Before Humber Nursery closed for good in the fall of 2019, they had three short benches dedicated to native plants hidden in a back corner. Unless you went out of your way to search for natives, or somehow managed to wander inadvertently into this section, this modest collection might easily escape your notice.
I've long been a fan of native plants. Every spring I'd make a foray into this less-travelled part of Humber's perennial greenhouse. One of the purchases I made was this little charmer.
Fast forward to the present when I wanted to do a post on this delicate little plant. Darned if I could find the plant tag or remember its Latin name! Down a rabbit hole of research I fell! Turns out there are a number of similar-looking Anemones. I knew for a fact that it wasn't Anemone canadensis (a very aggressive plant that I also grow in my garden). I was also certain it wasn't Anemone Nemorosa (which is native to Europe and has pointed leaves). Maddeningly enough, the flower looks a lot like another native, Anemone Quinquefolia, but if you look closer, the leaves aren't as deeply lobed (compare Anemones here). Frustrated, I began to look back through my own blog posts and there I finally found it: Rue Anemone, Anemonella thalictroides.
Anemonella thalictroidesis native to the eastern part of North America. It's a spring "ephemeral" which is a plant that awakes, leafs-out, blooms and sets seed all before the heat of summer begins to settle in. Then they go dormant until the following spring.
Rue anemone has tiny white flowers and bright-green leaves. Like so many spring ephemerals, this plant likes the dappled shade of deciduous trees and rich, loamy soil that is slightly moist.Anemonella thalictroides bloom for a period of about six weeks and then goes dormant, especially if the areas where it is planted is hot and dry.
Anemonella thalictroides first emerging at the end of April.
If I haven't convinced you it's worth growing, here's a list of some of its best attributes:
• It thrives where many others struggle (under trees in part-shade/shade).
• While it prefers moist soil in spring, it will tolerate dry conditions when dormant in the summer.
• When the foliage first emerges, the leaves are pinkish-lavender. They age to greenish-tan and finally become bright green.
• When fully open, the foliage is delicate and fern-like.
• Unopened flower buds look like tiny pearls. The blooms are pale pink on opening and fade to white.
• The flowers are an early source of nectar and pollen for bees and other insects.
Top row left to right: Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Gold Heart') , Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) and Brunnera macrophylla variegata
Bottom row left to right: Daffodils, Pulmonaria and Merry Bells (Uvularia grandiflora)
Companions
This native is perfectly at home with other woodland plants such as ferns. Other natives you might pair it with are; Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum,Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria, Shooting Star, Dodecatheon pulchellum and Trilliums. You might also consider using daffodils, Bleeding Heart, Brunnera and Pulmonaria with this Anemone.
Plant type: Herbaceous perennial
Height: 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) Spread: 7-15 cm ( 3-6 inches)
Flower: Tiny white flowers
Bloom period: Early spring Leaf: Three-lobed green leaves (that resemble Meadow Rue, Thalictrum) Light: Part to full shade
Every year around this time I review the posts from the previous year to assist me in mapping out an editorial calendar going forward. It's an exercise that helps me to know what was of interest to readers and what fell flat.
For you, the reader, this is a chance to catch up on any popular posts you might have missed. So without further ado, your favourite garden in 2019 was (drumroll please)...
Cynthia McAlindon'sShade Garden in Oakville Ontario. It's a backyard garden with a quiet, yet pleasing palette that shows just what can be accomplished with a modest-sized backyard that has part-to-full shade conditions.
Coming in second was a formal garden that also had a soft, restrained use of color. Here the design of the garden offered readers pleasing vignettes and an abundance of ideas.
There was a tie for third place. The small town garden filled with Hollyhocks very narrowly edged out a Small Courtyard Garden. Ironically one of the two third-place winners was a country garden and the other was a garden in Canada's largest city.
Hollyhocks were the star in the first of the two properties:
The city garden was a space designed for relaxing and entertaining with the garden as a backdrop. The main features of this garden were a large flagstone patio with lots of seating and a small shed complete with a bar.
The low-maintenance plantings flanked either side of a charcoal-coloured fence. My favourite feature was the moss dog peeking into the small waterfall and pond.
In what I will refer to as the "how-to" category, the most popular post was My Weed Management Strategies. Though my garden is by no means weed-free, over the years I have discovered ways to keep weeds down to a dull roar.
The other post with good readership was the first of a two-part series on moving and dividing perennials. I'm always worried when I decide to write about such dry topics, but readers don't seem to mind the useful information.
One of my regrets about last year's blog posts was the limited number of plant profiles I did. This post onSiberian Irisesand flowers that provide Mid-Summer Coloractually were well-received, so hopefully, I can make up for that oversight in 2020.
Finally, the subject of new introductions from Proven Winners has been a reader favourite for a couple of years. I can understand the appeal of these blog posts–new plants promise improved performance and features like larger flowers or smaller overall size. It's a subject I'll repeat again in 2020, but I think I will try to balance what's "new" with information on plants that are tried and true.
Now I'll move along to trends for the coming year and beyond. I'll touch briefly the background for each trend first and then tell you a bit more about the trend itself. In a couple of cases, my examples may introduce you to a few Instagram accounts or YouTube channels you might like to follow.
Private garden in Oakville Ontario.
Trend # 1 Smaller Gardens
In Canada, Baby Boomers account for 27% of the population. Of that number, 16% are already over the age of 65. In ten years, that statistic will jump to 20% (no doubt, there are similar numbers available for the States).
One might suspect that retiring Boomers would have more time to devote to pastimes like gardening. While that may be true, ageing gardeners seem to be all too aware that gardening is hard physical work. What I seem to be witnessing is increasing numbers of Baby Boomers trading in larger properties for smaller homes/gardens with less maintenance.
There is a second aspect to this trend. In Canada, statistics suggest that the median lot size for a new single-family detached home has dropped in size. This means homeowners are working with smaller yards/gardens.
Smaller Gardens Equal Smaller Plants
Modest yards mean that gardeners are looking for small-scale shrubs. Growers have responded with new dwarf versions of classic favourites. This trend to producing smaller plants is something that has been around for a few years now and will continue into the near future. We can also expect to see a preference for breeding plants that are less demanding and relatively low-maintenance.
'BoBo' is one of my favourite dwarf hydrangeas.
Among my favourite shrubs are a number of dwarf hydrangeas. Here 'Bobo' is illuminated by the sun and 'Little Lime' is the rose-colored hydrangea just behind it.
The flower-filled veggie garden.
Trend # 2 Moving away from Traditional Vegetable Gardens
While Baby Boomers have always grown a variety of flowers and vegetables, younger generations seem to be much more focused on growing edibles. Homegrown fruit and veggies have a practical appeal. You know how and where they were produced when you grow them yourself. Growing your own food also saves money.
Here are two twists on the traditional veggie patch I've noted.
Unusual Edibles
Heirloom varieties of fruit and vegetables have been popular for a number of years, but adventuresome gardeners are now experimenting with growing global types of produce. Spearheading this movement is Canadian garden writer Niki Jabbour. Recently her bookVeggie Garden Remix won a prestigious award from the American Horticultural Society.
The Vegetable Garden that looks like a Flower Garden
Companion planting is nothing new, but take a look at these two pictures of Niki Jabbour'svegetable garden in Nova Scotia (here and here). Is this a vegetable garden or a flower garden? There are sunflowers, nasturtiums, flowering borage, zinnias and the long trailing panicles of Love-Lies-Bleeding. The flowers are there to attract pollinators and deter pests, but they also transform something practical into something beautiful.
Here's another example– this time in Maine. On Alison's Instagram account namedFinch and Folly there is again a wild mix of flowers and edibles (here and here). Every winter she draws up the prettiest watercolor plans for her summer garden.
Behind this explosion of flowers in the traditional vegetable patch is a deep concern for the decline of pollinators. In particular, climate change, parasites, pathogens and pesticides used in agriculture have all had a detrimental impact on numbers of honeybees, bumblebees and wild bee species.
Gardening immerses you in the natural world, so it's no surprise that gardeners care deeply about environmental issues like this. Creating flower-rich habitats, even in a vegetable garden, is a trend that is likely to continue.
One of the many YouTubers who post regular videos on houseplants.
Trend# 3 The Growing Popularity of Houseplants
The high cost of real estate has kept Millennials indoors where they "garden" with houseplants. This generation loves to search the internet for rare and exotic specimens to add to collections. Botanical names aren't geeky. Instead, they add to a plant's prestige.
Decorating with houseplants has become hugely fashionable in the last few years. What makes this trend new and fresh is the large scale and the number of houseplants. When you squeeze 500 plants into a small apartment as Nick Pileggi as done (see above), your indoor space intentionally becomes a jungle.
Another YouTuber who has become very popular is Amanda of Planterina. Amanda's a bit wacky, but viewers like her all the more for it.
Using houseplants to create an outdoor jungle.
Taking Houseplants Outdoors
Moving houseplants outdoors for a summer vacation is nothing new. What I think is trendy is the scale and number of the houseplants being moved outside.
If you have a moment, watch the video tour of Amanda's summer porch. It's an original take on gardening outdoors using houseplants. Amanda literally brings a garden right up to her back door.
Trend #4 An increased interest in Native Plants
Pollinators have given gardeners a whole new reason to take an interest in native plants. To attract bees and butterflies common to your state or province you need to plant specific types of plants.
Butterflies and bees prefer certain flowers as sources of nectar. Butterflies also lay eggs on specific "host" plants. Last summer I noticed more butterflies in my garden. What made the difference? I have incorporated more native plants.
Trend #5 The Garden as a Bird and Wildlife-friendly Space
As the CBC reports in this article, North America has lost 3 billion birds since 1970. That's a staggering number!
These weren't rare or endangered species, but rather familiar backyard birds like sparrows, juncos, starlings and warblers. This loss has ripple effects in local ecosystems as well. Birds perform vital roles in managing pests, pollinating flowers and spreading seeds.
The Beauty bush where two Catbirds made their nest last summer.
Do you see the nest hidden in the branches?
Some bright blue plastic adorns the otherwise neutral nest. There are three babies crowded into the nest (though only two are visible).
The shy, grey-colored Catbird loves to mimic the sounds made by other animals. The cry it typically makes sounds a little like that of a domestic cat–hence the name.
What has caused the decline? The answer is not simple. A number of issues such as loss of habitat, urban sprawl, the fragmentation of forests, pesticide use and even the carnage caused by domestic cats.
Already there is an army of volunteers who participate in annual backyard bird counts, but is there any further role we gardeners might play? I think this decline in bird populations is something that is going to garnish more and more attention in the coming years.
A nest in a garden I visited in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
2020–the start of a brand new decade! Despite some problems, I have a good feeling about what the next ten years will bring our way.
If you are looking to add some early spring color under deciduous trees or shrubs, Erythronium are a terrific option.
Erythronium are woodland perennials that emerge early in April to take advantage of the sunshine before the trees overhead leaf-out. Within a short period of time they awake, bloom and store energy for the following year. Then Erythroniums slip quietly back into dormancy.
Though I have titled this post "Unusual Spring Bulbs" Erythronium aren't technically bulbs, they're corms. Very much like a bulb, a corm stores water and nutrients for a dormant plant. Erythronium
are planted at the same time as other spring bulbs, so they all tend to get lumped in together by many bulb suppliers and nurseries.
There are almost thirty different species of Erythronium most of which are native to North America. Erythronium Americanum (shown above) is a tiny wildflower native to the eastern half of Canada and U.S.
Erythronium Americanum will often form large colonies of plants at different stages of development. Plants with a single leaf are young and will be flowerless until they mature. Trout Lilies that have two basal leaves will produce a nodding yellow flower on a bare reddish-brown scape.
A detailed look at the unusual foliage. You can just see the flower buds starting to emerge.
Each of the common names for Erythronium has a little something to tell you about the plant:
Dog-tooth Violet–it's a bit of a stretch, but the corms do somewhat resemble a dog's tooth. The corms are about an inch in length and are beige in color.
Fawn Lily–the leaves have the pointed shape of a young fawn's ears.
Adder's Tongue–the closed flower resembles the head of a snake.
Trout Lily–the brown mottling on the foliage looks a bit like the scales on a fish.
Erythronium 'Pagoda'
One of the Erythronium most commonly available is a hybrid named 'Pagoda'. It's a robust plant with large yellow flowers.
Plants with white and pink blooms are a little harder to find (in Canada at any rate). They are also a bit pricier than the common yellow 'Pagoda'. Pink and white Erythroniums are beautiful plants, so it is well worth a search to find an online supplier.
Planting Erythronium
Erythronium likes moist, slightly acidic soil with lots of organic matter. You can grow them from seed, but you're in for a long wait. It can take as many as five years for a plant to mature enough to flower. It's much better to start with corms.
Erythronium is easily grown in part-shade at the feet of trees or shrubs. These are tiny flowers that grow no more than 4-6 inches tall, so I'd recommend planting them in groups of six or more.
Plant the thumb-sized corms in the fall along with other spring bulbs. Place them 2-3 inches deep and 4-5 inches apart.
Plant Type: Perennial
Height: 4-6 inches (10-15 cm)
Spread: 3-4 inches (7-10 cm) Flower Color: White, Yellow, Pink Bloom period: April/May Leaf: Green leaves mottled with brown Light: Part-shade to full shade
Over the last few years, I have come to love the delicate flowers of my yellow Erythronium. Spring is off to a wonderful start when they begin to flower.
This plant is one of my all-time favourites. It's tall and elegantly green for most of the summer. Then, come mid-August– just as you're feeling desperate for a little color– the soft lavender flowers begin to open.
Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa is North American native that can be found in fields and along roadsides. It's a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), but don't worry, it's a clump-forming perennial. It does spread slowly by underground rhizomes, but the plant's roots are near to the surface of the soil and are easy to remove where unwanted.
Give this plant full sun with a little afternoon shade in southern garden zones. You'll find it's not a fussy plant and is quite happy in average garden soil. It will even tolerate quite poor soil and dry conditions.
Monarda fistulosais a skyscraper that can reach up to 5 feet.Unlike modern hybrids, Monarda fistulosa is more prone to outbreaks of powdery mildew, but I have yet to have a problem (Perhaps this is because my garden is quite dry in the summer. If your garden gets lots of rain, you may have more of an issue with powdery mildew).
There is always the hum of bees around this perennial. Butterflies love it too.
My front garden.
Phlox paniculata 'Eva Cullum and Phlox paniculata 'David's Lavender' (above) can be
seen in the background of the previous picture.
Looking along the driveway.
The leaves and flowers of this plant are edible and can be used in both salads and cooked dishes. The dried leaves and flowers can also be used to make an aromatic tea.
Plant type: Perennial
Height: 2-5 ft
Spread: 3-4 ft Flower: Lavender Bloom period: Late-summer into early fall Leaf: Toothed, aromatic blue-green leaves Light: Full sun to light shade
Plant type: Herbaceous perennial
