Cabbage butterfly

So far my attempts to attract butterflies to the garden have not been a rip-roaring success, but there are some visitors. The most common lepidopteran I've seen in the garden is the cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae), which originated in Eurasia but is now widespread here in North America. This is a male; the females have two black spots on each forewing. Cabbage butterfly larvae feed on plants in the Brassicacea family, the adults feed on nectar. (I mention this because some butterflies prefer fruit, rotting carrion, or dung!)

Juglans nigra: now with leaves!

The black walnuts in the back yard are looking much prettier now that they are in leaf. (Here's what it looked like without foliage.) These native trees will be a source of nuts for the local squirrels when they're older. Black walnut produces "juglone" which makes the nearby soil unsuitable for some plants, such as tomatoes. There are a number of juglone-tolerant plants to choose from to grow under your black walnut. The large compound leaves have a tropical feel. They look similar to those of the invasive Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven), but A. altissima's leaflets have a pair of teeth at the base. Black walnut also has pleasantly fragrant leaves, smelling like incense, whereas Ailanthus has a foul smell like burnt peanut butter.

Potentilla norvegica

Potentilla norvegica, known in English as "rough cinquefoil" or "Norwegian cinquefoil" and in French as potentille norvégienne or potentille de Norvège, is an annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The dainty yellow flowers have five petals, and five sepals which are longer than the petals and protrude between them. Despite the English common names ("cinquefoil" means "five leaves"), the compound leaves have three leaflets rather than five. If you click the photo to enlarge it you will see they, and the stems, are covered with fine hairs.

Sunflowers! (Helianthus annuus and H. tuberosus

The volunteer sunflower (H. annuus) is in full bloom, and I'm happy to see it's yellow, not that disappointing brownish orange like the 'Velvet Queen' I had last year (which was supposed to be red).

We also have native perennial sunflowers in the garden, probably Jerusalem artichoke (H. tuberosus). I'm not sure, but I think this is just one plant! It grows over 2 metres tall, and has small (for a sunflower) yellow flowers in the autumn. The roots are massive tubers, which are apparently edible, though I haven't tried it.

Echinacea pallida inflorescence

Echinacea pallida, known in English as "pale purple coneflower" and in French as échinacée pourpré clair is a perennial native to eastern and central North America. As you can see, it resembles its familiar relative Echinacea purpurea, but with paler petals which hang down like a hula skirt (there's even a cultivar called 'Hula Dancer'). Unlike E. purpurea, E. pallida is native to Ontario.

The aphids' days are numbered

Look who showed up at the ants' aphid farm!

Ladybugs are such enthusiastic predators of aphids that they are often purchased just for this purpose. I've read that this is unreliable as the ladybugs are apt to fly away when released instead of staying in your garden. If you do want to buy ladybugs, get a native species (check here to see which ladybugs in Ontario are native). Unfortunately, the bug here seems to be the invasive Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis), introduced to control pests, which has an annoying practice of overwintering in peoples' houses! The Asian lady beetle can have many different colours and markings; it is distinguished from native ladybugs by the white markings on and behind the head, which surround a black "M" or "W".

The bright colouring of the ladybug is a warning to other predators that ladybugs secrete a toxin when attacked.

Development of Monarda didyma flowers

First the bracts turn dark red...

Then the flower buds colour up...

...and grow larger.

Almost open...

...and here's a fully opened inflorescence in all its glory!

Bee balm is such an easy to grow plant, and attracts hummingbirds (though I have not seen this myself). I would expect that this is a healthier way of feeding hummingbirds than a feeder filled with sugar water, and lower maintenance too.