Looking great in the garden in summer is our new selection of bamboo muhly grass, Muhlenbergia dumosa ‘Patagonia’. Prior to this introduction, this splendid ornamental grass could only be overwintered from Zone 9 south. This Patrick McMillan collection adds at least one additional hardiness zone for gardeners. To achieve maximum winter hardiness, it needs summer […]
For years, Raleigh botanist, and retired NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Education Director, Jesse Perry, has been sharing several of the amazing botanical curiosities, that he’s run across in his 70+ years of traipsing through the natural areas across the state. Just a few of Jesse’s excellent introductions that we’ve had the pleasure of introducing,
Rescuing a Bunch of Ferners Read More »
We’ve grown the Asian Sauromatum horsfieldii, and other Sauromatum species, for almost two decades, and the more different accessions we grow, the more we’re convinced that there are more than one species lumped into what’s currently considered Sauromatum horsfieldii. With a purported natural range from India to Sumatra, one can only expect a number of
A Really Muddy Horse Field Read More »
We’ve grown Hydrangea macrophylla, aka: mophead hydrangea for over 50 years, so I was shocked this week, to find that they had seeded into the cracks of our concrete paver walkway. I’m sure it won’t take long for the native plant zealots to call for an immediate ban on all non-native hydrangeas. Sadly, that’s the
Big Head, Little Seed Read More »
Instead of singing the blues, this Asian praying mantis is hanging out with the blues of Ceratostigma willmottianum, while it stealthily waits, like the invisible man, for Grub Hub to arrive with dinner.
When Bartlett Arboretum plantsman, Adam Black, offered me a pot of Brucea javanica, a few years ago, I quickly turned him down. The last thing we needed was a tender tree from the Indonesia island of Java. Java is located at 6-9 degree latitude, so the idea that anything from Java would have a chance
I was just photographing our 21 year old specimen of Abelia x grandiflora ‘Mardi Gras’, and as we like to do, took measurements, which showed our plant is now 8′ tall x 10′ wide. I should also note that this is growing in an unirrigated part of the garden, without benefit of fertilizer. Just for
A Really Big Mardi Gras Read More »
We are thrilled to announce that NC State alumni, former PDN/JLBG intern, and US National Arboretum Director, Dr. Richard Olsen, will be returning home to take over as the Head of the NC State Horticulture Department. In his two decade stint with the US Department of Agriculture, Richard has left quite a legacy. After finishing
Shaped like a miniature, dull version of the tropical Asian Rafflesia, we always enjoy finding earthstars in the summer woodland garden. Geastrum saccatum, or rounded earthstar, grows on decomposing organic debris, spending most of its life underground. The fruiting structures below, only appear above ground in our region from July thru September. The eye-like structures
One of our favorite native perennial groundcovers is the Georgia Pancake Bluestar, discovered by our friend Bob McCartney, retired of Woodlanders Nursery. We purchased our first plant from Woodlanders in 2001, before it even had a name, which we quickly remedied. Twenty five years later, we still think this is one of the finest perennial
Flatter than a Georgia Pancake Read More »
