Antirrhinum majus 'Montego Pink' seedlings!

As you would expect from a plant that is capable of volunteering out of nowhere, the snapdragons (mufliers) germinated quickly and easily.

Hypoestes phyllostachya 'Splash Select White' seedlings!

Polka dot plant (plante aux éphélides) is sometimes recommended as a good plant for children to grow from seed because it is easy. I can confirm that is the case! Here are my lovely healthy seedlings, about a week after sowing. No markings yet, but I expect they will come with the first true leaves.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, March 2010

Spring is just getting started here in Toronto. There are a whopping two species in bloom in our garden (which is two more than most of the other gardens around here...) The snow crocus (crocus du printemps, Crocus chrysanthus 'Blue Pearl') were the first to bloom. They're staying closed today because it's cloudy and cool, but they were wide open on a sunny day last week. This is my first year growing snow crocuses and I am very pleased with them.

My first snowdrop (perce neige, Galanthus nivalis) bloomed today. I planted a good sized clump of them, but so far only this one lonely plant is blooming. But I can see tips of a few neighbours so hopefully the full clump will appear. I'm disappointed that the snowdrops have been so slow in our garden; I guess they don't like this location? Other snowdrops in neighbourhood gardens were out in full force a week ago.

Check out what's blooming in gardens around the world for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day March 2010. Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for organizing this event!

Hypoestes phyllostachya 'Splash Select White' seeds

Hypoestes phyllostachya, known in English as "polka dot plant" or "freckle face" and in French as plante aux éphélides, is a tender perennial native to Madagascar grown for its attractive foliage, which is dark green densely covered with spots of pink, white, or red.

Usually in polka dot plant is sold as a houseplant in Toronto, however, a neighbour had a very pretty planting under a tree which impressed me last summer.

Plants are the Strangest People reports that polka dot plant is invasive in various warm parts of the world (Australia, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Zimbabwe, and India), so if you live there, please don't plant this in your garden. However it doesn't seem likely to go wild in Toronto. (PATSP also reports that polka dot plants are potentially dangerous to dogs and cats.)

I bought these seeds at Parks, who also sell a pink variety.

Antirrhinum majus 'Montego Pink' seeds

Since snapdragons (mufliers) liked the front garden so much that they volunteered there last year and were still blooming in November, I've decided to plant some deliberately.

This is a dwarf cultivar with pink flowers, you can see it at Stokes, where I purchased my seeds.

Thunbergia alata 'Blushing Susie' seeds

Thunbergia alata (black-eyed Susan vine, suzanne aux yeux noirs, oeil de suzanne) is a perennial vine native to eastern Africa, grown as an annual here in Toronto.

Despite the similarity of the common names, thunbergia should not be confused with our native black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta (rudbeckie dressée). Unlike rudbeckia, thunbergia is not a composite flower; rather it has trumpet-shaped flowers with five petals and an almost black throat. The species has light yellow-orange petals, however cultivars are available in yellow, white, and in the case of 'Blushing Susie', peachy-pink.

I got these seeds from Park Seed.

Veseys claims this plant attracts hummingbirds, however I haven't been able to find any photos of hummingbirds visiting T. alata so I'm a bit sceptical.

Desmodium canadense seeds: sticky little guys!

I bought these seeds for showy tick trefoil (desmodie du Canada) at Seedy Saturday in Scarborough, but another option is to go for a walk through the savannah of High Park in August—you will get a lot of these seeds stuck to your clothing, like ticks (hence the English common name).