Looking quite lovely in the garden is a stunning Southeast US native, Canna glauca ‘Panache’. The natural flower colors of Canna glauca, commonly known as water canna, range from white to pink, but we love this bicolor peachy yellow selection. Although it natively grows in shallow water, it also thrives quite well in average garden
A Native Canna with Panache’ Read More »
One of our long-time favorite summer perennials is the amazing Lychnis ‘Orange Sherbet’. This gem first came into our life when I traveled for a Midwest talk in 2004, where one of the hosts asked if I’d like a plant of her Lychnis coronata. I assumed she was talking about either the common, short-lived Lychnis
Orange Sherbet is Simply Delicious Read More »
An outstanding BLE (Broadleaf Evergreen) at JLBG this month is the amazing Prunus laurocerasus ‘Batumi Rubies’. This full-size form of the more commonly sold dwarf selections makes an amazing specimen. The fruit of this Black Sea native is typically black, but plantsman Todd Lasseigne made this amazing red-fruited collection in 2001, in the country of
As a young gardener, the chance of growing the high elevation North American native quaking aspen in NC was always nothing more than a random thought that kept popping in my mind, being quickly dismissed, until we spotted one a few years ago at South Carolina’s Spartanburg Community College Garden. Garden director, Dr. Kevin Parris,
Not Quaking from the Heat – Aspens in NC? Read More »
One of our sarracenia beds looks lovely as it is surrounded on the elevated dry side by a ring of two ice plants, Delosperma ‘Kelaidis’ and Delosperma cooperi. We enjoy the juxtaposition of dryland and wetland plants beside each other, which causes lots of double takes.
With a large diversity of plants, the garden looks different almost daily. Here’s a recent scene featuring Deutzia ‘Nikko’ (white flowers, front), Nandina domestica ‘Twilight’ (pinkish center), Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Chirimen’ (left of the nandina) and Acer palmatum ‘Kashima’ (behind the Chirimen).
Albizzia ‘Chocolate Fountain’ takes the “Cousin It” pose in the garden, looking particularly dazzling this week. We love using colorful and architectural plants like this to create memorable garden vignettes.
Cousin It in the Garden Read More »
New century plant hybrids don’t usually just happen. Yes, a bee can occasionally transfer pollen, resulting in a new hybrid, but as a rule, new hybrids require an incredible amount of work, spearheaded here by our volunteer, Vince Schneider. Vince coordinates pollen collection, storage, as well as the pollination process. While we love agaves with
Sky Painting with Pollen Read More »
We’ve grown a number of distinctive forms of the Zone 7 hardy century plant, Agave lophantha, through the years, but one of our favorites is the Yucca Do introduction, Agave lophantha ‘La Bufa Baby’, currently on sale. This was originally discovered in the Sierra Chiquita Mountains of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It’s the only selection we’ve seen
One of the finest, and most floriferous perennials we grow is the amazing Berlandiera pumila ‘Chocoholic’. The flowering season is just beginning as you can see in the recent image below. For us, it flowers pretty much non-stop until frost. In early morning, and later in the afternoon, the flowers smell exactly like milk chocolate
