Friday Flowers: Along the River

Honeysuckle at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers

My favourite river trail is a 5 km loop (3 miles) and covers a variety of terrain, from swamp to limestone cliffs. Last week there were so many bushes blooming that it took me two hours to finish the trail due to the number of pictures I took. I met some interesting people who had little tidbits of information to pass along about birds, flora and fauna along the way.

Chokecherry

When I downloaded my photos, it was time to open the guide books to positively identify what I had seen. Some things were easy to find, while other flowering shrubs were conspicuously absent from all the guides.

Hawthorn

The large thorns of the Hawthorn provide safety for many smaller perching birds from predators and when I stand quietly near one, I am almost always rewarded with a closeup view of a bird. Both the Hawthorn and Chokecherry, which are native plants, provide fruit for the birds later in the season.

The most abundant flowering shrub was not to be found in any of my guide books. I went to the library and realized that these must be some ornamental species. At our local nursery, I discovered that the river bank had abundant growths of Bush Honeysuckle, some with white to orange flowers, and others with pink blooms. These shrubs were introduced from Asia and Europe and are widely used in ornamental plantings.

Bush Honeysuckle

They look lovely in bloom and produce fruit that is eaten by birds as well. Unfortunately, they have also become an invasive problem, the seeds being spread by birds. New plants tend to grow under the large trees from which the birds leave their droppings. Bush Honeysuckles have a broad tolerance to a number of habitats and their dense undergrowth shades out early spring herbaceous plants.

Morrow's Honeysuckle

Another abundant invader that I saw was Dame's Rocket. These pretty flowers look similar to Phlox, but can be identified by the four petals on each individual flower. Introduced from Europe in centuries past, they are considered a noxious weed in North America.

Dame's Rocket

When I visited the nursery to look at the ornamental shrubs, I realized that most of them were non-native plants. While some introduced flowering shrubs such as Lilac have not become an invasive problem, it is hard to predict those that might adapt and thrive in the future, competing for space with our native species.

Should imported trees, bushes and flowers be controlled? When people immigrate from other regions of the world they may wish to bring some plant that reminds them of home. One of my patients showed me plants she had grown from seeds she brought from her garden in Germany.

I enjoyed the colour of the Honeysuckle and Dame's Rocket along the river's edge. This bush had beautiful yellow blooms, and I have been unable to identify it yet.
Any ideas?

Unknown Flowering Shrub

P.S. On an unrelated topic....My daughter Becka did a post last night about a disease that has impacted our family very closely. Early testing is now available to determine the risk of siblings developing Type 1 diabetes.