Poisonous plant, Wild Parsnip

There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it. – Chanakya 

Wild parsnip. Like a lonely hitchhiker standing beside the road. Don't pick it up.

Foraging for wild parsnips has quite an allure when you think about it – if you like parsnips. I do, actually. Although this plant is edible, I think I’ll stick to ones I grow myself, or buy from farmers markets or grocery stores.

This is Queen Anne's Lace.
Similar flower to wild parsnip, except
the latter is yellow.

Pastinaca sativa – the European wild parsnip – is an invasive plant native to Europe and Asia. It was most likely brought with settlers and planted in gardens as a vegetable. It has now escaped and is considered a problem plant.

The wild parsnip has two problems associated with it. First, it's invasive, although I haven't seen much evidence of that on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. It’s from its other property: photo-dermatitis caused by the chemical furanocoumarin.

I didn’t know what this plant was and after I spotted it I had to come home and do some investigation. It kind of reminded me of Queen Anne’s Lace (wild carrot) with a touch of poison hemlock about it. Lovely, eh? Queen Anne’s lace is edible; poison hemlock is a very nasty customer.

This plant was solitary, standing on the shoulder of the road all alone. I didn’t see another one anywhere around. So not so invasive where I found this one...yet.

Wild parsnip going to seed. Aphids must like the sap, because there
were several ladybugs on the plant.

What is photo-dermatitis? 

Photo-dermatitis is an unpleasant, abnormal reaction of the skin to sunlight, to be precise UV light. The sap from the wild parsnip can/will react with your skin and cause rashes, blisters and burns after you come in contact with it.

In this way it’s similar to wild hogweed, poison ivy and poison oak. All cause dermatitis reactions. So add this plant to your “touch me not” list.

Furanocoumarin is not contained in the root, but is in everything above soil level. So if you want to go a-foraging for roots, wear lots of protective clothing. I think I’ll err on the side of caution and leave it in the ground.

What does the plant look like?

Typically, wild parsnip is a biennial. The first year it grows a low-to-the-ground rosette of leaves while it develops its parsnip root. The second year it sends up a thick stalk, branched with flowers, goes to seed and dies. (Cue The Lion King “Circle of Life” music here.)

There’s a few distinctions you can easily observe between this and Queen Anne’s Lace, in particular. Queen Anne’s Lace grows on spindly stalks with a single, white umbrel on top (that’s fancy-talk for a flat bunch of flowers all together). Wild parsnip is far more robust, multi-branching and yellow flowered.

Wild parsnip can grow as tall as 4+ feet; Queen Anne is usually about 2-3 feet maximum. Queen Anne leaves are more feathery like dill, whereas wild parsnip are substantial and look like celery leaves (sort of). They’re easy to tell apart.

Apparently wild parsnip is now growing in all Canadian provinces, save Nunavut. It is also throughout the USA.

This stalk looks nothing at all like Queen Anne's Lace.

Getting back to looking but not seeing, on a trip to Halifax the other day I had occasion to be walking behind the Canadian Tire on Quinpool through to Windsor Street. Right along a paved pathway there were at least five or six of them.

Obviously they’re everywhere – country or city. Wild parsnip is certainly pretty enough to be of interest to children as well as adults. So be on your guard.

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Foraging for Clover Lemonade

A friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have. – Unknown

Photo: fritish, Flickr CCL

Up early today: 5am. I've gotten slothful sleeping until 7am here in the country. I have a trip to the "big city" ahead of me today. I have two meetings, a garage appointment and lunch with a friend. I have to admit I am neither bright eyed nor bussy tailed right now. Maybe after my coffee...

It's always fun when I research my topic for the day. Without exception I always learn something new or odd. This is no less true with today’s topic, the ubiquitous red clover. 

Photo: eLaSeA, Flickr CCL

Clover is common in the Northern hemisphere and comes in many varieties. As with many other common plants, they have not only found their way into our kitchens but also our medicine cabinets. I'll restrict my blather to red clover. You know – the one you used to pick as a child.

What is red clover?

From Wikipedia...

Trifolium pratense (red clover) is a species of clover, native to Europe, Western Asia and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions.

It is an herbaceous, short-lived perennial plant, variable in size, growing to 20–80 cm tall. The leaves are alternate, trifoliate (with three leaflets), each leaflet 15–30 mm long and 8–15 mm broad, green with a characteristic pale crescent in the outer half of the leaf; the petiole is 1–4 cm long, with two basal stipules. The flowers are dark pink with a paler base, 12–15 mm long, produced in a dense inflorescence.

What is in it?

The main chemical components of red clover are phenolic glycosides (salicylic acid), essential oil (methyl salicylate), sitosterol, genistiene, flavonoids, salicylates, coumarins, cyanogenic glycosides, silica, choline, and lecithin. 

Red clover also contains vitamin A, vitamin C, B-complex, calcium, chromium, iron, and magnesium.

Medicinal uses

Traditionally, red clover has been used to treat cancer, whooping cough, respiratory problems, and skin inflammations, such as psoriasis and eczema. 

Red clover steeped as a tea. Photo: Carly & Art, Flickr CCL

Red clover contains isoflavones, plant-based chemicals that produce estrogen-like effects in the body. Isoflavones have shown potential in the management of menopause, effecting hot flashes, cardiovascular health, and osteoporosis. 

However, as researchers have learned more about the side effects of taking estrogen, there is also some concern about the safety of isoflavones. And the evidence that red clover helps reduce any menopausal symptoms – like hot flashes – is mixed.

Side effects of using red clover extracts are generally mild and thankfully rare. but they do include breast tenderness, menstruation changes and weight gain. Although there is no evidence for concern, it is advised that red clover extracts should be avoided in women with a history of breast cancer. Pregnant and breast feeding women should not take red clover either.

Cooking with clover

To gain any of the benefits (or worrisome effects) of red clover you would have to ingest an awful lot of it. All the medical information pertains to extracts or concentrations, so you’re safe using them to cook. For example, clover honey is sold in grocery stores and there’s no health warnings blasted on the side of it. 

Now if you sat down and ate a gallon of clover honey you would probably have more to worry about than what is written above…

Clover blossoms can be brewed as tea, made into ice cream, tossed into salads, added to pancake batter, biscuits or rice, as well as boiled into syrup that can be used as a sweetener. The seeds can also be sprouted and used much as alfalfa sprouts. These are only a few options. There are many more if you but look. 

Today's offering is a good one for on the back deck in the hot summer sun. Feel free to add a "kick" to it in any manner you desire.

Red Clover Lemonade

3 cups fresh red clover blossoms

8 cups  water

1 cup white sugar, or clover honey

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste

optional: 1 or 2 drops of red food colouring (to make it pinkish)

Simmer the clover blossoms in the water for 10 minutes. Then add the sugar (or honey)and  stir it until the sugar is dissolved. Cover the pot and let it steep for several hours or overnight. Steeping makes the “tea” stronger.

Lastly, add the lemon juice and red food colouring. If your tea is too brown you may want to omit the food colouring. It's up to you. Chill before use.

Lemonade is a fantastic refresher on a hot summer day and herbal lemonades are no exception.

Old Fashioned Perennial Sweet Peas

They say I'm old-fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast! – Dr. Seuss

We have some old-fashined perennial sweet peas (Lathyrus latifolius) in our back yard that have been growing here since shortly after our house was built in 1957. I remember them from when I was very, very young in the 1960s.

If family history is correct, my Great Aunt Nettie (one of my two aunts who built it) brought them with her when they retired and moved home from Boston. They came from the garden of one of her “practical nurse” patients. If true, those same seeds have been coming back in the same spot – year after year – for the past 56 years.

That’s what I call a self-seeding perennial. It’s always a welcome sight to see the familiar pea-like stems breaking the ground and starting their reach for the sky in mid spring. It's like a physical connection to my childhood.

It’s interesting how nature, in all its diversity, seems to like certain forms and repeats them over and over again.

A good example is the flower shape of sweet peas. It’s an unbelievably common shape, for all it’s beauty and uniqueness. It is borne on amazingly diverse plants, all seemingly unrelated unless you look them up. They’re all members of the very extended legume family, Fabaceae.

It doesn’t take long to find examples. There is our Lathyrus, and just feet away in our vegetable garden we have its close look-alike, garden peas. We have been eating our peas for a little while now, but sadly that will be soon coming to an end.

This is vetch.

Another member we can find in our yard is a weed. Vetch grows in ditches, fields and pretty much anywhere else it wants to. It is by far the most delicate looking of my examples. My memories of this plant go back to when elementary school used to close for the summer. It always used to be blooming at that time. 

Although historically used as food I have read conflicting information about toxcitity, so don’t pick yourself a bowl to eat. They’re really small, so it would take you quite a while anyway.

American Groundnut (Apios americana) is a vine in the village and is actually a food source. It grows along our riverbanks and is quite rampant. It has tight clusters of pea-like flowers in an interesting combination of maroon and oxblood. To me they smell like raspberry cheesecake ice cream!

The flowers of groundnut. They should be in bloom soon.

I’ve written twice about groundnuts, not for its flowers but for its use as a food. At the end of every vine is a tuber that natives used to harvest and eat as a valuable source of dietary starch.

There’s also locust trees. Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is fairly common in our village. When I was growing up there used to be many more than now. 

In mid spring the entire tree is covered with sweet scented blossoms. You used to be able to catch drifts of scent when a breeze sprung up. When the blossoms fall off it looks like it’s snowing. Don’t eat these either.

So that’s four plants all with similarly shaped flowers, blooming at different times through the season, that I can count just by walking in my yard and up the road a short distance. And all have links to the main branch of the pea family.

if you love pea flowers but don’t want rampant weeds, or trees, a good option is to plant perennial garden sweet peas. 

Black locust. Photo: Wiki CC

Lathyrus latifolius is native to Europe is an introduced plant in North America and Australia. They can reach 6 feet or more by means holding onto supports via twining tendrils, but without support sprawls on the ground. So give them the support they crave, and lots of sun.

After the flowers pass, they are replaced by long, skinny pea pods that turn from green to brown. By the end of the season the pods split open and curl, flinging out the seeds.

Perennial sweet peas are often confused with annual sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus. Perennial sweet peas are not as highly scented as the annual variety, but not having to buy and plant every year certainly has its advantages.

A slight disadvantage is the colour is far more limited and the scent not quite as strong. But I can live with that. The ones we have growing are beautiful.

Try getting your hands on some seeds of this dependable plant. It will reward your minimal effort with a show of flowers every year.

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Making soap with Soapwort “Flore Pleno”

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. – William Morris 

That was very true in times past and are words we should try to live by now, both inside and outside our homes. There is so much that is beautiful as well as useful in the plant world.

Take for example what my spouse and our Bouvier, Henry, “discovered” on a walk the other day. It was growing in the ditch right alongside the road. We had no idea what it was.

It’s not that I hadn’t walked past it a thousand times before. I grew up in this village. Once again it’s a case of “looking” but not actually “seeing.” Thanks to a friend, via a friend (all-knowing florist/lecturer/writer Neville MacKay), we were able to identify it. It’s soapwort.

Common Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) is an old-fashioned perennial plant in the carnation family. Other names for it are Bouncing Bess (or Bet) and soapweed. There are about 20 species of soapworts worldwide. 

Europeans originally introduced soapwort to North America in colonial times. Bouncing Bess is an old English slang term for a washerwoman.

The one growing in the ditch was “Flore Pleno.” Flore-pleno is a more decorative double-flowered soapwort that can grow upwards of 3’ tall on stiff, straight stems. Like the five petalled common soapwort, it is a European native plant now naturalized throughout much of North America. 

But how did it get into a ditch in a rural village, with no other soapwort around? I believe it was an escapee from a century and a half ago.

This is the First Settlers House. At its height as a hotel it had
an addition out the back as big as the main house, a wrap around
porch and a mostly glass dining room sticking off to the right.

In the heart of the village we have preserved (or pretty much preserved) the home of the first settler, Samuel Hunt and his family. The house went through many additions, at one time being a hotel with dining hall and around 8-10 rentable cabins on the grounds for hunting and fishing enthusiasts. 

Now it has been torn back to the original structure built around 1830. When it was first erected it would have been one of only a few houses in the village. Since it was imperative to be almost entirely self-sufficient, soapwort was probably brought and planted for its usefulness. The beautiful flowers were a bonus.

A most useful plant

The botanical name Saponaria is derived from the Latin sapo meaning "soap.” The stems, leaves and roots produce a gentle lather when boiled in water. If you have sensitive skin and find most soaps too drying (and ones you can use too expensive) soapwort may be something to consider.

Soapwort contains saponins, which create the soap-like cleaning action. Saponin is also a poison, so is not to be ingested. The roots, when flowering, contain as much as 20% saponin. But it can be used externally in many ways so it a very good garden plant if you like beauty and utility.

It is certainly a good choice for the environment. Soapwort soap has no harsh chemicals or environmentally destructive additives and therefore causes no danger when returned to the environment. It’s also very easy to grow. In fact, it does better in poor soil than good.

Besides being able to be cultivated from seed, soapwort spreads via a thick rhizome. It can be tenacious. If you dig in your garden parts of the rhizome can end up with other garden refuse and start to grow wherever you dump. 

Soapwort is cultivated to a certain extent as an ornamental, although nowadays other perennials have nudged this useful garden favourite to the sidelines, or should I say ditches... That’s a shame, as the flowers have a lovely fragrance, which spreads especially well in the evening. Soapwort is an excellent butterfly and moth attractor as well.

Soapwort and pets

One caution is to NOT use soapwort-derived soap or shampoo to wash your dog or cat.  Because of the saponin, soapwort shouldn't be ingested and a pet might lick some soap residue off if they aren't thoroughly rinsed off.

I found this basic recipe for soapwort liquid soap in several places on the web. I haven’t made it... yet.

I may wait until next year when we have some soapwort of our own growing in our garden.

Soapwort Liquid Soap

2 cup fresh soapwort leaves & stems, chopped (1 cup dried)

4 cups spring water

optional: essential oils or other botanical additives

Brin the water to a boil. Add the soapwort and cover the pan. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth.

If using additives, stir in once cool.

Whisk the mixture, bottle and refrigerate. It will keep for about 1 week.

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Be aware of Deadly Nightshade

Beauty and folly are old companions. – Benjamin Franklin 

Berries to avoid. Photo: Arthur Chapman, Flickr ccl

For all of our weeding, there seems to be one plant that keeps popping up, be it through our holly hedge or in our perennial and vegetable beds. I kind of hate to pull it up because the flowers are nice. But even though something is beautiful, it is folly to assume it's safe.

Photo: tdietmut, Flickr ccl

This pretty vine is “deadly nightshade.” That's what we call it in Nova Scotia, and the warning in its name is for good reason.

I remember being told about Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) from the same age as I was warned about poison ivy. I was to never eat it and shouldn't even touch it – either one, to be exact. 

You child will encounter it. Make no mistake. It’s common. Luckily it’s only coming into bloom now. If you don't teach them about this plant it will only be a matter of time until one of those berries ends up in a small mouth. Forewarned is fore-armed.

I have found from my own experience the little fruits that follow the attractive flowers actually smell a little like tomatoes – not unpleasant at all. They are an important food source for some birds. Interestingly, three members of the Solanum family are cultivated as extremely important food crops for humans: the tomato, potato and eggplant.

Nightshade is native to Europe and Asia, but is now naturalized almost world wide, where in places it is an invasive weed. It can grow in woodlands through to marshes. 

Nightshade is a semi-woody perennial vine, which scrambles over other plants, and is capable of reaching a height of 12 feet, although 3-5 feet is far more common. The leaves are arrowhead-shaped, and often lobed at the base. 

Nightshade flowers bloom in loose groupings. They are star-shaped with five recurving purple petals and yellow stamens and style. One European variety blooms white. The fruit is an oval red berry that serve as food for many birds. 

Photo: Mollivan Jon, Flickr ccl

It's interesting information about being food for birds, because the information on human consumption is sharply divided. It all depends what branch of government you wish to believe (if either...).

I found the following post online, from no other source than our own Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility:

General poisoning notes:

Climbing nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) is a naturalized woody vine that is found along fencerows, among shrubbery, and at wood edges across most of southern Canada. The plant, especially in its green immature fruits, contains steroidal alkaloids, which have caused poisoning in cattle and sheep. Humans may have been poisoned after ingesting immature berries. Recent experiments show that the mature red berries contain only a small amount of toxin and have little chance of harming children (Alexander et al. 1948, Cooper and Johnson 1984, Hornfeldt and Collins 1989).

See the actual online post here: http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=55&p_type=all&p_sci=sci

So I guess it's the immature berries that are to be avoided more than the mature. Good info to know, or is it???

This is the cover of the IWK Health Centre's
Poison Plant Guide that I designed.
The link is below. Useful information.

Just when I was believing our Canadian Government (for the first in a long time...), I found this in the Nova Scotia Poison Plant database from the NS Museum system:

{Poisoning] symptoms resemble those caused by ingestion of green potatoes: abdominal distress, headaches, and weakness, among more serious indications. 

Most toxic are the leaves and unripened (green) berries.

Poison Location

All parts are toxic, especially seeds, fruit, and leaves. (my emphasis)

Poison Type

Indole alkaloids in jimsonweed; and solanine, another toxic alkaloid, in green potatoes and nightshades.

See http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/?section=species&id=120

So apparently all of it is to be avoided. Although fatal human poisonings are rare, there have been several cases. The active poison is believed to be solanine. Solanine is a glycoalkaloid and is the exact same compound that makes green-tinged potatoes inedible. 

If you're interested in what other plants are lurking around that might kill you, take a look at the following. This is a little self-serving, but here's a link to a brochure published by our own IWK Health Centre. It lists a great number of poisonous plants that can be found in the wild or in the home. It's a very useful guide for any parent – or even pet owner.

http://www.iwkpoisoncentre.ca/assets/files/plantguide.pdf

Better safe than sorry, especially since most of us will be out and around throughout the summer with children in tow.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Rose & Lemon Thyme Syrup for Summer Drinks

What is the most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine. – Susan Sontag

No the colour has not been altered. This is a "soda and rose" au naturel.

Girls – get out your fancy drinks glasses. Summer officially starts today. Here’s a recipe that you’ll just HAVE to make for all those patio parties.

Today's victim, rosa rugosa. Watch out for bees.

I shouldn’t generalize about what’s feminine and masculine like that. I suppose boys too, but probably less likely.

I’m drinking it, but I’m not what many would consider normal. I’m not afraid of pink things. In fact I’m wearing a hot pink polo right now – gasp!

And pink this syrup is. But besides being pink, it is also very floral, a little bit herbal and good.

It’s a simple syrup made from probably the most common rose in Nova Scotia besides wild roses – rosa rugosa. Those are the old fashioned ones that grow around many older homes. Very dependable, very aromatic and a very strong bloomer.

A common ingredient

I've made a few things from the petals before. We have three rugosa on our property and so does my mother. Two of ours are white and one is the classic magenta. I’ve made a few liqueurs from various roses before and posted on this blog. Search “rose.” 

This time I thought I would show you how to make a rose-infused syrup. So if you don’t agree with alcohol consumption, or if you're unable (like preggers), you can enjoy this too. Use your imagination – use this anywhere that you would another syrup.

The best time to pick rose petals is a couple hours after sunrise once the petals dry off from any dew. This is also the time when the bees and other beasties are working as well. 

About 4 cups, plus some sprigs of lemon thyme.

Watch out when you pick the petals. Memories of putting mud on childhood bee stings (an old method to take away the pain) came flooding back. Don’t know if it helps, but we used to do it.

It should go without saying, but never uses roses that have been sprayed with pesticide. This includes store-bought bouquets. They are edible, but even if you wash them you’ll never be certain all the pesticide is gone.

It’s a good idea to wash ones you pick too, just to get off any surface dirt and clear out any lurking creepy crawlies.

Easy as one, two thee...

To make this amazing syrup all you do is 1) combine the ingredients, 2) simmer and 3) strain. There’s a reason it’s called simple syrup. I added some lemon thyme sprigs to give it a bit of herbal edge. Rose can be somewhat “cloying.” So remember that when mixing up a drink, too.

This syrup would work wonders in rose martinis, or on any other cocktail that needs a floral punch. I believe later on it will get a workout with vodka and club soda.

Try it in a rose gin and tonic. I would use tonic water but I have an allergic reaction to quinine. Not nice to have anxiety attacks.

To test drive the syrup I added it to plain soda and ice. After all, it’s only 11am as I write... My gosh, this is pink. Unbelievably pink.

Mix together, gently boil for 15 minutes, and strain out the solids.

Yield is 2 cups of sweet, pink "gold."

Rose & Lemon Thyme Syrup

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 15 min  |  Yield: 2 cups

4 cups lightly packed rose petals, about 10 roses

1 tbsp fresh lemon thyme leaves

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, depending on thickness of syrup you want. 

Strain the syrup through a fine sieve, like a reusable metal coffee filter. Press the petals to release all the oils. Let cool and bottle.

Add to a martini or cocktail (shaken or stirred), or combine with soda and ice for a floral, herbal, refreshing summer drink.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Garden Surprises, Yucca and Opuntia

Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise. – Alice Walker 

Doesn't seem to be much, until you realize what you're looking at.

Big time surprises here in the country, at least in our flower gardens. Two plants are going to bloom this year.

On the face of it that might not seem like much to be excited about. But when you realize what two plants are setting blooms – well, then you get excited. They are two that many don’t think could survive our winters.

This is a bud (I hope). We have several!

Cactus in Nova Scotia?

First up – an outdoor cactus. Opuntia humifusa, also known as Eastern Prickly Pear or Indian Fig, is a cactus found in most of eastern North America. 

Naturally it grows as far north as Massachusetts but according to the USDA it is hardy to Zone 6(ish). That means southern Ontario, parts of Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. And British Columbia of course.

This strange beast is composed of flat paddles that are covered with spines. These spines are composed of very fine hair-like stickers that can go into your skin quite easily. And they’re quite irritating. This is first-hand knowledge. 

New paddles grow out from the same spots as the spines on the edge, if conditions are right. I was told when we purchased them they were “iffy” and that they may never bloom for us. Apparently our conditions, and location, are right. We have buds set!

I’m looking forward to the flowers. They’re bright yellow , blooming from the edge of the paddles. They’re supposed to bloom late spring but since we’re setting buds right now I expect in perhaps a month we’ll have flowers. 

Photo: vikisuza, Flickr ccl

Sometimes the flowers have red centres. The individual blooms can be 2” wide. Small, yes – but it’s a cactus blooming in your yard!

If you’re really lucky (or have a longer growing season), the blooms will ripen into prickly pear fruit, which are edible. They start off green but turn a dark purple-red, with deep magenta coloured flesh. They’re also full of very tough seeds. Watch your teeth.

The architectural yucca

The second is an exotic that will not only last through our Nova Scotia winters but will increase if given the right conditions. It’s Yucca filamentosa, otherwise known as Adam’s Needle. 

The flower stock, starting to emerge – a a rapid rate.

Yucca are hardy perennials that have a range of USDA Zones 3 to 10. That’s pretty wide. Essentially that covers from the Florida Panhandle in the USA to most of the lower parts of Central Canada’s provinces and both Canadian coasts.

Yucca can grow between 12” in height to a glorious 5’ (60”) when their flower spikes are in full glory. They’re quite a sight and demand attention in the garden.

Some other common names for Yucca include Spanish Dagger and Spanish Bayonet. There are nine species and 24 subspecies of Yucca, and their distribution covers a wide area of Central and North America. Some yuccas are extremely exotic looking – nothing at all like Y. filamentosa. Yucca filamentosa is usually what is sold here in garden centres. You can even get variegated varieties. We have two, plus five of the green leaved ones.

For much of the growing season, yucca are a mass of architecturally interesting sword shaped leaves. They’re quite rigid and can be a bit sharp so watch small pets and children. The leaves are usually in the form of an upright clump emerging from the ground. This makes them a favourite in garden border designs. They’re very structural.

Last year's stocks

But then they do something a little unexpected. They flower, a lot. Yucca (can) flower from the middle of summer through autumn, when they carry masses of white 2”-3” hanging bells. These flowers, that can appear in the dozens, are borne on very rigid stalks that emerge from the centre of each plant. 

After many seasons of doing nothing but growing leaves, last year two of them bloomed. This year is seems to be a third one’s turn. If I understand their growth pattern correctly, the ones that bloom divide themselves the next year. The two that bloomed last year have now turned into four.

I believe it’s mostly my fault that I had to wait so long. I’m pretty certain I was a little unkind to them in both the soil and location choices. It makes a great difference. My yucca survived but did not “flourish” for quite some time.

If you’re looking for some “ooh and aah” plants for your garden borders, look no further than opuntia and yucca. You can find yucca at pretty much any garden centre. The cactus is a little harder to find. You can get then at the Village Nursery just outside Bridgewater.

That is where I’m heading later today. Since they’re apparently happy where we have them, I may as well get a couple more!

(I did get two more at $7.99, which I thought was very reasonable for the size. Hopefully they will be happy too.)

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

What’s blooming now? Siberian iris!

'God's plan' is often a front for men's plans and a cover for inadequacy, ignorance, and evil. – Mary Daly 

Pretty. It's amazing what a little attention will do.

Have you ever had a plan that somehow got shoved to the back burner? I did, but it wasn’t evil. It did involve a fair bit of inadequacy on my part, though. And it involved Siberian irises. (I’m just ignorant as part of my personality.)

This is just a few divided plants after 2-3 years.

Many years ago, in what seems like an entirely different life, I purchased 4-5 small pots of blue Siberian irises and planted them in a temporary spot under an oak tree in the back yard. 

It was supposed to be a nursery where they could propagate. From there I could dig, divide and have a beautiful swath of them, almost like a river of blue.

It’s funny how turfing a domestic partner (or two) can take the wind out of your sails. That’s what happened to me. I didn’t feel a lot like gardening for quite some time. It seems like you just catch your breath when the wind gets knocked out of you again. True, right?

Someone once said if you want to make God laugh, talk about your plans. Someone was laughing, but it wasn’t me. But now I’m back on track, married to a kind, gentle soul, and the irises are in my sights once again.

Luckily, the Siberian irises didn’t mind waiting – and I mean waiting – for me. It was about 15 years. In that time they did increase, but if I had been paying attention I would have had many, many more.

In the last two years alone, by division, I have doubled what was there. They are now in three spots in our yard.

Siberian irises are attractive through spring, summer and fall. Come to think of it they are even nice in winter. The flowers set decorative pods and the stems dry out making them almost impervious to snowfall. The pods and stems are nice decorations for inside arrangements. I have kept some for years and years.

Siberian iris are pretty forgiving, if mine are any indication. They don’t like to dry out much, though. A bonus is that they’re not fussy to plant like bearded irises. Unlike bearded, that need sun to “bake” the rhizome above ground, Siberians like sitting in soil, not too deep, but in the ground.

They’re pretty tough too. Over the past week we have had cold temperatures, rain and wind. They bloomed right through it. A couple stems are now cocked over a bit, but the vast majority (like 95%) are still standing straight and blooming like crazy.

Originally from Eurasia, growing wild in meadows or by streams, most plants available now are hybrids of that wild iris sibirica. Due to this cross breeding you can buy different colours, as well as ones with larger flowers. Our plants are close to the original species I believe, with smaller sky-blue flowers, but still beautiful.

The centre has died and a "ring" has grown around it.

Siberian iris are well behaved garden plants. They grow in neat clumps, with lovely strap-like leaves. From among the leaves, tall (about 30”) stalks emerge with upwards of 5 flower buds that bloom in succession.

In Nova Scotia ours bloom in late spring just as the last of the rhododendrons are passing and the Oriental poppies are firing up. The colour combo of blue and orange is fantastic. After the flowers are passed the clumps of green leaves remain, making a good background for later perennials or summer annuals.

Siberian irises are quite easy to divide, and they even tell you when to do it. As clumps mature, the centre dies out and new growth forms around the original, almost like a ring. It’s very easy to see when this happens.

Opinion varies, but most agree it is best not to disturb clumps when they are starting to grow in the spring, or late in the fall. Mid summer, while the roots are still active, is the best time. That way the transplants have time to settle in to their new location before growth stops for winter.

This summer the last of the irises will be lifted from their backyard nursery. I’m not exactly sure where they will go, but I’m sure we will find a place of pride where we can enjoy them.

And I’ll make them a promise to tend them with the care they deserve. They’ll reward me with more and more as the years pass. Not a bad deal.

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