It’s been a while since we posted a photo of our Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Snow Cream’ in full flower, so for those who missed seeing it at our recent Winter Open Nursery and Garden, here it is in its full splendor in mid-March. Our 26 year old specimen is now 8′ tall x 15′ tall, growing
I’m just back from a day trip to the coastal Wilmington region of NC, with camellia guru, Mike Chelednik (aka Mike See), and Garden Treasures plant breeder, Jason Burris. We made several stops, but the highlight was a return to the New Hanover County Arboretum, where the County Extension Office is headquartered. I’ve visited here
I have long been a fan of the fascinating dryland geophyte, Asphodeline lutea. Native from the Mediterranean through the Caucuses, and south into Africa, Asphodeline lutea is prized for its early spring spikes of bright yellow, star-like flowers. About a decade ago, I heard rumors of an orange-flowered form, which immediately went on my desiderata
Asphodels…a Color Change Read More »
A plant that always draws the interest of garden visitors is our ever-expanding collection of non-running bamboos. One that I get to admire daily from my second floor office window is the Chinese (Sichuan) native, Fargesia robusta. Bamboo taxonomy is at best difficult, since most species only flower once every 100 years. Consequently, Fargesia robusta
While the genus Oxalis has a few species that are known “bad actors”, it has many others that are amazing garden gems. One of our favorites has always been Oxalis palmifrons. Hailing from South Africa’s Southwest Cape Province, this gem forms texturally-fascinating, ground-hugging rosettes, that are right at home in the rock garden. We grow
Palm-leaf Wood Sorrel Read More »
Flowering this week are an array of winter flowering trout lilies of the genus Erythronium, a plant I’ve admired since being a young child, and seeing it grow naturally near our Raleigh, NC home. Erythronium is a genus of only 33 species, spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. While many of the cold climate species won’t
Fishing for Trout Lilies Read More »
Carpeting the woodland garden now is the North American native spring ephemeral, Sanguinaria canadensis. This widespread wildflower is native to virtually the entire Eastern US. The common name, bloodroot, comes from the red pigment, Sanguinarine, which can be found in all plant parts, especially the underground rhizomes. The red pigment has long been used for
Red Roots and White Flowers Read More »
Flowering for the last month is the amazing, winter-flowering Urophysa henryi. Formerly an Isopyrum, this rare Chinese endemic in the Ranunculaceae family, has thrived for over five years in our rock garden. Now that we finally have some spare seedlings, thanks to ours self-pollinating last year, we’ll be trying this around the garden to see
Over two weeks behind this winter, the new growth of the Mediterranean native, Dracunculus vulgaris has finally emerged. This lovable monster is now only a few weeks away from showing off its foul-smelling, phallic, but visually fascinating inflorescence, a large maroon spathe with a dark purple spadix. Watching this is sort of like a train
The Vulgar Dragon Awakens Read More »
Looking good in the garden this week is our selection of the Croatian native lenten rose, Helleborus croaticus ‘Bells of the Ball’. This is a seedling grown from a Will McLewin wild seed collection, without benefit of breeding. Unlike most Helleborus x hybridus, this is a completely deciduous species. This plant gets full sun for
Cracking Croaticus Read More »
