I don’t know how you can look at a mushroom and not be in awe of the beauty of nature. I was blessed to catch this stunning Hen of the Woods, Grifola frondosa, last week. Unfortunately, they’re as ephemeral as a sand castle in the surf, but if you know how to cook, you can
The Art of Shrooms Read More »
From 20 feet away, the bright red fruit on our native coral bean, Erythrina herbacea stands out like a glowing red light district sign. Reportedly, the seed have hallucinogenic properties, but we don’t recommend trying this at home, since in Mexico, the seed are reportedly used to poison animals from rats to fish. We’ll stick
Seedy Red Light District Read More »
Have you met Anna yet? This charmer is a member of the Gesneriad clan, first cousin to the better known African violets, sinningias, and gloxinias. Anna ophiorrhizoides has only been with us for a year and a half, but we’re certainly hoping to make this a long term relationship. Before she moved to North America,
An introduction to Anna Read More »
Years ago, I had the privilege of serving on the NC Rare Plant Scientific Committee for eight years with Dr. Alan Weakley, and I can truely say, each encounter was an incredible learning experience. It’s not often you get to work closely with a true genius in your field. For those who don’t know Alan,
The Strength of Weakley Read More »
Most red hot pokers flower in late spring, but virtually none have been hybridized with the late summer/fall flowering, Kniphofia rooperi. One of our favorite Kniphofia rooperi hybrids flowering this time of year is Kniphofia ‘Yellow Cheer’, which we first imported from South Africa in 1995. Since then, it’s never failed to put on an
Yellow Cheer in Fall of the Year Read More »
We had a delightful morning this week, welcoming the staff of Montrose Gardens to JLBG. Plantswoman Nancy Goodwin, Magnolia breeder and plantsman, Tom Krenitsky, and Nancy’s staff all joined us, as we spent the morning walking through the garden collections. Although the Montrose mailorder nursery (1984 -1993) has been closed for a while, the amazing
A Montrosian Morning Read More »
Four score and seven years ago….make that actually three years and six months ago, the NC Department of Transportation commandeered almost an acre of JLBG for the construction of the new Raleigh outer loop, Interstate 540. Below is an image from 2021 as land clearing had just begun. Here’s the same view this week, as
Pyrrosia polydactyla ‘Middle Finger’ is an excellent clone of the Taiwanese native five-fingered tongue fern with an exceptionally long middle pinnae. Quite a few nurseries, especially in the Pacific Northwest, offer this as another clumping, but uniquely different species, Pyrrosia hastata. In the garden, it’s quite at home in dry shade, especially happy growing on
Middle Finger Fern Read More »
Hypericum lloydii has looked great in the garden for the last few years. This little-known, imperiled (G4 rank) Southeastern US native, has shown excellent potential as a garden plant. In the wild, it’s found in dry open woodlands and woodland edges in well-drained soils in a narrow band from Virginia south to Alabama. In the
Lloyds St. John’s Wort Read More »
This past weekend, I noticed an unexpected fragrance from the mixed border that surrounds our home. It didn’t take long to realize that it was time for the amazing Autumn tea olives, Osmanthus fragrans to begin their perfumed floral show. The first to open for us this year is the amazing Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus
