Native Plants for Rock Gardens

American Lady caterpillar on Plantain-leaved Pussytoes.

Charming and diminutive plants from Ottawa Valley’s natural rock gardens Species from slide show, in order shown Early Saxifrage (Micranthes virginiensis) Early Buttercup (Ranunculus fascicularis) Common Bluets (Houstonia carulia) Long-leaved Bluets (Houstonia longifolia) Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus) Dwarf Hairy Beardtongue (P. hirsutus var. pygmaeus) Field Pussytoes (Antennaria neglecta) Hooked-spur or Early Violet (Viola adunca) Bird’sfoot… Continue reading Native Plants for Rock Gardens

September is a good time to plant

Wild Columbine, Wild Lupin, Common Bluets, and violets.

September is a good time to plant native wildflowers in your garden. It is an especially good time to add spring-blooming natives such as pussy-toes, columbines, and violets, if you want to increase wild-life attractiveness and spring colour for next year. These early bloomers grow well in cool soil so even with cooling night temperatures,… Continue reading September is a good time to plant

Relentless rain a week before the Ottawa sale

Wood Poppy

The Rare and Unusual Plant Sale on Sunday, May 14th, at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa is less than a week away and I am past hoping for a spell of warm, sunny weather to bring on some flowers. At this point, I am reduced to hoping fervently that our local ferry service will… Continue reading Relentless rain a week before the Ottawa sale

Making a wildflower meadow

Maximilian's Sunflower

A talk by Trish Murphy of Beaux Arbres Native Plants at Nepean Horticultural Society City View United Church Thursday, March 16, 2017, 7:30 pm All are welcome. There is great interest in creating pollinator-friendly gardens. Creating a wildflower meadow – a sunny plant community of native grasses and wildflowers — is one of the easiest and… Continue reading Making a wildflower meadow