Prunus ‘Marion Jarvie’ has a mysterious past. Around 1997, a well known Toronto gardener, Marion Jarvie, obtained a small rooted cutting from Japan. The cutting grew into a fine specimen tree which produced a very unusual flower display. The colour is very bright and the petals are narrow, more like a Magnolia ‘Royal Star’. It became the highlight in Marion’s spring garden.
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium is a member of the mint family. Since mints are extremely invasive and difficult to remove from the garden you might be thinking, I’ll pass on this one. But that would be a mistake. This mint is very well behaved and is an insect/butterfly magnet. It is native to the north-east part of North America, including Ontario.
A great little plant for the shady rock garden or as an under planting for shade gardens. Saxifraga stolonifera creeps along the ground slowly, covering the ground to a height of a couple of cm. It flowers on fairly long stems that reach 30 cm into the air.
A well behaved, unusual sedum that always gets a comment from visitors. Sedum repustre is a common bluish green sedum that spreads quickly, and the variety S. rupestre ‘Angelina’ is a well-known yellowish version that is almost invasive. Sedum rupestre f. cristata looks quite different, and does not spread very quickly. It makes a great rock garden plant and stays small enough to be suitable for a trough.
Tetraneuris herbacea, better known by it’s old name Hymenoxys acaulis, is an unusual Ontario native that is easy to grow and makes a great addition to any rock garden.
This is a clover, but not just any clover. It is the most ornamental of all Clovers and definitely worth adding to your garden. Best of all, your friends will never guess what it is.
Red Feather is easy to grow and does not spread by runners. It has huge, purple-red flower heads that are silver when in bud and are borne on long stems. The plant makes a nice clump and looks good all summer. The flowers are peculiar in that each stem has two flowers, one larger than the other. The large one opens while the smaller one is still developing. Just as the large one is finished flowering, the second one opens. The result is a longer bloom time.
I have grown this plant for 8 years and I would not want to be without it. The gentian speedwell, is a very delicate looking plant that flowers in late spring, putting on a great floral display for about two weeks—which is too short. Even with such a short flowering season it deserves a place in your garden.
The first time I saw Acanthus hungaricus, the Hungarian Bear’s Breeches, in flower I was mesmerized. This is such a spectacular architectural plant that it should be in every garden.
Sanguisorba canadensis is rare in gardens but should be grown more often. It’s a bog plant and this may lead people to think it needs a wet spot to do well, but my plant grows in a normal garden bed that rarely gets watered and I have grown it from seed. It flowers at about 120 cm (4 ft) and this shorter stature may be due to lower moisture levels. It shows no wilting or dry leaf edges due to a lack of water.
Amsonia orientalis is a rare perennial that looks good most of the season and even has good yellow autumn color. It is supper easy to grow in just about any location from sun to part shade, dry to moist and any kind of soil. Its azure blue flowers are attractive without being gaudy.
Primula sieboldii, is a fun little primula with lots of variation in its flowers in both color and petal shape. It blooms after many other primulas and its flowers last for more than 4 weeks. It is a great addition to any shade garden.
Clematis heracleifolia is an unusual clematis. It doesn’t vine and it’s semi-woody even though it is treated as a perennial. It also flowers late summer or early fall when most clematis are done for the season. If you see it in the garden for the first time you won’t believe it’s a clematis.