Garden List 2014 Update: June 14

Quite a few to add to the list this time! I decided to try my hand at identifying some mosses and grasses...and while not completely unpleasant, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever done. I wouldn't go out of my way to spend weeks on end doing it, but if I find something else that's grassy or mossy that needs an ID, I just might do it. Expanding my skills! Lots of native species added to the list this week, which is always nice :)

The legend:
- Plants in bold text are new to this iteration of the Garden List (numbered from the bottom up so new plants will always be at the top)
- Plants in green text are species native to northeastern North America (specifically, southwestern Ontario)
- Plants with an asterisk (*) beside their name are invasive in this area (again, specifically southwestern Ontario)
- Any plants that I've already blogged about have links included

Jen's Garden List 2014: 
61. Weak arctic sedge (Carex supina)
60. Least hop clover (Trifolium dubium)*
59. Garden weigela, wine and roses weigela, old fashioned weigela, or any number of other common name used for this species (Weigela florida 'Alexandra'): read all about the "catnip shrub" HERE.
58. Little gem cotoneaster (Cotoneaster adpressus)
57. Purple creeping woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata var. atropurpurea)*
56. Littleleaf lilac (Syringa pubescens subsp. microphylla, formerly Syringa microphylla)*: read all about the littleleaf lilac HERE.
55. Common or Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus)*
54. Red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea): read all about the red osier dogwood HERE.
53. Blue dogbane (Amsonia tabernaemontana): read all about dogbane HERE.
52. Hemlock waxcap (Hygrocybe/Hygrophorus sp.; a fungus without a published name [yet] that I discovered in my back yard growing under, you guessed it, hemlock trees)
51. Spring psathyrella (Psathyrella pseudovernalis; a fungus)
50. A fungus without a common name... (Hygrophorus camarophyllus; a fungus)
49. Rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis)
48. Canada bluegrass (Poa compressa)
47. Alpine pogonatum moss (Pogonatum alpinum)
46. Contorted hairy cap moss (Pogonatum contortum)
45. Cluster crumblecap (Psathyrella hydrophila; a fungus)
44. Annual blue grass (Poa annua)*
43. Mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum)*
42. Thyme-leaved speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia)
41. Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis)*: read all about lily-of-the-valley HERE and HERE.
40. Great Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum biflorum or sometimes called Polygonatum commutatum or even Polygonatum giganteum): read all about great Solomon's-seal HERE.
39. Bugle (Ajuga reptans)*
38. Red oak (Quercus rubra): read all about the red oak HERE.
37. Common or umbrella liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha)*: read all about the umbrella liverwort HERE.
36. Sweet woodruff or sweetscented bedstraw (Galium odoratum)*: read all about sweet woodruff, aka master of the woods, HERE.
35. Woodland Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema atrorubens or sometimes called Arisaema triphyllum): read all about Jack-in-the-pulpits HERE.
34. Freckled violet (Viola sororia 'Freckles')*
33. Purple plum (Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud')
32. Fivestamen chickweed (Cerastium semidecandrum)*
31. Terrestrial water-starwort (Callitriche terrestris)
30. Yellow alyssum (Aurinia saxatilis or its other name Alyssum saxatilae)
29. Yellow rocket or winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris)*
28. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)*: read all about garlic mustard HERE.
27. Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis): read all about lungworts HERE.
26. Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)*: read all about dandelions HERE and HERE.
25. Fortune's spindle (Euonymus fortunei)*
24. Violet lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor 'La Grave')*
23. Northern blue violet (Viola septentrionalis)
22. Creeping wood-sorrel (Oxalis corniculata)*
21. Bleeding hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis): read all about bleeding hearts HERE.
20. Field pansy (Viola kitaibeliana)
19. Moss phlox (Phlox subulata): read all about moss phlox HERE and HERE.
18. Mountain rock cress (Arabis alpina subsp. caucasica)*
17. Norway spruce (Picea abies)*: read all about the Norway spruce HERE and HERE.
16. Tulips, at least 2 different unknown varieties (Tulipa sp.): read all about tulips HERE.
15. Hyacinths, at least 3 different unknown varieties (Hyacinthus orientalis): read all about hyacinths HERE.
14. Daffodils, 2 different unknown varieties (Narcissus sp.): read all about daffodils HERE in my blog post about plants of the Chinese New Year.
13. Judas ear (Auricula americana; a fungus)
12. Common violet (Viola papiliomacea or Viola sororia)*
11. English violet (Viola odorata)*
10. Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)*
9. Eastern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis): read all about the Eastern white-cedar HERE.
8. Corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis)*
7. Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
6. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis): read all about the Eastern hemlock HERE.
5. Siberian or wood squill (Scilla siberica)*
4. Variegated lesser or dwarf periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Agenteovariegata')*
3. Purple lesser or dwarf periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea')*
2. Bigleaf periwinkle, greater periwinkle (Vinca major)*
1. Hoary/hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)*

BLOG RERUN: Is Weigela the new catnip?

(this post was originally published May 19, 2012)

Species name: Weigela florida 'Alexandra'

Common name: Old Fashioned Weigela, Wine and Roses Weigela

Location: My back yard, London, Ontario

This plant is native to Japan, and while not incredibly common it's not uncommon in its native habitat. During the winter this shrub is rather boring and...shrubby. The flowers usually appear first in April/May, with the leaves appearing relatively quickly after; green in the middle and maroon around the edges. The more the plant is pruned, the more it flowers the next year so the suggestion by gardening experts is to prune branches with flowers immediately after flowering ceases (so you know which branches had the flowers!).

No one has been able to explain to me why my cat is so very clearly attracted to these plants like a fish to water. I would even argue that if we had catnip planted in the back yard she would ignore it in favour of shoving her face into these flowers. She gets defiant when you try to pull her away from them, too, so there's obviously something pretty potent in the flowers that she smells that I don't. The flowers aren't overly scented, at least not by human standards. These shrubs are cultivated for their showy flowers and ornamental leaves, not flower smell.

Other than the obvious ornamental value this plant has, it has no other economic or medicinal value. To my knowledge, this plant isn't used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (many of the species in the genus Weigela are native to China) or by the ancient Japanese people as medicine or food.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

So why choose to do a rerun of this blog post? Well, last Tuesday I said my last goodbyes to my kitty as I left the house in the morning. She had been sick only for less than a week, but she was too sick for it to be fair to attempt to keep her alive. My family and I will miss her every day; she really was the "little sister" of the family.

We'll miss you, Storm

"We go outside now?"

Is Weigela the new catnip?

Species name: Weigela florida 'Alexandra'

Common name: Old Fashioned Weigela, Wine and Roses Weigela

Location: Ontario

This plant is native to Japan, and while not incredibly common it's not uncommon in its native habitat. During the winter this shrub is rather boring and...shrubby. The flowers usually appear first in April/May, with the leaves appearing relatively quickly after; green in the middle and maroon around the edges. The more the plant is pruned, the more it flowers the next year so the suggestion by gardening experts is to prune branches with flowers immediately after flowering ceases (so you know which branches had the flowers!).

No one has been able to explain to me why my cat is so very clearly attracted to these plants like a fish to water. I would even argue that if we had catnip planted in the back yard she would ignore it in favour of shoving her face into these flowers. She gets defiant when you try to pull her away from them, too, so there's obviously something pretty potent in the flowers that she smells that I don't. The flowers aren't overly scented, at least not by human standards. These shrubs are cultivated for their showy flowers and ornamental leaves, not flower smell.

Other than the obvious ornamental value this plant has, it has no other economic or medicinal value. To my knowledge, this plant isn't used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (many of the species in the genus Weigela are native to China) or by the ancient Japanese people as medicine or food.