My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[Kristl Walek]

Opuntia humifusa, the Eastern Prickly Pear, is blooming right now in the garden. It is part of the second and final wave of Opuntia bloom.

It is normally free of spines, except for the top section of the pads, but is however armed with irritating glochids on the seemingly naked lower parts of the pads. Flowers are normally pure yellow, or with a red interior.

Listed as an endangered species--its only Canadian occurrence is in southwestern Ontario at Point Pelee National Park (about an 8 hour drive south for me). 

I visited the Opuntia site last August, after bloom time, and show you a few rather poor-quality photos. The plants are growing on sand spits that jut out into Lake Erie, with fairly heavy competition from shrubby vegetation (Juniperus communis, Fraxinus spp, and Rhus aromatica).

The plants obviously bloomed well, as one can see from the formed seed pods.

It always gives me pause considering why the only eastern species in this large genus does considerably poorer in my eastern garden than all the western Opuntia.

[Anthony Darby]

Kristl (there, spelled it correctly this time) I just can't get my head round the fact that you have Opuntia growing in a habitat that includes Alder and other shrubby vegetation.

[Kristl Walek]

The pace of my work and seed collecting has accelerated significantly and my trips to the wild do not leave as much time for pictures as in the past.

I travelled to one of my favorite "wet sites" this week to check the status of flowering and seed of aquatics and marginals as well as plants that like moist woods, near the wet sites.

Pontederia cordata (Pickerelweed) is a beautiful aquatic typically growing in shallow, quiet water in marshes, edges of ponds, lakes, and streams.

Asclepias incarnata was very happy along the margins of this wet area, along with Sambucus canadensis, the tiny Lobelia kalmii and Scutellaria galericulata. The Asclepias will grow quite happily in ordinary garden conditions.

At the edge of the moist woods and filling the ditches were drifts of Thalictrum pubescens, our showiest species here. It can get very tall, to 150cm, and the plumes of yellow-tipped, white blooms are quite large.

For a long time I had heard about a rare, purple variant of this species, although I had never seen anything matching that description, until 3 years ago, when I found plants of it in the wet areas near a bog--to date I have not seen it in any other location.

The use of the language "purple variant" is confusing--the unusual form still displays the white and yellow starbursts of the species in full bloom -but female plants exhibit, from an early stage of bloom, an underlying heart of pinkish-purple glowing through the white. The two-tone effect is very beautiful. As the flowers disappear, the purple remains and intensifies until seed ripening. I have informally named it "Purple Haze."

Lastly, I cannot forget the beautiful Pyrola asarifolia.

[Kristl Walek]

The moist woods adjacent to the water is my favorite fern site---this particular forest is home to over 520 plant species and almost 30 species of ferns. I am always in awe here amidst all this richness of flora. Just a few pictures of these today.

Dryopteris cristata.
Botrychium virginianum---the largest species of this interesting group of plants, and its separate fertile frond.
Polystichum acrotichoides.
Adiantum pedatum.

And, unmistakeable due to its distinctive and easily observed drooping pair of lower leaflets, the elegant Phegopteris connectilis.

[Kristl Walek]

A number of our native Lysimachia are now also flowering in these moist areas--

Lysimachia terrestris, with the poetic common name of "Swamp Candles" is a delicate species to 60cm with spikes of yellow and red star-like flowers. It grows in moist to wet areas.

L. ciliata has graceful, nodding yellow flowers and will do fine in the moisture retentive woodland garden.

[Kristl Walek]

Some of the woody species I observed in my wanderings this week:

Rhus thyphina is still flowering in some areas, but has already developed its full dark maroon colour in other spots.

Striped Maple, Acer pensylvanicum, is one of our two small, native understory Acers and belongs to the snakebark maple group. It's highly decorative bark is shown here in both youth and maturity. Leaves are very large.

Acer spicatum (Mountain Maple) can grow shrubby, or as a small tree. The small seeds turn a beautiful shade of pink, and ripen early.

The ripe berries of Taxus canadensis were collected yesterday.

Spiraea tomentosa and Tsuga canadensis.

Rubus odoratus is a suckering but very ornamental raspberry with no prickles. The good-sized fragrant flowers bloom over a long period and it has large, maple-like leaves. The berries are too dry for my taste.

[art600]

Kristl

Thank you for finding time to post some more beautiful and unusual plants.  Now it can rain all day (and probably will) and I won't care.

[Anthony Darby]

Kristl, Asclepias incarnata looks stunning. I'm looking for some hardy species, and this fits the bill. Time to look at www.gardensnorth.com again.

[Paul T]

Kristl,

Some stunning plants in there.  Of particular note that Thalictrum variant (absolutely WOW!!), the Asclepias incarnata, those ferns, and that lovely Rubus flower.  All beautiful, the Thalictrum and Asclepias especially, especially. 

[Kristl Walek]

And in another rich forest, where I had gone to check on the ripeness of Trillium grandiflorum, I was met with mushrooms in great profusion---a first in all these years. It must have been all of those right moisture conditions this year.

[Kristl Walek]

The Trillium seed were about a week off (pods not yet soft, seeds firm, but not yet dark enough), and many other seeds developing well and some, pickable today.

[Kristl Walek]

On the way to my last stop of the day, I stopped to photograph some of the plants romping around in full sun on the roadsides. Eastern North America is not strong on the "sunny meadow type species" but still, a small, but pretty picture is painted at some times of the year.

The very common Rudbeckia hirta, Verbena hastata in early emergence, the beautiful Desmodium canadense, which I have shown earlier in my garden, still going strong. At their feet, mats of Antennaria plantaginea, long finished flowering.

[Kristl Walek]

And I've saved the best for last...and kick myself that I was unable to get a proper picture of the first.

The rare Dalibarda repens is a member of the Rosaceae and the only member of the genus.  It is a small creeping plant with small tufts of dark-green rotund to heart-shaped leaves and pretty white flowers with prominent stamens. It is beyond me to understand why this plant would produce showy STERILE flowers as well as cleistogamous flowers.

Another rarely encountered plant is this elegant member of the Pyrolacea, Chimaphila umbellata.
I will leave the pictures to say the rest.

[WimB]

Kristl,

as always very nice pictures of amazing plants. I especially like those last two. I'm always looking forward to your new posts in this topic.

[Paul T]

Great pics Kristl.  Those berries are cool, particularly the blue of that Clintonia.  The Chimaphila umbellata looks wonderful.  Would love to have seen that in closeup in person.  Very cute, as is the Dalibarda.