Raise your hand if you’ve grown the North American native iris relative, Nemastylis tenuis? This fascinating small bulb is in full flower now at JLBG. In the wild, it can be found straddling the US/Mexico border, crossing into the US in two counties each in Texas and Arizona. There, they grow in rocky grasslands, both […]
A Stylized Iris Cousin – Nemastylis Read More »
Join me for another round of trillium photos that capture many of the later blooming species and hybrids grown here at JLBG. These typically wrap up here around mid-to-late April, depending on the weather. We hope this stirs up interest in this amazing group of perennials, especially the little-known species that hail from the southeast
Trilliums – Sound the Bell for Round 2 Read More »
To quote one of Patrick Henry’s gardening descendants, “Give me Hosta ‘Liberty’ or give me death”. Looking good in the garden this week is the amazing sport of Hosta ‘Sagae’, discovered back in the late 1990s at Virginia’s Mobjack Nursery. Twenty seven years after its introduction, Hosta ‘Liberty’ is still near the top of our
Shining a Light on Liberty Read More »
The Turkish Allium schubertii was just begging for a photograph this week – the dew droplets clung to the flowers as the sun peaked over the horizon. This is one of the great non-weedy, ornamental onions that I simply wouldn’t be without.
Schubert’s Dew Drop In Symphony Read More »
Flowering now in the garden is rare, and little-known native barberry, Alloberberis swaseyi. Just for afterhours entertainment, we planted our garden plant near its lust object, Lilium grayi. This native shrub, endemic to the alkaline cracks and rocky soils in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, has thrived for us in the hot, humid, Southeast US.
Dirty Danglin’ Barberry Read More »
Draba is a genus of 431 species of mostly small, rock garden-sized plants in the cabbage family. The majority of the drabas grown in gardens are European, although the US can claim about 100 species. The majority of those are either native to the far West or far North in alpine climates. Only 2-3 species
Another star of the 2026 Fairy Wing show is Epimedium ‘Cranberry Dancer’. This new Hans Hansen/Walters Gardens introduction has been nothing short of spectacular. The new foliage emerges cinnamon-colored and the flower spikes produce a huge number of large flowers. A great addition to the spring garden!
Dancing Cranberries Read More »
Since watching the bizarre Monty Python skit, “The Larch” as part of their series, “How to Recognize Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away” was first aired in 1969, I became obsessed about growing this deciduous conifer, which is confined to the world’s cold summer regions. Since 1969, I’ve killed an array
And Now, For Something Completely Different…The Larch Read More »
I’ve long had a fascination with the floral variegation of plants, and in particular, azaleas. Rhododendron ‘Gay Paree’ is a little-known Satsuki Azaleas from the 1950s/1960s work of California breeder, Howard Kerrigan. I acquired this back in the 1980s, and it’s thrived in our garden since then. For us, it’s never grown larger that 2′
Hosta rectifolia ‘Mito-no-Hana’ is quite striking in the garden this week. This eye-popping selection of the Japanese Hosta rectifolia comes from Japan’s Tenjin Yama Bunen Nursery in Mito City. The leaf coloration is best in open shade or with a couple of hours of morning sun. The leaf vein coloration fades in the intense heat
