Neat or New
Watermelon radishes
Native to Alberta
- Canadian Wild Ginger Asarum canadense
- Big Blue Stem Andropogon geradii
- Blue Vervain Verbana hastata Prodigious self seeder, can be aggressive
- Boneset Eupatorim perfoliatum goes well with Joe-pye weed and goldenrod
- Bottle Gentiam Gentiana andrewsii habitat is wet meadows
- Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa Host for monarch butterfly
- Canada milk vetch Astragulas canadensis It is a lupine and nitrogen fixer.
- Creeping Phlox Phlox stolonifera hardy groundcover
- Culver's Root Silphium perfoliatum Grows 9 feet tall
- False Solomon's Seal Smilacina racemosa
- Flowering Spurge Euphorbia corollata
- Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
- Foxglove Beardtonue Penstemon digitalis
- Golden Ragwort Senecio aureus
- Lance-leaved Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata needs a dry, sunny bed
- New York Ironweed Veronica noveboracensis. Butterfly eat the nectar
- Purple Prairie Clover Petalostemum purpureum has deep roots and is a host for sulphur butterfly
- Rattlesnake Master Polygonatum biflorum grows in shade
- Spotted Joe-pye weed Eupatorium maculatum
- Swamp milkweed Asclepsis incarnata
- Virginia Bluebells Mertensis virginica needs moist fertile soil
- Wild Columbine Aquillegea formosa
HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
- Abroriia villosa,sand verbena
- Agastache carta,wild hyssop
- Allium cemuum,pink nodding onion
- Aquilegia caerulea,Rocky Mountain columbine
- Aquilegia chrysantha,golden-spurred columbine
- Aster bigelovii, purple aster
- Baileya multiradiata,desert marigold
- Berlandiera lyrata,chocolate flower
- Callirhoe involucrata,wine cup
- Castilleja integra,Indian paintbrush
- Cleome serrulata,Rocky Mountain beeplant
- Coreopsis tinctoria,Plains coreopsis
- Dalea jamesii,James's dalea
- Dichelostemma pulchellum,blue dicks
- Encelia farinosa, brittlebush
- Eriogonum corymbosum, buckwheatbrush
- Eriogonum umbellatum,sulphur-flower buckwheat
- Erysimum asperum,western wallflower
- Gilia aggregata, scarlet gilia
- Helianthus maximiliani,Maximilian sunflower
- Heuchera pulchella,mountain coral bells
- Hymenoxys grandiflora,alpine sunflower
- Ipomoea leptophylla,bush morning glory
- Iris missouriensis,western blue flag
- Liatris punctata,dotted blazing star
- Liatris spicata,spiked blazing star
- Lupinus argenteus,silvery lupine
- Lupinus texensis,bluebonnet
- Melampodium leucanthum,Blackfoot daisy
- Mentzelia decapetala,ten-petal blazing star
- Mirabilis multiflora,desert four o'clock
- Monarda pectinata,horsemint
- Oenothera missouriensis,Missouri evening primrose
- Oenothera speciosa,Mexican evening primrose
- Penstemon barbatus,scarlet bugler
- Penstemon grandiflorus,large-flowered penstemon
- Penstemon secundiflorus,sidebells penstemon
- Phacelia campanularia,California bluebells
- Polemonium foliosissimum,Jacob's ladder
- Ratibida columnifera, Mexican hat
- Salvia azurea, blue sage
- Silene laciniata,Indian pink
- Sphaeralcea ambigua,desert mallow
- Tradescantia occidentalis,western spiderwort
- Zauschneria latifolia,hummingbird trumpet
- Zinnia grandiflora,prairie zinnia
FERNS
Adiantum pedatum, maidenhair fern
Asplenium trichomanes, spleenwort
Athyriumfilix-femina, lady fern
Blechnum spicant, deer fern
Cheilanthes gracillima, lace fern
Cryptogramma crispa, parsley fern
Cystopteris fragilis, brittle bladder fern
Gymnocarpium dryopteris, oak fern
Pellaea atropurpurea, purple cliffbrake
Polypodium glycyrrhiza, licorice fern
Polystichum munitum, sword fern
Woodwardiafimbriata, giant chain fern
DRY SITES
- Aralia californica, western arallu
- Aster foliaceus, leafy aster
- Erythronium oreganum, fawn lily
- Geranium viscosissimum, sticky purple geranium
- Iris tenax, Oregon iris
- Lupinus polyphyllus, bigleaf lupine
- Mertensiapaniculata, tall hlueltelin
- Penstemon acuminatus, sharplent penstemon
- Scrophularia californica, figwort
- Sisyrinchium bellum, western Itlne eyed grass
- Thermopsis montana, golden pen
- Zigadenus elegans, mountain death camas
GROUND COVERS
Vegetables
Lois Hole recommends Big Beef, Counter, Sun Sugar and Vendor tomato varieties.
Grow one or two slicing varieties plus one early variety. A paste type and one or more cherry types.
Plants That Keep Insects Away from Vegetables
Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Mint, Basil, Tansy, Rosemary, Sage, Radishes
Plants that Attract Good Bugs
Yarrow, Evening primrose, Morning Glory, Dill, Fennel, Anise
Plants for Hot Spots
- Columnar Junipers
- Virgina creeper or English ivy
- Savlia May night has 2foot tall spikes
- Sedum Autumn Joy
- Lamb's ear
- Gold flame spirea
- Flame willow
- Winterberry (black bark in the winter)
Herbs
- Fennel - find 'Smokey Bronze Fennel'
- Stevia - 'Crazy Sweet Stevia'
- Sweet Cicely
- Drought resistant: sage, thyme, chives, anise hyssop, lavendar, feverfew, calendula, feather reed grass, fescue, Stipa, Galladaria heliopsis, liatrus, lupin, Back eyed Susan, yarrow, aster, coreopsis, echinacea, echinops
- Plant echinacea with allium (big onion flowers) and Salvia with Nepeta (they ahve similar height and flower shape)
- Bath Herbs: orris root, lavendar, rosebuds, lemon verbena
Shrubs and Trees for Formal Clippings
- Boxus microphylla
- Carpinus betula
- Cornus mas
- Euonymus japonicus
- Fagus sylvatica
- Ilex quifolium
- Ligustrum ovalifolium
- Nathofagus
- Osmanthus
- Podocarpus
- Prunus lustanica
- Pyrus salicifolia
- Taxus
- Tilia
- 'Crimson Beauty' Moss Phlox subulata low mossy mats covered with red flowers.
- 'Rozanne' Geranium Geranium psilotemium has large blue flowers
- Arold Red Honeysuckle Lonicera taldrice Blooms more profusly than other honeysuckles, works as a good scaffold for clematis and will cover a wire fence.
- Arrowwood Vibarum Viburnum dentatum has edible berries, good for birds. Works as a low hedge or foundation plant
- Bearberry Arctostaphylus uva-ursi - tolerates acidic soil and poor conditions. Good in sandy soil or rocky soil with peat moss
- Bedstraw Galium boreale
- Borage - will grow with will abandon in dry, hot areas where little else will grow. Makes strawberries grow like crazy. Plant as a hedge on north side of strawberries (avoid shading). Attracts bees and is easy to grow from seed.
- Boston Ivy Parthenon cissus tricuspidata Hardy to -34C and prefers bright light
- Bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera good ground cover, tolerant of drought and shade. D. rivularis is a dwarf variety.
- Crimson Beauty moss Phlox subulate low mossy mats covered with red flowers
- Dad's Gold Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius drought resistance in summy locations, dwarf variety
- Dame's Rocket Hesperis matronalis - self seeds, old fashioned plant that blooms in Jun/July
- Dead nettle’s white nancy Lamium maculate Great groundcover
- Dictamnus albus Gas Plant
- Elderberry Sambucus canadensis Be careful as only the black or blue fruited species are edible (when ripe and cooked).
- European Beech Fagus sylvatica classic hedging material for tall hedges. Can cut-out passes.
- Geranium psilotemum has large blue flowers
- Heliotropium (cherry pie plant) smells like cherry pie. 'Fragrant Delight' is older cultivar, intensely fragrant.
- Highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosium
- Kamchatka Bugbane Cimicifuga simplex
- Kewensis winter creeper Euonymus fortune will climb vertical surfaces
- Lyme Grass
- Michaelmas Daisy Aster novibelgi
- Michaelmas Daisy Cimcifuga simplex
- Obedient Plant Physostegia virginiam Great perennial for August and September
- Pulmonaria
- Rock soapwort - saponaria ocymoides mounding and trailing - vigorous growth
- Serbian Bellflower Campanula pascherskyana is drought resistant
- Spider Flower Cleome hasslorana Tolerates dry doil and will self-seed
- Spindle Tree Euonymus alatus Can be 10 ft tall, deep scarlet autumn leaves. Compacts is a smaller variety
- Sweet Baby Jane carrot - Sugarsnax 54
- Trillium
- Wild Geranium Geranium maculatum
- Wild Ginger Asurum canadense
- Wild Lupine - Lupinus perennis. The wil version is larval host for many butterfly species.
- Wood Sorel - Oxalis oregana. Likes rich, moist, acidic soil.
- creeping stonecrop sedum spurium tolerates dry soil in full sun. Good for stones.
- foamflower Tiarella cordifolia part-shade and moist soil
Wall Climbing Plants
- Wisteria sinensis 23m
- Hedera helis 'Platten Sea' 20m
- Vitris colnetiae 15m
- Fallopia baldschuanica 15m
- Clematis fargesiocles 'Summer Show' 7m
- Lonicera henryi 7m
Miscellaneous Plants to Grow
Flowers to Try
Find a dry prairie mixture of seeds
Pinks and Purples
Dianthus (pinks)
Yarrow (Achillea filipendulina)
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'
White Cosmos
Tolerates drought
Petargonium 'Vancouver Centennial' (Zonal Geranium)
Tradescantia Pallida 'Purpurea'
Topiary Plants
Myrtle, rosemary, lavender or small-leafed geranium
Spring Floowering Shrubs
Daphne Odora (Deep rose blooms then red berries)
Viburnum x carlcephalum (pink buds ->white)
Rhododendron 'Bow Bells' (round leaves, pale pink flower trusses)
Houseplants for Clean Air
Reed Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens syn. Areca lutescens)
'Janet Craig' dracaena (Dracaena deremensis)
Rubber Plant (Ficus maclellandii 'Alii')
'Alii' ficus (Ficus maclellandii 'Alii')
English Ivy (Heclera helix)
Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltation 'Bostoniensis')
Minature date palm (Phoenix roebelenii)
Lady Palm (Rhapis excels)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum spp)
After reading the book Harvest (ISBN 978-0-399-57833-5), here are some plants I want to try to grow.
- Breadseed Poppy Papaver somniferum - can use the seeds for baking
- Salad burnet Sanguisorba minor
- Peppermint Candy Flower Claytonia sibrica
- Oregano - try the lesser know Syrian Za’atar oregano (O.syriacum)
- Gem Marigolds Tagets tenuifolia hybrids
- Calamintha nepetoides
- Salvia officinalis ‘Berggarten’ (Sage)
- Australian Finger Lime Microcitrus australasica
These are notes I made about gardening. See more gardening notes