Looking lovely this week in the garden is the rock jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema saxatile. This splendid, mid-season jack hails from rocky pine forests in Sichuan and Yunnan, China, at elevations between 5,000′ and 10,000′. The Latin epithet “saxatile” translates to “grows among the rocks”. Despite it’s natural habitat in dense shade, we have found it performs […]
Cotinus ‘Winecraft Gold’ PP 30,327, is an amazing 2019 introduction from French nurseryman, Patrick Pineau, who selected it from seed, grown from the first gold leaf cultivar, Cotinus ‘Ancot’. Cotinus ‘Ancot’ was a breakthrough, although it’s lanky, open habit left a bit to be desired. Cotinus ‘Winecraft Gold’ is much more dense selection, with far
Baptisia ‘Spiked Lemonade’, a 2026 JLBG/PDN introduction, still looks fabulous this week, nearly a month after the first, early baptisias began flowering. By using genes from the little-known Baptisia albescens, the foliage is much more airy, giving the plant a see-thru look. Those genes also create an amazing number of flowering side branches, extending the
It’s been over six years since we planted our first Pinellia ‘Purple Dragon’ in the garden, and we continue to be enthralled by it’s garden performance. If you don’t know the genus, Pinellia, it’s effectively an all-season flowering cousin of arisaema (Jack-in-the-pulpit). Down here in the south, we affectionally call ’em Redneck Jack-in-the-pulpits. While many
Purple Dragon Passion Read More »
Looking quite dazzling recently is our color echo using the flowers of the voodoo lily, Amorphophallus konjac ‘Shredded Umbrellas’, to pick up the same tone in the bark of the crape myrtle, Lagerostroemia faurei ‘Townhouse’. We doubt that’s a combo you’ve seen in the pages of your favorite garden design magazines.
Cinnamon Color Echo Read More »
When the new Downtown Cary Park opened in Fall 2023, visiting plant people were shocked at the poor plant choices, many of which simply won’t survive the summer in the Raleigh, NC area. Sadly, this is an all to common occurrence, when landscape architects, instead of knowledgeable horticulturists make the plant selections. In looking through
Smokin’ Hot Grass in NC Read More »
Just wrapping up it’s flowering season is the little-known, Baptisia megacarpa. The specific epithet “megacarpa” refers to the large fruit. This very rare (G1/G2) species is known from only a small region of Alabama, Southern Georgia, and North Florida. In the garden, Baptisia megacarpa is one of the larger species, forming a 4′ tall x
2026 marks 40 years, since we began the now, world-renown gardens at JLBG. Whether you’re a regular open house visitor, or someone who hasn’t stopped by in a while, we hope you’ll join us to celebrate our Ruby Anniversary. We have two weekends remaining for our spring public open days, so we look forward to
Come Celebrate our 40th! Read More »
Looking lovely in the garden this week, is the popular Asian garden fern, Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’. This Casa Flora introduction is slightly shorter than the typical species, with new fronds that are more colorful. We remove the old fronds of autumn fern, in very early spring, so they won’t visually interfere with the amazing new
A North American perennial selection that’s put on quite a show this spring is Hans Hansen’s dwarf Amsonia hubrichtii ‘String Theory’. Not only is this amazing blue star introduction more compact, but the floral show is nothing short of outstanding. Here it is in our garden, growing beside agaves, a testament to its heat and
Three Dimensional String Theory Read More »
