If you love seeing wildlife, the white spruce provides nesting sites and shelter as well as food for many kinds of wildlife. Birds and ducks prefer the seeds. Leaves are eaten by rabbits and deer. Red squirrels eat the seeds from the pinecones, and the spruce shoots. The bark is enjoyed by both porcupines and…
Eastern Redbud is an easy-going ornamental that can be grown as a shrub or as a small tree. Plant this one in full sun to partial shade for a stunning display of spring colour and for the emergence of heart-shaped leaves. Its natural habitat includes woodlands, thickets, and rocky streams. Eastern Redbud is not an…
The Christmas Fern got its name because it flowers in winter and stays green throughout the holidays. The fronds of this plant are up to 3 feet long and 4 inches wide, and the fronds have dark green leaves. When other plants are dormant, this plant adds color and interest to the garden. Growing Christmas…
Wood Betony is a valuable and attractive native flower that is an indicator of pristine prairies. Its roots attach to the roots of nearby plants and uptake nutrients. Therefore, wood betony parasitizes other plants, using them as a water and nutrient source. This parasitism helps reduce the vigor of the tall prairie plants. Flowers are…
Baptisia australis is beautiful and a sure bet to be introduced into your garden. Slow to develop, it is not uncommon to wait 2 years before the first flower. It adapts to all soils. Flowers are great for cutting. Baptisia hybrids can have exceptionally beautiful colours. Baptisia lives up to its name as a perennial…
Hepaticas are among the first flowers to bloom in the spring. The flowers close at night and on cloudy days when pollinators are not likely to be flying. They are delicately attractive and have a tendency to blow about on their slender stems in the wind. Heptica leaves are known as basal leaves, which means…
The Sugar Maple can live for more than 200 years. Its colours peak in the fall, when the leaves turn bright yellow, orange and red. The sugar maple is the national tree of Canada. Sap is extracted to produce maple syrup. Its natural habitat: Rich woods, rocky hillsides.. Caring for Sugar Maple Flowers appear at…
False sunflowers bloom throughout summer in the perennial border or cutting garden. It also works well in a native plant or wild garden, as well as in a naturalized planting or prairie environment. The false sunflower attracts birds, bees, and hummingbirds and is resistant to deer. They are simple to cultivate, drought-resistant, and resilient. It’s…
Common Sneezeweed looks gorgeous when planted en masse and mixes wonderfully with decorative grasses or other perennial plants. It has daisy-like blooms that often attract bees and butterflies. Their blooms have characteristic wedge-shaped, brilliant yellow rays and conspicuous, dome-like, yellow centre discs. The three-lobed petals of all sneezeweeds differentiate them from Rudbeckia and other yellow…
Named monkeyflower after the apparent resemblance the blooms have to a monkey’s face, the Square-Stemmed Monkeyflower bears asymmetrical, tubular violet or pink flowers which bloom nearly continuously over a long season from early summer to fall. The flowers contrast nicely with the bright green leaves; both the foliage and the flowers of this plant are…
Cosmos plants are highly resilient, blooming lavishly from early or midsummer to fall, depending on variety, and have beautiful cut leaves, spectacular blooms, and a lengthy blooming season. They are often used in pollinator gardens to attract birds, bees, and butterflies. Cosmos are freely flowering annual plants in the asteraceae or sunflower family. They are…
Although the milky sap is poisonous to humans, poke milkweed is an important nectar source for native bees, wasps, and other nectar-seeking insects. Unfortunately, non-native honey bees commonly get trapped in the stigmatic slits and die. Milkweeds are also the larval food source for monarch butterflies and their relatives, as well as a variety of…
Alternate leaf dogwood has, as one would expect, alternate leaves, which turn to maroon foliage in the fall. When it is not competing with nearby trees or buildings, its branches will tier or layer horizontally, giving the appearance of a layered tierred pagoda with upturned branches. It has a fibrous, spreading root system and prefers…
Native to eastern North America, the American beech will stand out in any forest. It is a large deciduous tree, sometimes growing up to 120 feet tall . Its crown is typically dense, upright-oval to rounded-spreading. It blooms yellowish green flowers in the spring, the male flowers in drooping, long-stemmed, globular clusters and the female…
At least 50 species of songbirds, upland game birds, and small mammals relish the fruit of American elder during summer and early fall. American Elder is fast-growing shrub is known for its large clusters of yellowish-white, star-shaped flowers. Grown as a border, it provides an incredible summer floral display. The dark purple elderberries are used…
It is widely used as a Christmas tree and for wreaths. It smells great! It’s a good specimen fir for the landscape, and as an ornamental yard tree. However, it should not be planted in a Zone number higher than Zone 5. The pungent resin yields Canada balsam, used in the manufacture of varnish as…
Basswood is an adaptable native tree with aromatic flowers and pleasant foliage. Its flowers attract a large number of insect pollinators. Basswood honey is delicious. Basswood can serve as a statuesque street tree. It is a medium to large deciduous tree which typically grows to 50-80’ (infrequently to over 100’) tall with an ovate-rounded crown….
The Downy Serviceberry provides food for over 40 species of birds. The berries can be used to make jams or pies and taste almost like the berries from the Highbush Blueberry. It prefers acidic, moist, well-drained soils, but is adaptable to many soil conditions. In nature, it grows in open fields, fencerows, edges of woods,…
The Ironwood makes a great backyard tree as it is resistant to many diseases and insect problems. It tends to blend in with other trees and is commonly labelled as inconspicuous. Low to moderate pollution tolerance. Ironwood has the hardest wood of any native tree species, and is therefore not generally used for lumber. It…
A red Osier dogwood plant with its red stems and without leaves.
The red maple bears brilliantly coloured foliage and nutrition for many types of animals. It is also commonly used to make furniture and flooring. Features Contains a seed called Samara (most people know them as helicopters or whirlybirds), which are eaten by squirrels and chimpmunks. The red maple has the smallest samara’s of any maple…
The northern red oak is one of the most important trees for timber development in North America. Its wood has been used to make railroad ties, fenceposts, veneer, furniture, cabinets, paneling, flooring and caskets. It also makes excellent firewood. Northern red oak hybridizes with many oaks including scarlet oak, shingle oak, swamp oak and more….
The silver maple is very similar to the red maple. The difference is that its leaves turn yellow or brown, not red, in autumn. Sometimes, the trunks are hollow which creates space for wildlife to live in. Caring for Silver Maple Plant at least 10 feet from sidewalks, driveways and foundation as the roots spread…
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