What better way to celebrate the role bees and butterflies play in our gardens than to select a native perennial plant which nurtures them and name it Plant of the Year for 2017?
Introducing Aslepias tuberosa, better known as butterfly weed. It is also known as butterfly flower, chigger flower, Indian potato, pleurisy root, and swallow root.
This North American native wildflower is a main food plant for monarch butterflies. Queen butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other insects are also attracted. Small wonder, as the flowers produce copious amounts of nectar.
The whole plant is striking with its upright stature. Light green leaves are a perfect foil for the bright orange blossoms, although there are colour variations ranging from deep red-orange to yellow.
Patience is needed if starting from seed as it can take up to three years for flowers to appear. Also be careful where you place it in the garden as it is not partial to transplanting. If you are careful, and dig down far enough, you can transplant your specimen successfully. Be forewarned! Leave a piece of root behind in the old spot and another plant will sprout up.
It is also a good idea to deadhead the spent flowers throughout the growing season to prevent masses of young plants from developing. It may be an extra garden chore but the benefits to our pollinating insects makes it worthwhile.
Of extra interest… a study has determined wireworm damage to crops is significantly reduced when seeds are soaked in an extract from Aslepias tuberosa.
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Who likes cilantro? (Or coriander?)
Jump on the bandwagon and celebrate this culinary plant being named Herb of the Year for 2017.
Properly known as Coriandrum sativum, we harvest the leaves and stems (what we call cilantro) to use in seasoning salsas, meats, and those yummy Caribbean dishes.
Even more versatile - the seeds, known as coriander, add a spiced up warm flavour to poultry, soups, stews, and certain vegetables such as beets, carrots, cucumbers and kale.
For a complete list of vegetable-coriander pairings, more info on cilantro and coriander, as well as butterfly weed/wireworm info, visit my website: duchessofdirt.ca.
Leslie Cox co-owns Growing Concern Cottage Garden in Black Creek. Her website is at www.duchessofdirt.ca and her column appears every second Thursday in the Record.