Juniper Level Botanic Garden has an extensive hardy fern collection, and looking quite amazing for mid-January is Adiantum poiretii ‘Argentine Lace’. This maidenhair fern was grown from our 2002 Argentine spore collection of a little-known and rarely-grown species, native to South America, South Africa, and the Arabian peninsula. It has thrived for us at JLBG
Standing out in the garden this month is Aucuba ‘Petite Jade’, a lovely selection of the Asian native evergreen shrub, Aucuba japonica. This release comes from the U.S. National Arboretum, from cuttings originally collected in 1984 at South Korea’s Chollipo Arboretum. This selection is not only slow-growing and dense, but has excellent resistance to foliar
Looking lovely in the mid-January winter garden is the fern, Neolepisorus fortunei ‘Green Ribbons’. This fascinating evergreen fern looks nothing like what most gardeners are familiar with, when they think ferns. Neolepisorus is one of several genera of ferns, known as ribbon ferns. These ferns grow epiphytically (on trees) and lithophytically (on rocks), mostly in
Decorate the Woodland with Green Ribbons Read More »
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans Nana’ is a dwarf form of Japanese cedar and is looking quite lovely in the winter garden. Dwarf conifers are a great addition to the garden for winter interest. The evergreen foliage takes on a bronze tint during the winter. It is also adorned with a great crop of decorative male cones,
I was lucky enough to catch the winter fruit show on our clump of Iris foetidissima last weekend. This little-known, evergreen, woodland iris from southern Europe, suffers because of its specific epithet “foetidissima”, which means stinking. That’s probably a bit much coming from someone with hundreds of amorphophallus clones. The name reportedly was given because
Starting off the new year is our flowering clump of the Taiwanese endemic wild ginger, Asarum hypogynum. The huge, glossy, evergreen patterned foliage is enough reason to grow this gem, but through most of the winter, the incredible floral display silently sits virtually unnoticed by most human visitors. JLBG currently houses one of the largest
Coming in second place to the Helleborus niger we posted earlier is Helleborus x ballardiae ‘Mahogany Snow’. This is a cross of the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger and Helleborus lividus. The flowers emerge white, then age to a lovely salmon pink. We find this hellebore hybrid much easier to grow than either parent.
The Christmas Rose Bowl Read More »
In 2004, plantsman Hans Hansen sent us an amazing variegated sport that he’d created for us to trial, of our native Yucca x recurvifolia. Without getting into the details, that sport, Yucca x recurvifolia ‘Mellow Yellow’ will finally be released in January 2024…twenty years after if first went on trial. We could not be more
I grew my first cycad over 55 years ago, and the excitement of these prehistoric, dinosaur-food plants still hasn’t worn off. Although I’ve long since given up on those that need to go indoors in winter, the number we’ve found to be winter hardy here at JLBG keeps expanding. Once we exhausted the available species,
Cher says we’re never too old for Sex? Read More »
It’s that time of the year where many folks are making financial plans, often to reduce their tax burdens, but also to help support their favorite charities. Whether you need to make IRA withdrawals, have just won the lottery, Warren Buffet is your generous uncle, or your kids didn’t meet your minimal expectations during the
The Season of Giving Read More »
