Canada has so many gorgeous native plants. Their colours and textures can be easily seen, such as sunflowers, columbines and coneflowers. There are others, though, whose beauty and fascinating design is only seen with a closer look. Here are some spring favourites:
Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) shrubs have such delicate pretty leaves with flowers to match. But their blooms are only truly appreciated when you go in for a closer look, both sideways and underneath.
Miterworts (Mitella diphylla) could be easily overlooked with their snowy spray of white flowers. But like snow, a closer look reveals intricate patterning that forms these delicate blooms. You might even get to see an equally tiny pollinator busy at work, like in the middle photo above!
Another plant with hidden beauty are Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum). Their leaves are large and showy (seen in the foreground of the photo on the left) but if you slow down and look carefully, you will see white flowers hanging down just below. There are 3 in the middle photo, with one partially cut off…can you find them? (And if you are wondering, their leaves are covered in petals from our choke cherry tree that have recently fallen). But the photo on the right shows off their full glory, only seen from looking underneath.
Another neat Canadian native is wild ginger (Asarum canadense). Its leaves form dense clumps that, for a time, have reddish flowers that are only seen along the ground. Not necessarily the prettiest flower to most, it is nevertheless a remarkable one, designed to attract beetles for its pollination.
Keep your eye out on your next stroll through your garden, park or nature trail to see what new things you can discover!
[PHOTOS : CWF]
Sarah Coulber
Sarah is an Education Specialist at the Canadian Wildlife Federation. She writes about the benefits and ‘how-to’s’ of wildlife-friendly gardening, coordinates content for the Gardening for Wildlife web section, co-manages the wildlife-friendly demonstration gardens at CWF headquarters and assists Canadians looking to achieve similar results with their own properties.
2 comments
Thank you for confirming the wild flower growing in my yard is in fact the Mayapple. I love the Wildlife Federation site. I check it out for new information every day. My yard is like a wildlife sanctuary and I see all kinds of birds and insects enjoying it.
Keep posting the great pictures and information.
Thanks.
I’m so glad it helped, Patti! Your garden sounds like the perfect place to enjoy summer…and your wild neighbours 🙂