Water Smartweed - Persicaria Amphibia - Renouée Amphibie

I'm finding that there are far fewer easy guides to aquatic plants in the region. I was very lucky to stumble on the identification of this plant. I present: water smartweed (fr: renouée amphibie), Persicaria amphibia.

P. amphibia inflorescence

I found this to be quite a lovely flower, with very long ovoid leaves. The flower stalk rose out of the water about eight to twelve inches and the pink flower stalks were each growing off a single branch of the plant.

Milkweed - Asclepias Syriaca - Herbe à la Ouate

Here's a common, easily recognized one: common milkweed (fr: herbe à la ouate), Asclepias syriaca. It's very attractive to butterflies and as such is wonderful to have around, but it's important to keep it out of pastures as it is toxic to a number of grazing animals.

A. syriaca on the shore

There's a hint of red clover and some grasses and hawkweed in the bottom of this image, too, but the focus is on the milkweed. Quite a dramatic plant. I like the effect of the milkweed against the backdrop of the rapids.

Ants collecting nectar from the flowers of a. syriaca

Not only does this flower appeal to bees, it also appeals to ants. I hardly ever see them blooming around here without ants crawling around on them seeking nectar. I like the umbrel shape of the milkweed inflorescence.

A. syriaca inflorescence

I love how thick the flower is. The petals are proportionately extremely thick for their size, giving this flower a stiff, chunky appearance that I find really cool and unusual in a flower. It's quite a dramatic flower even up close. There's a drop of dew visible between the two nearest petals of the flower in the centre here.

Happy Canada Day! -- Joyeuse Fête du Canada!

Joyeuse Fête du Canada! C'est une journée plutôt froide pour le premier juillet. Mais au moins c'est bon pour les épinards et les laitues! J'irai voir les feux d'artifices ce soir.

L. latifolius inflorescence

Here we have a shot of a wild sweet pea (fr. pois vivace), lathyrus latifolius inflorescence (flower stalk). I managed to get the sun in the middle there, causing some beautiful visual artifacts from the brightness of the light.

L. latifolius inflorescence

Here I got the sun behind the petals of one of the flowers. It makes the flower glow, doesn't it? The colour and shape of the flower is particularly clear here, as are the darker veins in the petals. The translucency of the petals is also clear here. My favourite shot of the week.

It's unseasonably cold for Canada Day (July 1st), but of course this whole season has been unusually cold. I hope that we start getting somewhat more summery weather in the coming months, or my eggplants and peppers simply won't prosper this year.