Tuesday September 1 – The Redneck Alps For day two of field work, we headed north into the Apennine Mountains. We stopped for a supply of bottled water, now we had realized the extent of the heat and humidity we were facing. I am truly impressed with the cheese and meat section of the area
Pizza, Pasta, and Plants – Botanizing in Italy and Corsica (Part 2) Read More »
In 2019, I received an invitation to speak at the 2020 Murabilia Plant Festival in Lucca, Italy. As we got closer to the festival date in September of that year, it became obvious to festival organizers that the severity of the COVID epidemic in Italy would not allow the festival to be held for several years.
Pizza, Pasta, and Plants – Botanizing in Italy and Corsica (Part 1) Read More »
As Anita and I were headed out on a recent, late day errand, we were stopped in our tracks by this stunning snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) that had taken a liking to our driveway. I tried to inquire why it was so far from a pond, but it took the fifth. This is a youngster,
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 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 »
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
We recently had a taxonomic eureka moment, when our wild collected bulb of Lycoris shaanxiensis came into flower. Although we have grown hundreds of bulbs, we received from the former Kaichen Nursery (Chen Yi) of China as Lycoris shaanxiense, not a single one of those ever turned out to be correctly identified. 99.99 % of
Where does Peppermint Come From? Read More »
Emmenopterys henryi is a poorly known, but highly-prized, large (150′ tall) tree in the Rubiaceae (coffee) family. It was described by plant explorer, E.H. Wilson, as one of the most beautiful of the Chinese trees, yet, it was a tree, that for years, rarely flowered in cultivation. It’s namesake, Irish botanist, Augustine Henry, first discovered
Emmenopterys – The Need for Heat Read More »
