Viewing comments posted by Cyclaminist

A very small blue-eyed grass, ideal for miniature gardens. Mucronatum means "with a point" and refers to the thin points at the ends of the petals.

Gray-green slender leaves on constantly growing, branching stems. Flowers are purple, and fragrant, most intensely so at night. Looks like a larger version of Spanish moss from a distance, though it has stems when you look up close, while Spanish moss has small plants connected by tiny runners. Likes to be grown hanging down. Needs good air circulation, frequent watering, and protection from direct sunlight. Comes from the Atlantic Forest on the southeastern coast of Brazil (a long distance away from the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil).

A delicious vegetable weed. Has a unique flavor, savory and kind of salty, probably most similar to Swiss Chards (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) or Spinaches (Spinacia oleracea).

I recommend eating young stems, leaves, and flower clusters. Very good gently stewed with caramelized onions. Old stems are stringy and tough, and not pleasant to eat because the tough parts remain even after they've been cooked. Once the plant starts going to seed, it tends to stop producing leaves even if you cut it back, so best to pluck off and eat the flowers and then cut down the plant for compost.

I got this plant once, and it looked to me like a Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa). I think it was something about the leaves, and the fact that it had runners. I don't remember if I saw the fruit, which would make the identification more certain.

A North American species very similar to Yellow Lady's Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium calceolus), the species from Europe and Asia, and sometimes considered a subspecies or variety of that species.

The amazingly lovely Minnesota state flower. It prefers moist and loose organic soil (full of rotted plant matter) that never dries out in the summer, on the neutral to alkaline side of things (fens rather than bogs). In the wild, it mostly grows in northeastern and north central North America. It's rare in most states because its preferred habitat is easily destroyed by human disturbance.

I had the good fortune to work at a place with an astonishingly large number of showy lady's slippers, which were mostly propagated by division. They grow in moist humusy soil that is kept moist by a spring. I didn't have the chance to divide the plants myself, but as I understand it, they have underground rhizomes with long wiry brownish roots radiating off. The rhizomes branch and develop new stems, and when a clump gets big enough, some of the rhizomes can be split off and planted as a new clump.

A native flower from eastern and central North America that attracts ruby-throated hummingbirds. Blooms when migrating hummingbirds return in the spring. They stick their long bills into the long red spurs to reach the nectar.

Also attracts bumblebees, which drink nectar or gather pollen. Smaller bees do not have long enough tongues to reach the nectar in the spurs, so they only gather pollen from the exposed yellow stamens at the bottom of the flower.

Has a long thick taproot with fibrous roots at the bottom, so it is drought-tolerant. Doesn't like transplanting, though it is possible if you make sure not to damage the taproot and the roots that come off of it.

Very common in Minneapolis. Grows in lawns, alleys, between cracks in pavement, sun or shade. Seedlings are tough and can come up in dry soil. Very different from harebell, which almost never manages to produce seedlings in the garden. Spreads by underground runners and as far as I can tell has no pests that eat it.

Plants for a Future says leaves, young shoots, and roots (what I guess are taproot-like tubers) are edible, mild-flavored and rich in vitamin C. I've eaten the leaves, and they aren't bad. I ought to eat more and try cooking the tubers, because there are (unfortunately) large patches all over the yard. Older roots are probably tough and stringy, though.

A culinary thyme variety with round dark green leaves, much larger than English or French thyme. I just got it this year, so I'm not sure how its flavor compares to more typical culinary thymes.

The North American subspecies related to alpine strawberry. Unlike alpine strawberry, it produces runners, and it only blooms in the spring. The seeds stick out of the fruit, but the fruit is smaller and rounder than alpine strawberry.

The real Viola labradorica is almost never seen in cultivation. The plant usually sold under this name is actually Dog Violet (Viola riviniana 'Purpurea Group'), which is native to Europe. Probably most of the pictures here are not Viola labradorica. Unfortunately, most people are not aware of this, and the Eurasian species is sold as a North American native plant.

In the case of cyclamens, it's possible that hardiness zones don't tell the whole story. Parts of Minneapolis count as zone 5 because the minimum temperature reached in a given winter is on average -20 F, but unlike most zone 5 areas, average daily high temperatures are below freezing from December to February. I think the continuous freezing is probably the thing most damaging to cyclamens. Perhaps Cyclamen purpurascens is more reliably hardy in Minnesota because it is tolerant of continuous freezing (if it is shaded from the winter sun), while other species are very badly adapted to continuous freezing, and so they are frequently killed. However, this is just a theory. There haven't been any studies on cyclamen hardiness in continental climates.

A hardy herb that resembles a short rosemary with slightly rounded leaves, and tastes like a very spicy thyme. The tops of the branches get killed off in my climate, but thick growth always sprouts from the woody stubs of last year's growth. Very lovely: a short mound of long, glossy dark green leaves. In summer, produces white flowers that attract bees, and drops a lot of seeds in fall, which start a few seedlings in the spring.

A great shorter aster for sun. It spreads by short rhizomes if there's any space available, and forms dense clumps. The stems are very stiff and strong and stand up well.

It's very, very easy to grow from seed. It's kind of annoying, because every spring hundreds of seedlings come up in any bare soil in the neighborhood of last year's flowers. They're tough, and they will survive unless you kill them. Impossible to deadhead because the flowering season is long, and new flowers are opening while older flowers are releasing their seeds.

From what I read online, this is a grass that mainly occurs in high-quality prairie remnants. Hard to germinate, so not planted very often in restorations. The small round seeds are eaten by sparrows (not sure if they eat the seeds directly from the flower stems or once they fall to the ground). The dense clump of long slender leaves is distinctive among native grasses.

I'm growing this from seed. Not sure where it'll go in the garden, but it is lovely and it will be a nice addition. Hopefully I'll see some handsome little juncos scratching for the seeds in the winter.

Blooms for a long time and produces both pollen and nectar. It is very popular with bees. It's wonderful to watch them gathering the bright golden pollen.

One of my all-time favorite plants. It blooms for pretty much the whole growing season, and the flowers have a fascinating shape. The leaves are also attractive. It grows in a thick clump, and spreads slowly by branching rhizomes.

Bumblebees love to visit the flowers. They're pretty much the only bees strong enough to push apart the petals and reach the nectar in the pouches at the top of the flower near the stem. Sometimes you can see which flowers they've visited, because the petals have a gap between them. Mason bees also visit the flowers.

The plant is technically in the poppy family, but the flowers are very odd and look nothing like poppies. However, they actually have four petals, like a poppy. When you look at the flatter side of the flower, the two outer petals are the parts on either side that have bent-back tips. The two inner petals are the ones that form the center of the flower, the part that points downwards. They look like they are just one piece, but if you pull apart the flower, you can see there are two parts that are joined together at the tip, positioned crossways (perpendicular) to the outer petals. The stamens and carpel are between them. The carpel is green and fairly fat, and it changes into a seedpod when the flower is pollinated.

The leaves are very attractive, and the flowers are small, but pretty when they are blooming. In my experience, does not like heat or dryness. May be best to grow it in partial shade if your area has hot summers (highs greater than 80 ºF, 27 ºC), and make sure it is watered during dry periods. When it wilts, the tips of leaflets dry out and turn crispy.

I've got several plants from Fedco seed. They're still young, but the leaves grow so tall that I can imagine the plants being huge when they're mature. To me, the fragrance smells a lot like curry. Very interesting, but I have yet to use it.

A perennial that tastes a little spicier than regular arugula or rocket (Eruca sativa). I bought seeds from Fedco Seeds and started some a few years ago. They've come up every year and reseeded a little.