Rock Pink Rock Pink (Talinum calycinum) has been in bloom for weeks and it just got better and better, as long as the warm weather lasted. I love the bright magenta of the flowers against the natural greys of the rocks and stone mulch. I hope it proves to be hardy, here in western Quebec, but… Continue reading September Highlights
Author: Trish Murphy
Artist: botanical, still life, and natural history illustration.
Garden designer: native plants and naturalistic gardens
Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar
First spotted as a tiny hatchling, by Mo Laidlaw, about three weeks ago, this caterpillar of Giant Swallowtail seems a little bit bigger each time we check on it. It had eaten all the leaves on its seedling Hop-tree (Ptelea trifoliata) so I moved caterpillar and denuded seedling into the hoop house underneath a larger… Continue reading Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar
We Recycle Pots
We recycle our nursery plastic. If you have a potting shed full of pots looking for a good re-use, consider bringing some when you visit Beaux Arbres. We do not use or want: Compostable pots (speckled brown), cell packs or flimsy pots, pots in vivid colours, or rigid round green pots. We use a few… Continue reading We Recycle Pots
Wild Senna Beats the Heat
This tall yellow wildflower loves the heat and seems to laugh at drought. Five or six feet tall on sturdy stems, Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa) has typical pinnate Pea Family foliage but the individual flowers are more open than typical in the family. Wild Senna belongs to an early-evolved branch of the Pea family tree. The… Continue reading Wild Senna Beats the Heat
Miniature Crevice Garden
This hypertufa trough, planted only weeks ago, is doing remarkably well. I used a technique I read about in the North American Rock Garden Society quarterly, and sandwiched a thick clay mud between vertical slabs. One would think that the little Erigeron pinnatisectus or Feather-leaf Fleabane, perched at the top, would not have had a… Continue reading Miniature Crevice Garden
Upland White Aster
All the hot weather in July has brought on the bloom of Upland White Aster and very pretty it is, a neat, relatively low-growing aster, with shining white flowers. I thought I had better label my pots of young Upland White Aster, just in case anyone, inspired by the blooming plants in the garden, wanted… Continue reading Upland White Aster
Talinum: a pretty, hardy succulent
The long, blistering-hot dry period we just went through proved the garden value of a pretty, hardy succulent from the American mid-west. Rock Pink (Talinum calycinum) is a member of a genus which includes some summer-rain-intolerant species from the Rockies, collectively called Fame Flowers. We are growing Rock Pink for the first time this year.… Continue reading Talinum: a pretty, hardy succulent
Small Summer-flowering Shrubs
Leadplant Amorpha canescens A very slow-growing, deep-rooted shrub from the Canadian Prairies, with delightful finely dissected pinnate foliage and spikes of purple blooms in July. It is truly small-scaled, seldom over 18″ high, and thus suitable for rock gardens. Extremely drought-resistant once established. Because of its very slow growth, it is seldom available in the nursery… Continue reading Small Summer-flowering Shrubs
Kalm’s St. John’s Wort
A really lovely, small, summer-flowering shrub that I am sure many people would want in their gardens, if only they knew it. With fine-textured foliage, a hardy and adaptable disposition, and conical orange seed pods which continue the show through August, Kalm’s St. John’s Wort hardly needs more appeal, but I can add that it… Continue reading Kalm’s St. John’s Wort
Small-flowered Sundrops
It is difficult to convey in a photo the great charm of Small-flowered Sundrops (Oenothera perennis). I was heartened recently when some discerning customers at the nursery made a bee-line to it. Compared to the enormous luminous flowers of Ozark Sundrops (Oenothera macrocarpa), or the great flower masses of citrine yellow of Common Sundrops (Oenothera… Continue reading Small-flowered Sundrops
Beaux Arbres Plantes Indigènes / Native Plants 