My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[Lvandelft]

Kristl, is Maianthemum stellatum the same as what I know as Smilacina stellatum?
I know of long ago, that imported Smilacina racemosa were actually this plant.

[Kristl Walek]

Gerd....the species of Maianthemum native to this area (M. racemosum, M. stellatum, M. trifoliatum and M. canadense) have traditionally been in the genus Smilacena, which may account for the the fact that you are more familiar with the heart-shaped species, such as M. bifolium.

M. trifoliatum has somewhat heart-shaped foliage and the tiny M. canadense, photographed today, will probably look very familiar to you.

[Kristl Walek]

Luit, Yes, as you will see in my note to Gerd, the local Maianthemums were once in the genus Smilacena. Maianthemum racemosum is of course the showiest (and largest) species and should not be easy to mix up with the vigorously spreading M. stellatum.

[Paddy Tobin]

Kristi,

Does this Maianthemum stellatum spread about much in the garden? I have a small patch, say four feet X four feet but don't want it to go too much further as it would begin to encroach on more choice plants. Despite this misgiving, I find it a lovely gentle type of plant and very pleasant as an underplanting for shrubs in the shade.

Paddy

[Kristl Walek]

Paddy, Yes. That is why I posted the second picture above and keep noting "vigorously spreading".

Podophyllum peltatum, which many would not plant in their gardens because of its vigour is more than welcome here, and well-behaved compared to M. stellatum. When happy, even in tough competitive woodland condtions, it can carpet miles and miles and miles. I keep it in the far reaches of my 8 acres, where it can do battle with the other wild and wooly spreading natives.

[Kristl Walek]

In the artificially-created fen, these local denizens of bog, fen and moist places have a fighting chance here on my dryish, alkaline soil. Bloom begins with the buds of Kalmia polifolia; the first Rhododendron canadense (only found in one location here in the wild);  Andromeda glaucophylla, the tiny Primula mistassinica (Ontario's only native Primula), bog bean Menyanthes trifoliata and the first of the Cyps to bloom, Cypripedium arietinum.

[Kristl Walek]

Who can resist the beauty of emerging ferns....

[Kristl Walek]

And lastly for today...

Viola fimbriatula (formerly V. sagitatta var. ovata) is an uncommon beautiful tiny, tiny gem growing only in acid sand in shady woodland clearings.

Thalictrum dioicum; the Barren Strawberry, Waldsteinia fragarioides, which makes a good groundcover with strawberry-like foliage;  Cardamine diphylla; the ephemeral Claytonia virginica which flowers about 2 weeks later than C. caroliniana, with larger, showier flowers.

Trillium undulatum is the third of our 4 native species to flower- in fruit it is my favorite of the four species, but is more than challenging to grow in the garden!!!!

Panax trifolius is a tiny spring ephemeral, quickly retreating underground once seed production is finished in early summer.

Prunus pumila occurs only in it's variety susquehanae in Ontario. It is a low-growing (normally around 45cm), trailing, multi-branched shrub growing on sand dunes, gravelly beaches, alvars and rocky slopes.

Finally, the lovely and wonderfully fragrant Sweet Fern, Comptonia peregrina showing it's male catkins.  Not a fern, but a small, colonizing shrub with beautiful foliage and shiny reddish-brown and heavily lenticeled bark.

[Maggi Young]

This thread is a real treat, Kristl, thank you.
I have never even heard of  Comptonia peregrina.... a charming shrub... and scented, too 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

sigh... what a wonderful place and what a wealth of plants !
Beautiful !

[Gerdk]

Kristl,
Thank you for all your nice woodlanders and the Maianthemum comparison - M. canadense is indeed very near to our European M. bifolium.

I grow a plant from AGS seeds which were labelled Panax trifolius - collected by a Canadian member of that Society. After I saw your pic of this species some doubts came up.  I add 3 pics of my plant. Do you think this could be P. trifolius as well?
I suppose it is not. If it is not, do you have a name for the plant?
My species has a heighth of about 18 cm.

Gerd

[Kristl Walek]

Gerd, your plant is surely NOT Panax trifolius---which is a tiny thing, leaves narrow, quite glossy, with serrated edges.  My picture shows a specimen not quite "tri-folius" and the foliage is visually mixed up with some seedlings of three-leaved Trillium grandiflorum.

I will do some more thinking about your pictured plants---which initially struck me as being Panax quiquefolium (American ginseng)--the foliage seems right, as does the naked stem---does the stem divide near the top into three stalks, where the foliage is (which would be right for P. quinquefolium).

If it does not do that, I would vote for an Aralia....

[Gerdk]

Direct hit Kristl! Thank you!

The stem divides just as you guessed. So it is Panax quinquefolium.

Gerd

[Kristl Walek]

The small Uvularia sessilifolia flowers a few weeks later than U. grandiflora. It is uncommon in my area and I have only a few specimens in my garden.

Geranium maculatum in the rain--a pretty and early species.

Maianthemum racemosum is my favorite of the native Maianthemums in this area. It is a wonderful and bold groundcover, beautiful in every season.

Corydalis aurea is a widespread annual species that romps around in the sun with Aquilegia canadensis that prefers the same spots, although both can also be found in forest clearings.

Calla palustris, one of our two native aroids (Arisaema triphyllum the other), photographed in my artificial "pseudo-bog"--it is much more beautiful in wet areas in the wild.

[kirsitn]

Lovely ferns!

But what kind of fern is the one on the front page of your website? (The purple one in the lower right corner http://gardensnorth.com/site/)