Color mixing
Here’s a fun combination at JLBG this week with Heuchera ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, Iris x hollandica ‘Red Embers’, and Carex retroflexa ‘Bonnie and Clyde’. So many plants, so many fun combinations.
Sex in the Pulpit
After being told several years ago that creating interspecific hybrids of arisaema (Jack-in-the-Pulpit) was virtually impossible, we started our own breeding program. Here are a few of our creations from our Contrarian Frankestein Lab that are looking quite nice this week.
A ton of abutilon
Our 3-year old clump of Abutilon megapotamicum (flowering maple) is looking particularly splendid this week. Planted in full sun and compost amended soil, it has reached 6′ in height and 10′ in width. When grown in part sun or light shade, both flower production and size is reduced. In mild winters like we’ve had recently,
Hot as Ice
Here are more delospermas (ice plants) looking great at JLBG this week. The first two are the most moisture tolerant, Delosperma cooperi (purple), and Delosperma ‘Kelaidis’ (peach). At the bottom is Delosperma sutherlandii, which is a species that we’ve never been able to keep alive in our wet summers prior to building the crevice garden.
Redbud Lite
Here are two of our favorite new redbuds growing at JLBG…both from the NC State breeding program of Dr. Dennis Werner. The first is Cercis canadensis ‘Flame Thrower’, which boasts pumpkin colored leaves that emerge gold. The second is Cercis canadensis ‘Golden Falls’, a fabulous pendulous form, whose leaves remain gold all summer.
Glad Baptising
Here’s a fun combination this week with Gladiolus byzantinus ‘Cruentus’ mingling with Baptisia alba. The European native glads, such as this and Gladiolus italicus are the earliest gladiolus to flower in our climate.
Dazzling vulgarities
Flowering in the garden now are the amazing and very rare white-flowered Dracunculus vulgaris. This wild and crazy aroid, which typically has a red/purple inflorescence, hails from the Mediterranean region, centered around Greece and Turkey. The late aroid guru Alan Galloway worked extensively to breed these, and since we now hold his collections, we wanted
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Rockin’ Rose
We’ve tried for years to grow Helianthemum, the European native rock rose, which is highly prized by rock gardeners. Over the last 35 years, we’ve failed miserably…until we built our crevice garden. Here, it is currently, thriving in our soil mix of 50% Permatill (popped slate).
Horrid Asparagus
I’ve heard asparagus called lot of things, especially by young kids, but here’s one that really lives up to the name, Asparagus horridus. The large spines on this subshrub do a great job protecting the fruit from predators. We’ve long sought to collect as many asparagus species as can be grown in our climate and
Here’s looking at you, kid
Flowering this week is the fascinating Asarum speciosum, native to only three counties in central Alabama. In bloom, it resembles a mass of bloodshot eyes peeking out from beneath the skirt of anise-scented foliage.
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