Bracted Lousewort

I've found this growing in the same areas as Pedicularis groenlandica.  I've noticed it tolerates more sun in less moisture.  Flowers are pale yellow with a purple tinge. 

Elephant-head, Little Red Elephant

This is quickly becoming a favorite.   The blooms really do look like their name.  Very hardy plant!   Deer resistant or unpalatable, I'm thinking yes.  

I think the key to growing this successfully is amount of moisture.  I've found it in deep almost dry shade, and this past year found it growing in full sun in a couple inches of water.  I think it would make an awesome pond side plant.

White Spruce

These are quite common throughout Alberta, in fact I never have to go far to collect seed. They are easy to identify and easy to collect seed from.

Lodgepole Pine,  Twisted pine, subsp. latifolia

An evergreen conifer that grows in the Rocky Mountains and into Saskatchewan.   The cones need to be exposed to high heat (forest fire) in order to release the seeds.  

Limber pine also called Apinus flexilis & Rocky Mountain White Pine

This is one of my favourite trees.  In spite of the harsh conditions they are exposed to, they survive, they grow, they provide food and shelter to the critters that also survive in this climate. Limber pine grows all around Lake Abraham, AB, some of them at Windy Point grow horizontally due to the wind.  The cones are beautiful, up to about 20 cm long, when opened they make wonderful Christmas decorations.

I do wonder how they will grow in conditions that are not so harsh?  I started one in my yard, year 3, still alive.

White cinquefoil

Rough Cinquefoil 

Can be used to make a medicinal tea.

SOLD OUT

I have only located this in one spot in my area, and no I'm not disclosing it.  I found it about 4 years ago and since then I've gone back every year to take note of its presence.  It is slowly spreading and this is the first year that I've felt that I can collect seed.  Years previous I've spread the seed in that area.

This is a subtly beautiful wee plant.  I love it and I'm so excited to be able to share it with other gardeners.  

Heal-all, Selfheal, Xia Ku Cao (Chinese medicine)

I first saw these up at Pinto Lake which is in a National Park, so being a good seed person I declined from removing even a seed (one can not remove any THING from a National Park).  Then I found them so close to home off Hwy 22x.  The blooms are simply gorgeous!  I now have them in the yard, tucked away, growing wildly. 

The common names say it all, so many medicinal benefits to this plant.  Can also be used as a dye plant. 

SOLD OUT  Pin cherry

A small tree 4-8 m tall.  Finely toothed leaves, small white flowers opening about the same time as the leaves do in spring.   Small red fruit is quite tasty.  

Grows on the edge of moist mixed woods in part shade.

Red-fruited Choke cherry

Found in dry open areas and edges of aspen forests.  A shrub 1-3 metres tall.

Chokecherries make a delicious jam or jelly although they are sour to taste fresh picked. 

The Blackfoot ground the entire fruit (with pit) and formed dry cakes which were consumed as trail food.  Ground berries were also added to pemmican and fish.  The Blood tribe would boil the fruit with bison blood as a treat. 

Skunk Currant, Skunkberry

Edible but disagreeable in taste is stated in my books.  However, I tried a ripe berry and found it to taste like a ripe currant.  I did not find that it smelled skunky either, but before you grow these for food, do your research.  I'm going to put them in my yard, they make a nice shrub, if not agreeable for humans, maybe they are  agreeable for our birds.