Only six weeks remain before the amazing Southeastern Plant Symposium and Rare Plant Auction kicks off in Raleigh. This annual symposium for plant nerds takes place on June 7 and 8 at the North Raleigh Hilton in Raleigh, NC. The symposium, a collaboration between the JC Raulston Arboretum and Juniper Level Botanic Garden, brings together
Southeastern Plant Symposium, Raleigh NC – Friday June 7, Saturday June 8 Read More »
The ladyslipper orchid, Cypripedium ‘Rascal’ has been looking absolutely stunning in the spring woodland garden. This is a hybrid of two North American native species, Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum and Cypripedium kentuckiense.
Flowering now at JLBG is the handsome Jack tree, Sinojackia xylocarpa ‘La Grima’. Sinojackia, named after the late Arnold Arboretum staffer with three first names, John George Jack, is a Chinese native that is quite rare in the wild. In cultivation, this styrax relative matures at a compact 20′ tall. The cultivar ‘La Grima’ is
You don’t know Jack Read More »
We just can’t say enough good things about the amazing Heliotropium ‘Augusta Lavender’. Heliotropes were confined to an old fashioned pass along plant until modern plant breeders got a hold of them and created plants of which we can only dream. This amazing perennial, that’s often sold as an annual, flowers non-stop for us from
There’s Hope for Heliotrope Read More »
Trillium maculatum makes a lovely contrast in the midst of this clump of Polemonium reptans ‘Blount Blues’ this spring…two wonderful Southeastern natives.
Splatter in a Jacob’s Ladder Read More »
We just love the Japanese Gymnaster savatieri ‘Edo Murasaki’, and they have truly been exceptional this spring. As constantly happens, recent taxonomic work has kicked this out of the gym…or more accurately, kicked the gym out of the aster. After years of being a Gymnaster, new DNA tests move it back into the genus, Aster.
Well, Kiss my Gymnaster Read More »
We’ve been fascinated by mayapples of the genus Podophyllum, ever since first studying them in my NC backyard over 60 years ago. It was always a bit disappointing that they went dormant in late May, and often seem to be afflicted by several foliar diseases. It was not until three decades later (mid-1990s) that I
March flowers bring May Apples, along with a Taxonomic headache Read More »
This year, two families of house finches, Haemorhous mexicanus, decided that our Pyrrosia fern baskets were the perfect place to raise their young. Two of three baskets outside our bedroom are filled with the sounds of youngsters, constantly bugging their parents for another happy meal. It usually takes less than two weeks from birth to
Finding Home with a Bunch of Ferners Read More »
We hear from so many gardeners that the abundance of deer has been a significant limiting factor in their gardening, by restricting their plant palette. For those who want to continue gardening, there are four options: 1) Grow only deer-resistant plants, 2) Exclude the deer, 3) Hunt the deer, and 4) Use deer deterrent products.
Shepherding Deer Away Read More »
North Carolina State University has long had a commercial peach breeding program, but every now and then, a seedling emerges that may not have store quality fruit, but has instead good ornamental traits. Two of my favorites from their program are below. The first is Prunus persica ‘NCSU Dwarf Double Red’. I first saw this
With Peaches, beauty is more than skin deep Read More »
