When we had our new home built, the design resulted in several potential planting areas under a wide overhang that never sees any moisture…unless something akin to a hurricane blows in. The idea was to keep water/irrigation and mulch away from the wood siding. Cyclamen seemed like a good choice for this difficult spot, so
Cyclamen experiment Read More »
I was just walking through our woodland garden and stopped to snap this photo of one of my favorite perennials, Acorus gramineus ‘Minnimus Aureus’. No matter how many new plants hit the market, this will always be a favorite and a plant I wouldn’t garden without. The evergreen chartreuse gold foliage remains bright all winter
Adore us some acorus Read More »
You are all probably aware of our upcoming merger with NC State University, but what you may not know about yet is the Plant Breeding Consortium. NC State has long had a number of world class plant breeding programs including 25 that are currently active, from sweet potatoes to blueberries, to ornamental plants. All of
Director of Plant Breeding needed @ NC State Read More »
Here are a couple of favorites from our trials that will be included in our new catalog to be launched January 1. These are the Bedazzled series of Phlox, created by plantsman Hans Hansen, using our native Phlox bifida. Last year, these started flowering for us in late January and continued into April. In the
Join the flocks and bedazzled. Read More »
When we first saw a photo of Zantedeschia ‘African Gold’, we nearly fell off our chair…or were we standing? No matter, we finally managed to acquire a start, and have been bulking them up ever since in hopes of being able to share one day, so stay tuned for the January 2019 catalog!
There’s Gold in Africa Read More »
Now that winter is giving us a sneak preview of what’s in store for the next few months, the evergreen plants in the garden are really starting to shine without all those pesky deciduous perennials. Aspidistra, or cast iron plants, are one of our favorites, and they really look so good in the garden now.
I was blessed to spend time yesterday with Rich’s delightful family, who came down from Massachusetts to sort through Richard’s belongings at his home for the last 9 years in the NC Sandhills. They were thrilled for us to rescue Rich’s papers, scans, and other plant related material. Our goal is to make these available
Rich Dufresne estate update Read More »
It is with a heavy heart that we share news of the passing of our friend Richard Dufresne (pronounced Doofrane), 75, who passed away this month at his home in Candor, North Carolina. Rich was truly a one of a kind…a 1972 graduate of Carnegie Melon with a PhD in chemistry. After graduation, Rich did
The Salvia Doctor has left the Greenhouse Read More »
We love experimenting with new textural combinations in the garden, and here are a couple that caught our eye this fall. Start planning new bold leaf texture and color combinations for your garden this winter as you dream of spring. The bold foliage of Asarum splendens (wild ginger), mingles nicely with the southern maidenhair fern,
Several of the Solomon’s Seals age gracefully, but we’re usually too busy writing catalog copy to get photos. This year, we happened to catch Polygonatum infundiflorum ‘Lemon Seoul’ all lit up in its fall fines.
Hit gold with Solomon’s Seal Read More »
