Scientific Name: Penstemon hirsutus 

June is typically a quieter time in my gardens, with the rush of spring ephemerals long done and the riot of summer colours not quite upon us yet. Perhaps that is why I find Hairy Beardtongue so appealing. It starts its long blooming period, with its soft, powdery purple and white flowers, when most of my garden is still rather green.  

As usual, the Plant Description and In the Garden sections are courtesy of Shawn Booth from In Our Nature. The content of this article is excerpted from our book The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region (Firefly Books), available wherever you buy your books. 

Family: Scrophulariaceae (Figwort Family) 

Alternate Common Names: Hairy Penstemon, Dwarf Hairy Penstemon, Eastern Penstemon, Northeastern Beardtongue, Pride of the Mountain 

Plant description: Hairy Beardtongue features green to reddish brown, hairy stems. Along the stems are opposite, lance-shaped leaves with pointed tips and toothed edges. Leaves clasp the stem. Stems terminate with clusters of slender, tubular flowers. Flower stalks also emerge from upper leaf axils. Each flower is purple to violet with white tips and has 5 petals with a protruding lower lip. You will notice that the flowers are hairy inside. Flowers turn into brown, teardrop-shaped seed pods. They split open when ripe to release many small irregularly angled seeds. 

In the Garden: Hairy Beardtongue transitions the garden into early summer with a fantastic display of tubular, pink flowers. It maintains a well-behaved, clumping habit and adapts to a wide range of growing conditions. The seed heads provide reliable winter interest. Plants may suffer from a reduced lifespan if grown in rich soil. 

Skill level: beginner 

Lifespan: perennial 

Exposure: full sun to full shade 

Soil Type: thin, well drained soils 

Moisture: medium wet to dry 

Height: 45 cm 

Spread: 25-30 cm 

Bloom Period: May, Jun 

Colour: pink, purple 

Fragrant (Y/N): N 

Showy Fruit (Y/N): N 

Cut Flower (Y/N): Y 

Pests: no serious pests 

Natural Habitat: fields and open areas 

Wildlife value: attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and native bees 

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) 

Moth Larva Host Plant For: Chalcedony Midget (Elaphria chalcedonia), Verbena Bud Moth (Endothenia hebesana), Sparganothis Leafroller Moth (Sparganothis sulfureana) 

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-9 

Propagation: Direct sow in late fall through to late winter, pressing seeds into the surface of the soil without covering as seeds need light to germinate. For starting indoors, germination is enhanced with 60 days of cold, moist stratification. Slow to germinate and will spend its first year getting established, then flower in year two. Plants seem to germinate best in cool soil. Penstemon readily self seeds. Mature clumps of plants can be divided in early spring or late fall. Plants may also be propagated by layering (pinning the stem down and covering the leaf nodes with soil, which will then root) or by stem cuttings using sections of stem with 2-4 nodes. 

Additional Info: This low maintenance plant blooms in my southwestern Ontario garden in the early summer, after the spring ephemerals are done and before the bulk of the colour of my other natives begins, providing a wonderful splash of colour during the “quiet” period before the blooms of summer reach their peak. As a result, it has become one of my favourites. 

Native Range:  

Scientific Name: Oenothera biennis 

I have never planted Evening Primrose in my gardens, yet they show up faithfully every year. In fact, this was the first native species to make an appearance before I even got into growing native plants. That’s because the seeds remain viable in the soil for many years, waiting for a disturbance, and when I dug a small patch of earth to plant vegetables shortly after moving into my house, Evening Primrose popped up with their lovely lemony yellow flowers.  

Evening Primrose has a very deep taproot, and being short-lived (a biennial), the decaying root helps to aerate and take nutrients deep into the soil profile. The only potential downside to them is that they are a favourite of Japanese Beetles. However, I use that to my advantage because the Evening Primrose brings the beetles to a single eye-level location where they’re easily picked off into a bucket of soapy water.  

As usual, the Plant Description and In the Garden sections are courtesy of Shawn Booth from In Our Nature. The content of this article is excerpted from our book The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region (Firefly Books), available wherever you buy your books. 

Family: Onagraceae (Evening Primrose Family) 

Alternate Common Names: Bastard Evening Primrose, Common Evening-primrose, Evening Star, Fever Plant, Four-o’clock, German Rampion, Golden Candlestick, Hoary Evening Primrose, Hog Weed, King’s Cure-all, Night Primrose, Night Willow-herb, Sand Lily, Scabish, Scavey, Scurvish, Speckled John, Tree Primrose, Weedy Evening Primrose, Wild Beet, Wine-trap 

Plant description: Evening Primrose has a two-year life-cycle. During the first year it produces a low rosette of basal leaves. During the second year, it sends up a light green to red central stems covered in white hairs. Lance-elliptic leaves are found in an alternate pattern along the stem and measure up to 20cm long and 5cm wide (they are usually smaller than this). They are hairless to finely hairy, toothless or with small teeth and borne on little to no leaf stalk. Stems terminate with spike-like clusters of many yellow flowers each about 5cm across. Each flower has 4 heart-shaped petals surrounding 8 yellow stamens and a cross-shaped stigma. Each flower appears to be borne on a long stalk but this is actually an elongated calyx tube (the part that bears the sepals and stamens). Four sepals are found behind each flower, measuring about 3cm long and bending backwards as the flower matures. As the flowers fade, they produce 3-4cm long, tubular seed pods that contain hundreds of tiny seeds. 

In the Garden: Evening Primrose features a spire of vibrant, lemon-yellow flowers. These flowers open up in the evening and stay open until hit by the morning sun. They also stay open to brighten up cloudy days! A dependable choice for nutrient poor soils and the sturdy stems will persist into the winter months to extend interest. 

Skill level: beginner to intermediate 

Lifespan: biennial 

Exposure: full sun to full shade 

Soil Type: rocky, gravelly or sandy soils. 

Moisture: dry to medium 

Height: 90-150 cm (up to 210 cm in ideal conditions) 

Spread: 30-90 cm 

Bloom Period: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep 

Colour: yellow 

Fragrant (Y/N): Y (lemon scent) 

Showy Fruit (Y/N): N 

Cut Flower (Y/N): Y 

Pests: no serious insect or disease problems though leaf spot and powdery mildew may occur; this plant is a favourite of the invasive Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica) 

Natural Habitat: occurs throughout the region in disturbed areas, along roadsides, lakeshores and river valleys 

Wildlife value: Moths are the main pollinators of the flowers, especially Sphinx Moths. The high oil-content seeds are eaten by goldfinches and other small birds. It is the host plant for a number of moths including the Primrose Moth (Schinia florida), Pearly Wood Nymph (Endryas unio) and White-Lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata). 

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: none 

Moth Larva Host Plant For: Pearly Wood Nymph (Endryas unio), Grape Leaffolder Moth (Desmia funeralis), White-Lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata), Sparganothis Leafroller Moth (Sparganothis sulfureana),  and Red-Streaked Momphid (Mompha eloisella) 

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-9 

Propagation: the very small seeds need light to germinate (surface sow) but do not need to be stratified. Store in a cool, dry environment if spring sowing. Stem cuttings can be taken in spring. 

Native Range: 

As I put this post together in mid-November, most of the plants in my southwestern Ontario gardens have packed it in for the winter and are now just lumps of foliage in various states of demise. As they get ready for a long winter’s nap, I’m starting to think about spring and what excitement lies ahead – especially in the shade gardens where spring ephemerals will make their brief appearances. And to me, one of the more interesting spring ephemerals is Arisaema triphyllum – Jack in the Pulpit.

As usual, the Plant Description and In the Garden sections are courtesy of Shawn Booth from In Our Nature. The content of this article is excerpted from our book The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region (Firefly Books), available wherever you buy your books.

Scientific Name: Arisaema triphyllum

Common Name: Jack-in-the-pulpit

Family: Araceae (Arum Family)

Alternate Common Names: Indian Turnip, Small Jack-in-the-pulpit

Plant Description: From Jack-in-the-pulpit’s corm (a bulb-like tuber) emerge one to two leaves and a single flowering stalk. The leaves are divided into three leaflets that each measure up to 18 cm long and 7.5 cm wide. Leaflets are oval-shaped, glossy and have smooth margins. A single flower occurs on a separate stalk. It consists of the spadix (a spike of tiny flowers) that is enclosed by the spathe (a leaf-like sheath), which forms a hood over the top. The spadix and spathe are nicknamed “Jack” and the “pulpit,” respectively. The spathe is usually green with variably colored stripes that can be maroon, dark purple or dark green. Tightly packed clusters of smooth, green berries ripen into red to reddish-orange berries in mid to late summer.

In the Garden: Jack-in-the-pulpit is an intriguing spring wildflower with a unique bloom. It is valued by gardeners for its lush appearance and tropical feel. Most plants will disappear by mid to late summer, leaving behind their red berries, which add interest and wildlife value to shade gardens. Due to its ephemeral lifecycle, it is best planted with other shade-tolerant species that can fill in the gap when it goes dormant.

Skill Level: Beginner

Lifespan: Perennial

Exposure: Full shade to part shade

Soil Type: Rich in organic matter, does poorly in heavy clay soils

Moisture: Wet to medium

Height: 75 cm

Spread: 30–45 cm

Bloom Period: Apr, May, Jun

Color: Green, purple

Fragrant (Y/N): N

Showy Fruit (Y/N): Y

Cut Flower (Y/N): N

Pests: No serious insect or disease problems

Natural Habitat: Forests, woodlands, swamps, and marshy areas

Wildlife Value: Upland gamebirds, wood thrushes, and some small mammals eat the berries, which ripen in mid to late summer

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: None

Moth Larva Host Plant For: None

USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–9

Propagation: Seeds require a double dormancy of cold, warm, cold, warm of 60 to 90 days for each part of the cycle to germinate. May be directly sown outdoors, 20 mm deep, but it may take two or more years to germinate. Plants will take five years to flower when started from seed. May also be propagated by root division and cormlets can be separated from the parent corm in fall.

Additional Info: Jack-in-the-pulpit leaves are sometimes confused with Trillium leaves, but are actually easily distinguished in that the leaves of Jacks tend to form a T shape, whereas Trillium leaves are spread equally around the point of origin and resemble the Mercedes-Benz emblem or the peace sign of the 1960s.

Jack-in-the-pulpit has both male and female plants, and they can change sex from one year to the next depending, apparently, on the previous year’s reproductive success. Another adaptation for reproductive success is the presence of a small hole at the base of the smaller male flower that allows pollinators to exit more easily, laden with pollen. Female plants do not have this hole so, with only one way out, pollinators are more likely to pollinate the female flower.

Native Range:

Fall is the time for asters and goldenrods. One of the first asters to bloom in my garden each autumn is Eurybia macrophylla – the Large Leaf Aster. It flowers range from pale blue to pink to white, depending (it seems) on its growing conditions. In my garden, they’re mostly pale pink to white.   

This flower is quite the trooper – loving it in full to part shade and dry to fairly moist sandy soils. (A friend grows it in heavy clay soil where it does OK – it just doesn’t flourish as well as it does in my sandy loam soil.) 

Blooms start in August and often keep going till the first good frost.  

As usual, the Plant Description and In the Garden sections are courtesy of Shawn Booth from In Our Nature. The content of this article is excerpted from our book The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region (Firefly Books), available wherever you buy your books. 

Scientific Name: Eurybia macrophylla 

Common Name: Large Leaf Aster 

Family: Asteraceae (Aster Family) 

Alternate Common Names: Bigleaf Aster, Large-leaf Wood Aster 

Plant Description: Large Leaf Aster features large, heart-shaped basal leaves that measure about 20 cm long, 15 cm wide and are coarsely toothed, sparsely hairy, and borne on long leaf stalks. As the leaves ascend the stem they decrease in size and become shorter stalked to the point where the uppermost leaves are reduced to stalkless bracts. Leaf stalks are narrowly winged but become broadly winged as they ascend the stem. Stems are upright, rigid, sparsely hairy, and unbranching except for at the top where they branch out to support open, flat-topped flower clusters. Each cluster can have eight to 90 stalked flowers that measure up to 4 cm across. Individual flowers are characterized by nine to 20 unevenly spaced, thin ray florets (petals) that surround a yellow centre disk that turn a brownish red with age. Tightly packed, stout, hairy bracts surround the base of each flower and are found in four to six layers. They are green with a purple tinge and have whitish edges. Flowers give way to dry, brown, narrow seeds with tufts of white hairs that allow them to be carried by the wind. 

In the Garden: Large Leaf Aster is valued by gardeners looking for a lush, reliable woodland groundcover with a bold texture. It spreads non-aggressively by rhizomes to form dense colonies over time. It is tolerant of dry shade and will grow in the dense shade under pine or spruce trees but with reduced flowering and vigour. 

Skill Level: Beginner 

Lifespan: Perennial 

Exposure: Full shade to part shade 

Soil Type: Sandy loam to rich loam 

Moisture: Moist to dry 

Height: 15–110 cm 

Spread: 60 cm 

Bloom Period: Aug, Sep, Oct 

Colour: White, blue 

Fragrant (Y/N): N 

Showy Fruit (Y/N): N  

Cut Flower (Y/N): N 

Pests: No serious insect or disease problems 

Natural Habitat: Open woods, thickets, and clearings 

Wildlife Value: Nectar and pollen of the flowers attract a large number of native bees and other insects, and Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) eat the seeds and foliage 

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis), Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) 

Moth Larva Host Plant For: Aster Borer Moth (Carmenta corni),  Asteroid Moth (Cucullia steroids), Arcigera Flower Moth (Schinia arcigera), others  

USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–7 

Propagation: Sow seeds outside in fall or, if starting indoors, provide 60 days cold, moist stratification for any seeds that haven’t germinated in three to four weeks. Do not cover the seeds as they require light to germinate. Also can be propagated by stem cuttings taken in late spring or by dividing mature clumps. 

Additional Info: Individual plants don’t flower every year, which means that in a patch of Large Leaf Aster only a few plants will bloom each year, and therefore it is best used as a groundcover for its heart-shaped leaves. 

Native Range: 

Every July, my garden lights up with the brilliant red of Monarda Didyma – Bee Balm (or Beebalm), sometimes referred to as Scarlet Beebalm. Except in very dry years, this plant is always a showstopper in my garden. With 2024 being a fairly wet year, it is no exception this year. This plant is so easy to propagate – the roots run just below the surface of the soil and can be lifted in chunks and replanted elsewhere. I now have it growing in at least 6 different flower beds in my yard – from full shade to full sun. Definitely one of my top 10 favourites. 

Scientific Name: Monarda didyma 

Common Name: Bee Balm 

Family: Lamiaceae (Mint Family) 

Alternate Common Names: American Beebalm, Crimson Beebalm, Oswego Tea, Firecracker Plant, Fragrant Balm, Red Bergamot, Scarlet Beebalm, Scarlet Monarda, Wild Oregano 

Plant description: Bee Balm features square, reddish-brown stems that are slightly hairy and branch occasionally. Along the stem you will find opposite leaves that each measure up to 13cm long and 5cm wide with 2.5cm long leaf stalks. Leaves are ovate to heart shaped with pointed tips, toothed edges and may have a purple/reddish tint to them. Stems are topped with a single cluster of tubular red flowers that measures up to 10cm wide with each individual flower measuring just under 4cm long. Each flower is characterized by an upper lip with two stamens protruding from it and a lower lip that arches downwards. The outer surface of the upper lip is finely hairy. Each flower head is backed by multiple leaf-like bracts that are tinted with red or purple. Each flower produces small, dry, ovoid seeds. 

In the Garden: Reminiscent of jester hats, the vivid scarlet flowers of Bee Balm contrast beautifully with surrounding foliage. Brush up against the leaves and you will notice a pleasant minty smell. The rigid stems and rounded seed heads persist into winter months to provide wonderful textural interest, especially when covered in frost or snow. 

Skill level: beginner 

Lifespan: perennial 

Exposure: full sun to part shade 

Soil Type: well drained sand, clay or loam 

Moisture: medium to wet 

Height: 120 cm 

Spread: 90 cm 

Bloom Period: Jun, Jul, Aug 

Colour: red 

Fragrant (Y/N): no floral scent but foliage is aromatic 

Showy Fruit (Y/N): N 

Cut Flower (Y/N): Y 

Pests: susceptible to powdery mildew (full sun and good air circulation will help) 

Natural Habitat: moist, open woods and meadows and along stream banks 

Wildlife value: Hummingbirds and Swallowtail butterflies are especially attracted to the red flowers. The flowers are of special value for bumblebees and other native bees but the strongly scented leaves and stems are avoided by mammalian herbivores. A small black bee (Dufourea monardae) specializes in the pollination of Monarda flowers. 

Butterfly Larva Host Plant For: none 

Moth Larva Host Plant For: Gray Marvel (Anterastria teratophora), Hermit Sphinx (Sphinx eremitus), Raspberry Pyrausta Moth (Pyrausta signatalis), and Orange Mint Moth (Pyrausta orphisalis) 

USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-7 

Propagation: No treatment needed for seeds to germinate. Store seeds in a cool dry environment for spring sowing. Plants may be propagated by softwood cuttings taken in late spring. Mature clumps of plants can be divided in the spring before they send up stems, although I have had great success dividing the clumps at almost any time of the year – the later the division, though, the less likely you will have blossoms in the first year. 

Additional Info: This species blooms more vigorously if divided in spring or fall every 3-4 years – the very shallow root system is easily lifted and divided. It will spread into a large colony in just a few years if left alone. Although this plant typically has a single flower-head, it is not that uncommon for it to have a “double decker” flower, or on a rare occasion, a “triple decker”. 

Native Range: