minime)*
Sibbaldiopsis	Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (three-toothed cinquefoil, potentille tridentée)6
Silene	Silene antirrhina (sleepy catchfly, silène muflier)* Silene virginica (fire pink, silène de Virginie)
Sisyrinchium	Sisyrinchium albidum (white blue-eyed grass, bermudienne blanche)* Sisyrinchium angustifolium (narrow-leaf blue-eyed grass, bermudienne à feuilles étroites) Sisyrinchium montanum (strict blue-eyed grass, bermudienne montagnarde)*
Solidago	Solidago arguta (sharp-leaf goldenrod, verge d'or à fines dentelures)* Solidago bicolor (silverrod, verge d'or bicolore) Solidago caesia (blue-stem goldenrod, verge d'or bleuâtre) Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod, verge d'or du Canada)* Solidago flexicaulis (zigzag goldenrod, verge d'or à tige zigzaguante) Solidago gigantica (giant goldenrod, verge d'or géante)* Solidago hispida (hairy goldenrod, verge d'or hispide)* Solidago juncea (early goldenrod, verge d'or jonciforme)* Solidago macrophylla (large-leaf goldenrod, verge d'or à grandes feuilles)* Solidago nemoralis (grey goldenrod, verge d'or des bois) Solidago patula (rough-leaf goldenrod, verge d'or étalée)* Solidago puberela (downy goldenrod, verge d'or pubérulente)* Solidago rugosa (rough-stem goldenrod, verge d'or rugueuse) Solidago sempervirens (seaside goldenrod, verge d'or toujours verte) Solidago simplex (Mt. Albert goldenrod, verge d'or simple)* Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod, verge d'or splendide) Solidago squarrosa (stout goldenrod, verge d'or squarreuse)* Solidago uliginosa (bog goldenrod, verge d'or des marais)* Solidago ulmifolia (elm-leaf goldenrod, verge d'or à feuilles d'orme)*
Stylophorum	Stylophorum diphyllum (wood poppy, célandine)
Thalictrum	Thalictrum dioicum (early meadowrue, pigamon dioïque) Thalictrum pubescens (king of the meadow, pigamon pubescent) Thalictrum revolutum (waxy meadowrue, pigamon à feuilles révolutées)* Thalictrum thalictroides (rue anemone, isopyre faux pigamon)* Thalictrum venulosum (veiny meadowrue, pigamon veiné)
Tiarella	Tiarella cordifolia (foamflower, tiarelle cordifoliée)
Tradescantia	Tradescantia ohiensis (Ohio spiderwort, tradescantia de l'Ohio)*
Verbena	Verbena bracteata (big-bract verbena, verveine prostrée)* Verbena × deamii (Deam's verbena, verveine de Deam)* Verbena × engelmannii (Engelmann's verbena, verveine d'Engelmann)* Verbena hastata (blue vervain, verveine hastée) Verbena × perriana (vervain, verveine)* Verbena simplex (narrow-leaf vervain, verveine simple)* Verbena stricta (hoary vervain, verveine veloutée) Verbena urticifolia (white vervain, verveine à feuilles d'ortie)*
Vernonia	Vernonia gigantea (giant ironweed, vernonie géante)*
Veronicastrum	Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver's root, veronicastre de Virginie)
Viola	Viola adunca (hooked-spur violet, violette à éperon crochu) Viola affinis (pale early violet, violette affine)* Viola bicolor (field pansy, pensée des champs)* Viola blanda (sweet white violet, violette agréable)* Viola × brauniae (Braun's violet, violette)* Viola canadensis (Canada violet, violette du Canada) Viola cucullata (marsh blue violet, violette cucullée)* Viola labradorica (alpine violet, violette du Labrador) Viola lanceolata (lance-leaf violet, violette lancéolée)* Viola macloskeyi (small white violet, violette pâle)* Viola × malteana (violet, violette de Malte)* Viola nephrophylla (northern bog violet, violette néphrophylle)* Viola novae-angliae (New England blue violet, violette de la Nouvelle-Angleterre)* Viola × palmata (palmate-leaf violet, violette palmée)* Viola palustris (alpine marsh violet, violette des marais)* Viola pedata (bird's-foot violet, violette pédalée) Viola pedatifida (prairie violet, violette pédalée)* Viola populifolia (Peck's violet, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français)* Viola × porteriana (Stone's violet, violette de Porter)* Viola pubescens (downy yellow violet, violette pubescente) Viola renifolia (kidney-leaf violet, violette réniforme)* Viola rostrata (long-spurred violet, violette rostrée)* Viola rotundifolia (round-leaf yellow violet, violette à feuilles rondes)* Viola sagittata (arrow-leaf violet, violette sagittée)* Viola selkirkii (great-spurred violet, violette de Selkirk)* Viola septentrionalis (northern blue violet, violette septentrionale)* Viola sororia (wooly blue violet, violette parente) Viola striata (pale violet, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun français) Viola sublanceolata (lanceleaf violet, violette sublanceolée)* Viola triloba (cleft violet, je ne peux pas trouver le nom commun en français)*
Zizia	Zizia aptera (heart-leaf Alexanders, zizia des marais) Zizia aurea (golden Alexanders, zizia doré)

For references for which plants are native to Toronto, see my native plant list. (Here I'll insert my usual caveat that I'm not an expert, the native plant list is still under development, etc. Corrections are always welcome.)

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*: although Cullina says plants in this genus are easy to grow, he does not discuss this particular species.

1. Listed in Cullina as Eupatorium rugosum.
2. Listed in Cullina as Epilobium angustifolium.
3. Listed in Cullina as Eupatorium coelestinum.
4. A synonym for Eupatorium maculatum. This species is not listed in Cullina, but he does say the eupatoriums are easy in general.
5. Listed in Cullina as Porteranthus trifoliatus.
6. Listed in Cullina as Potentilla tridentata.

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!

Ambrosia artemisiifolia: delcious-sounding name for a very annoying plant

Warning: this plant is considered a noxious weed under the Ontario Weed Control Act.

Such a lovely-sounding name for this plant with such pretty, fern-like leaves! (click the photo to get a better look) If only it weren't for the flowers...

In case you haven't recognized this common but easily overlooked plant yet, it's better known as common ragweed (petite herbe à poux). Those boring little green flowers have no interest for animal pollinators, so ragweed instead releases massive amounts of lightweight pollen into the wind, relying on the sheer quanitity of pollen to ensure that some of it will reach a female flower and fertilize it. (Separate male and female flowers are produced on each plant.)

Ragweed grows in the same habitats and blooms around the same time as its showier cousins, the goldenrods (verge d'or, Solidago spp.). Because ragweed is so inconspicuous, goldenrod is often unfairly blamed for ragweed pollen allergies. In fact goldenrod pollen is too heavy to be wind-borned; that's why it has those gorgeous flowers, to attract the insects needed for pollination.

According to Wikipedia, the genus name Ambrosia comes from the same root, άμβροτος, as the ambrosia which is the food of the gods, but this root word actually means "immortal", referring to the difficulty of eradicating this plant. (This species is actually an annual, so not immortal by any means.)

Ragweed is one of the top 10 herbacious plants to feed wild birds, because it produces numerous, oil-rich seeds. However, given how many people are allergic to it, I think it should be kept to wilderness areas far from humanity, certainly not in Toronto gardens.

Agrimonia sp.

Agrimonia spp., known in English as "agrimony" and in French as aigremoine, is a genus of about a dozen herbaceous perennials native to the temperate northern hemisphere, generally with spikes of yellow five-petalled flowers. There are four species found in Ontario, according the USDA's PLANTS database, all of them native:

• Agrimonia gryposepala (tall hairy agrimony, aigremoine à sépales crochus)
• Agrimonia parviflora (harvestlice, aigremoine parviflore)
• Agrimonia pubescens (soft agrimony, aigremoine pubescente)
• Agrimonia striata (roadside agrimony, aigremoine striée)

The agrimonies of Ontario look virtually identical, and Peterson's guide¹ says they can only be distinguished by "technical characters" so I don't feel too bad about not being able to precisely identify this one (though if any of you reading this know which one it is, please let me know!).

The leaves of agrimony are compound, and have distinctive mini-leaflets between some of the larger leaflets.

I photographed this plant in my local ravine.

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1. Peterson, Roger Tory and Margaret McKenny. A field guide to wildflowers: Northeastern and northcentral North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968.

Amaranthus tuberculatus in bloom

Amaranthus tuberculatus, known in English as "roughfruit amaranth" or "tall waterhemp" (je ne peux pas trouver un nom commun en français), is an annual native to much of eastern and central North America and a few west-coast states. It can reach two metres in height. The spikes of green flowers are not especially showy, but produce abundant seed, making this a useful food source for birds. The glossy foliage is eaten by the larvae of the common sootywing skipper (Pholisora catullus) and some moths.