The speaking circuit is cranking up for the year, and I hope I’ll see you either in person or virtually at the programs listed below. This Saturday, February 14, I’ll be speaking to the Piedmont Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society at 10am. The program will be held in the McSwain Center at
On the Road and Zooming Again Read More »
Of the 2,500+ named cultivars of Galanthus (snowdrops), only a small percentage have yellow ovaries. This trait was first noticed in 1974, with the discovery of Galanthus ‘Wendy’s Gold’, and since that time, gold has become one of the most highly prized traits in snowdrops. Although we have a relative small collection of 72 snowdrop
There’s Gold in them Snowdrops Read More »
Euphorbia ‘Canyon Gold’ is a delightful, but little-known, Euphorbia characias hybrid, introduced in 1998, by the former Canyon Creek Nursery. The foliage of the 2′ tall clumps take on a lovely purple cast in winter. In late February, the terminal flowers open chartreuse. Well-drained soils, and sun are required for success with this short-lived perennial.
Once we made our first wide cross in the genus Arisaema, back in the early 1990s, we realized that there were probably few interspecific crosses in the Araceae family that weren’t possible, so we ramped up our work, as time permitted. The genus, Amorphophallus, was one of these in which we further explored the lack
Crossing into the Impossible Read More »
Many of the winter gold colored spruces don’t color up well in our climate. Once exception is the Norway spruce selection, Picea abies ‘Aurea Magnifica’, which has been absoluty wonderful during our cold weather.
So many folks think running a nursery is such a pastoral, relaxing career, but as with most things in life, the realities are quite different….especially during the winter months. We have 30 greenhouse cold frames, which are kept at two different temperature regimens, 35F, and 55F, depending on the needs of the plants growing in
Interrupting Those Long Winter Nights Read More »
Through the years, we have grown 21 of the 35 North American native species of bear grass species. Nolinas currently reside in the Asparagaceae family, with the likes of Agave, Dasylrion, Yucca, and of course, Asparagus. One Nolilna species we didn’t expect to be winter hardy is the Sonoran bear grass, Nolina matapensis. This very
Cozying up to a Sonoran Bear Grass Read More »
Looking lovely in the winter garden is the adult ivy, Hedera helix ‘Coal Miner’. When the winter temperature drops, the leaves take on a purple black cast that contrast with the veins, which remain green.
Most of the 1,500 plants we’ve introduced in the last 40 years remain in the gardens here at JLBG, but a few special ones we’ve lost due either to neglect, or not siting them in the proper location. Prior to building our crevice garden, we sadly lost several plants that we now know would probably
Been There, Killed That…Would like it Back Read More »
We’ve not experienced two back-to-back weekend winter storms in a while, although neither lived up to the meterologist’s hype. That’s because you can’t accurately predict non-linear systems like weather and climate with a linear model. To function well, liner models require you have data input from all of the variables. In the case of weather
Stuck in the Snownut Hole Read More »
