Wild White Geranium

The leaves are edible, a good addition to soups & salads.   

Yellow avens, common avens

Native to the northern hemisphere from eastern Europe, across Asia and North America.

Purple Avens, Water Avens

Although this grows mostly in marshes, wet ditches and wet meadows, I have found that it adapts readily to a home garden.   I am quite fond of geum, the subtle beauty of the blooms, so delicate, especially this particular geum.  

Geum rivale has an aromatic root, it can be used in making a beverage used as a substitute for cocoa.  The plant is sometimes called Chocolate Root from its color and use.  I have not tried it, but plan to this coming summer (2019), it grows everywhere where I live.  I'll keep you posted.

Prairie Smoke, Old Man's Whiskers

I suppose it would be the seed heads that are the main attractor, and they are beautiful, but the blooms are just as pretty.  Subtle purplish pink nodding sepals with creamy white to pinkish petals.

Spurred Gentian Wonderful in the shaded garden. Subtle delicate perfection.

syn. Chrysopsis villosa

Golden Aster, Hairy False Golden Aster

Grows on dry, sandy rocky ground.  Blooms July - September.    Hardy in my Zone 2.

This one is wild collected.  Flowers are a pinky purple and blooms June to July.

Blooms are really nothing to write home about, very subtle, but I like the foliage and I like heuchera.

Ground Juniper 

Forming mats in open and wooded areas.    

Of note, the blue cones can be made into tea or roasted and used as a coffee substitute. My local tea shop uses juniper berries in several wellness teas.

Juniper communis is also used in the production of gin.  Juniper berries are excellent for seasoning wild game.  Berries are ground and used as a dry rub. Please see our "Other Goodies" tab to purchase dried Juniper berries for your spice cupboard.

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Creeping Juniper

A shrub with horizontal stems growing up to 5 metres long, often forming large mats.

Larch or Tamarack

There are a lot of larch around here.  One of my favourite views is the line of larch trees shown in this picture.  They turn this wonderful mustard colour in September.  Simply beautiful.

Larch lose their needles in the winter.  

Common Labrador Tea 

Found in bogs and moist coniferous forests.  The leaves of this species can be used to make tea, hence the name.  

When you see hundreds of these growing along the tree line in central Alberta it just about takes your breath away.  Some make it down into the ditches but they are mowed down along with all the other wild flowers.  Shame.

These lilies can be a bit tricky to get established in the garden but worth the effort.