Common name: slough sedge

Family name: Cyperaceae

Description: A rapidly growing perennial that spreads by rhizomes.

Flower: Elongated, and tightly clustered around a central axis. Inflorescence is partially or completely hidden by spiky bracts.

Foliage: Leaves are flat, green, and can grow to approximately 60cm in length.

Growing conditions: Commonly found in bogs, ditches, marshlands, ponds, and the edges of rivers and lakes. Can grown in brackish water.

Height and spread: 0.6m in height

Landscape uses: This plant is evergreen and provides colour all year long. This plant is extremely important to waterfowl of all kinds, as they use the seeds as a source of food. Other animals use the foliage to seek shelter, and places to lay eggs and nest.

Common name: tule, hard-stem bullrush

Family name: Cyperaceae

Description: Freshwater rush species native to the lower mainland. Characterized by tall, slender, grey-green tubes filled with a pithy substance. This plant is culturally important to the Indigenous peoples of the Vancouver area. It was used as an insulator, bedding or packing material.

Flower: Inflorescence is a terminal panicle of 3-10 spikes that each have 50 spikelets.

Foliage: Stalks are evergreen with a blue-green colour, and grow to be about 3m. Leaves are few and short and at the base of the stems.

Growing conditions: Prefers to grow in standing water from 10-30cm in depth. Can tolerate up to 1.5m of water, but not for very long periods. It will grow on alkaline, saline or brackish sites. Can tolerate periods of drought and total inundation.

Height and spread: 3m tall; will spread about 45cm per growing season.

Limitations: Is susceptible to being forced out by invasive species.

Landscape uses: This plant has a beautiful texture when planted in masses. It screens but is not solid, creating interesting shadows and light play. It also provides excellent habitat value for nesting waterfowl and wetland birds. The dense root mass also makes Schoenoplectus ideal for bank stabilization.

Close up of Alcea rosea flower

Common name: hollyhock

Family name: Malvaceae

Description: Very showy and statuesque plant that forms several tall stalks with large lobed leaves at the base and large funnel shaped flowers blooming above the foliage.

Flower: Large, funnel shaped, hibiscus-like flowers with textured petals; darker towards the centre; ranging in colour from red, pink, purple, yellow, cream and white. Flowering at its peak in July/August.

Foliage: Large, lobed, simple, medium green leaves, alternately arranged.

Growing conditions: full sun, humus rich, well-drained soil.

Height and spread: 1.3-2m by 0.3-0.6m

Limitations: Can be prone to rust disease if grown in the same place for more than a few years in a row.

Landscape uses: This plant has a lot of good qualities: it gives a strong vertical axis in the garden, and is substantial enough to make an impact with just a few plants. The flowers are very prominent and come in a multitude of colours, making it valuable in a perennial border. It also attracts beneficial insects like bees and other pollinators.

Common name: Hall’s honeysuckle

Family name: Caprifoliaceae

Description: Evergreen climbing vine with dark green, ovate leaves and white, tubular flowers that give off a lemony scent.

Flower: Delicate, tubular, white flowers with a lemony scent that bloom on the tips of the branches. Flowers mature to a yellow colour. Berries are glossy black in colour.

Foliage: Oppositely arranged, attractive, dark green leaves with entire margins and ovate in shape.

Growing conditions: Full sun to part shade; medium to low water use; drought tolerant once established;

Height and spread: 4-8m by 1-1.5m

Limitations: Can be invasive in other climates, but is fine in Vancouver. A little tender; at -10 C it drops its leaves. Abundance of flowers dependent on amount of sunlight; with more shade, flowers decrease. Is a very vigorous plant, and can be considered aggressive.

Landscape uses: One of the few evergreen vines that can be grown in Vancouver. Has a beautiful lemony scent. This plant doesn’t need a lot of looking after to look good, so it is suitable for landscapes that have little maintenance. Can be used as a ground cover.

photo sourced from http://www.shweeashbamboo.com/fargesia%20sp.%20’scabrida’.htm

Common name: orange stem bamboo

Family name: Poaceae

Description: Clumping evergreen bamboo that has distinctive orange papery sheaths around the young culms. This bamboo has a more upright habit and is quite well behaved.

Flower: n/a

Foliage: Slender, short, lanceolate green leaves.

Growing conditions: Needs full sun.

Height and spread: 4m by 3m

Limitations: This bamboo is more resistant to bamboo mite than sasa bamboos. It needs sun, as it is not as robust when grown in the shade.

Landscape uses: The attractive orangey culms, fairly upright habit, and well behaved nature of this bamboo make it an ideal choice for an evergreen screening plant in all landscapes, as it doesn’t need to be grown on slab or be contained like running bamboos.

Common name: mountain sage

Family name: Lamiaceae

Description: bushy, spreading subshrub with ovate leaves and flowers held in short terminal racemes

Flower: Magenta/purple, a large lower ‘lip’ and dark buds. A very long bloom season.

Foliage: ovate, neat leaves of a medium green; can be aromatic.

Growing conditions: full sun; moist but well-drained, rich soil.

Height and spread: roughly 1m by 1m

Landscape uses: Valued for long blooming period, as it can be in flower the entire summer. This makes it useful as a pollinator attracting plant, especially for bees and hummingbirds.

T. rochebruneanum foliage

These flowers have an ethereal and delicate quality

Common name: lavender mist

Family name: Ranunculaceae

Description: tall upright plant with alternate, bipinnately compound leaves, with pinnately veined leaflets, which have a blue-green colour. Dark stems hold small, lavender flowers in panicles clustered well above the foliage, giving an attractive, mist or spray-like appearance.

Flower: small, five petaled, lavender in colour, with yellow stamens; blooms July to September.

Foliage: blueish-green, pinnately compound leaves; foliage is attractive.

Growing conditions: filtered shade, part shade, full sun only if soil is kept moist; well-drained soil.

Height and spread: 1.83 meters by 0.91 meters

Limitations: This large plant can look a bit “leggy” and insubstantial and could be considered unsuitable for more formal gardens.

Landscape uses: The flowers  can look spectacular if massed together. Best at the back of the border due to it’s height. This plant prefers dappled sunlight, and would look lovely in a woodland type setting.

Waxy yellow bell flower of K.palmata

Common name: yellow wax bells

Family name: Hydrangeaceae

Description: tall upright plant with large,broad, green leaves and yellow, waxy bell-shaped flowers.

Flower: showy, yellow, campanulate flowers held in clusters above the foliage on long stems; unusual fruit, giving two months of display

Foliage: broad green leaves that visually form a strong horizontal axis; leaves are almost palmate looking.

Growing conditions: deep shade/filtered shade, part sun; humus rich soil; medium moisture, but doesn’t like to dry out.

Height and spread: 0.7 – 1.3m by 0.6 – 1.0m

Limitations: mainly pest free; not suitable for small spaces as it grows quite large.

Landscape uses: Needs space as it’s a statuesque plant. One of the most interesting parts of this plant is how the leaves form strong horizontal lines and contrast with the strong vertical axis created by the stems. Also the leaves create interesting shadows as they layer on top of one another.

Common name: purple cone flower

Family name: Asteraceae

Description: showy magenta flowers with cones on upright stalks with alternate, lanceolate green leaves.

Flower: magenta petals with dark purple cone; long flowering period July- September

Foliage: blue-green lanceolate leaves with serrate margins.

Growing conditions: full sun, well-drained soil, low water use.

Height and spread: 0.7 – 1.3m by 0.6 – 1.0m.

Limitations: pest and disease resistant; can’t tolerate shade and excess moisture.

Landscape uses: great for a hot dry location; needs to be planted close together-no more than 60cm apart, takes a few years to fill out. Looks good combined with Eryngium giganteum and wispy grasses like Nasella tenuissima. Seed cones provide interest after the flower is spent.

Common name: spike speedwell

Family name: Plantaginaceae

Description: low growing, flowering plant with a creeping habit; lanceolate medium green leaves; flowers are held on upright spikes.

Flower: abundant flowers clustered tightly around each spike ranging in colour from magenta, pink, purple and blue; peak flowering in June-August.

Foliage:  lanceolate leaves with serrate margins

Growing conditions: full sun/ part shade-grows looser in the shade

Height and spread: 0.4 – 0.7m by 0.3 – 0.6m

Limitations:

Landscape uses: front of border display, long blooming period makes it valuable; flowers very similar to a hebe; looks good even in a wet year.