I love discovering an extraordinary plant that just stops me in my tracks [insert head-exploding emoji]. Here’s a round-up of some of the best I’ve found that reach complete otherworldliness in mid-summer. Unfortunately, not all of them are easy to find, at least not in Canada, but they’re well worth the search. I’ve added website links to those plants that can be purchased by Canadians.

1. Painted tongue

For extraordinary colour, try Salpiglossis sinuata, also known as Painted Tongue. This relative of the petunia “is an illuminated manuscript of a flower, intricate and unique in the floral kingdom” according to American website Select Seeds. ‘Kew Blue’, shown above, is a perfect example. When the blooms are backlit by the sun they glow in rich, papal hues of purple and burgundy. Deep creases in the petals create dark shadows like the black solder in stained glass windows.

NOTES

• These can be perennials but Canadians should consider these plants annuals and sow seeds indoors in early spring.
• Needs moderately moist soil but doesn’t like wet feet so soil must be well draining
• Wants full sun but doesn’t like excessive heat so move to a shaded, cooler area during hot afternoons. Will often stop blooming in mid-summer.
• They’re compact, slightly bushy plants that can grow up to 3 feet hight but do well in containers which is a good thing because you may wind up having to move them about (see above note).

For Canadians, packets of seeds are available through Ottawa-based Gaia Organic Seeds and Revival Seeds in Nova Scotia.

Photographed at Chanticleer Gardens in Pennsylvania, July 2023.

2. Yellow Pitcher Plant

Like the Jack In The Pulpit, a native of Ontario, Yellow Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia flava) are carnivorous. Their distinctive trumpet-like stem and dramatic hood are accented by red/purple veining at the neck. If you want a striking plant that adds bright vertical strokes of drama in the garden, these are a great bet. They’re native to southeastern parts of the U.S. but they can be grown in Canada. They do best in a bog garden in consistently wet soil but if you don’t have that kind of real estate, they can do brilliantly in a large container. If you want to give some of these babies a go, get inspired by Carl Mazur’s experiences at growing many types of carnivores, including Yellow Pitchers, at his home in the Niagara Peninsula (Canadian garden zone 6B). He makes his own bogs by sinking kiddy pools into the ground and using large quantities of pine needles as mulch. Easy peasy. His page is part of the International Carnivorous Plant Society website.

NOTES

• Hardy in Canadian garden zones 6 to 10.
• Needs full sun
• Wants consistently moist to wet soil which is relatively easy to manage using a container.
• Can grow up to 3 feet tall

The Carnivorous Plant Store in beautiful Salt Spring Island, B.C., will ship seeds and live plants across Canada. Brads Greenhouse Carnivorous Plants Nursery, on Vancouver Island, also ships live plants across Canada.

Photographed at Chanticleer Gardens in Pennsylvania, July, 2023

3. Butterbur

The Butterbur (Petasites japonicus) offers cute white flowers in early spring but it’s the plant’s humungus leaves that are the big attraction here. They’re at their largest by mid-summer and can grow up to 4 feet wide. If you have the room in your garden, this easy-to-grow perennial makes a terrific backdrop to a bright border of flowers or frothy ferns in a woodland setting. Interestingly, this plant grows wild in parts of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec although, as it’s full name suggests, it isn’t native but was introduced.

NOTES

• Hardy in Canadian garden zones 4 to 9
• Loves part sun but will tolerate full sun if planted in a consistently moist location although it seems you’ll get the largest leaves in a shadier location
• Where this plant occurs in the wild, it can be considered invasive. In the garden, it can kill nearby plants because it grows relatively quickly and can easily block the sun. Installing root barriers can manage this or consider planting a new butterbur in a container first and then sinking the container into your flower bed.

Ontario-based Ferri Seeds and Plants ships butterbur seeds across the country.

Photographed at Keppel Croft Gardens in Big Bay, Ontario, July 2018

4. Indian Pink

Spigelia marilandica (Indian Pink, Woodland Pinkroot) is a native to parts of southeastern United States. Starting in June, this herbaceous perennial sends up arching flower spikes of ruby red blooms which eventually flare into yellow starbursts. With a clump-forming habit growing upwards of two feet, this beauty would be an eye-catching star in a woodland garden. If you are lucky enough to have a pond or a stream running through your garden, consider adding this plant along an edge just as it naturally occurs in the wild.

NOTES

• Hardy in Canadian garden zones 5 to 9
• Needs well drained, rich soil in part to full shade
• Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies

Not an easy plant to find in Canada (as far as I could tell) but you may have luck scoring seeds early next spring (2024) at Canning Perennials in Paris, Ontario.

Photographed at Chanticleer Garden in Pennsylvania in July, 2023.

5. Kintzley’s Ghost Honeysuckle Vine

You might’ve noticed this plant appearing in one of my recent posts on Chanticleer. I couldn’t help including it again here to give this beauty the full attention it deserves. Lonicera reticulata ‘Kintzley’s Ghost’, a rare heirloom honeysuckle, is covered in bright yellow flowers in spring but I think it really comes into its own later in summer when the large silvery eucalyptus-like bracts shine like tiny full moons. In fall they’ll cup bright red berries. O. M. G.

NOTES

• Hardy in Canadian zones 5 to 9
• Can grow up to 12 feet tall
• Very tolerant of hot, dry conditions and poor soil
• You’ll need strong support for the vine to truly look good and thrive (trellis, arch, sturdy shrub).
• Deer resistant and aphid resistant

The website for Michigan-based Great Garden Plants offers plants selections, including Kintzley’s Ghost, in Canadian dollars and will ship to Canada.