Many folks who visit JLBG have asked about former staffer, Jeremy Schmidt, who departed almost three years ago for a stint at Alabama’s Bellingrath Gardens. In the 15 years Jeremy was here, he installed our 300′ long crevice garden, our 550′ rock lined stream, several other garden streams, our dryland welcome berm, and countless other […]
The Rock Man Returneth Read More »
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 »
Last week, we were thrilled to welcome the staff of SC’s Woodlanders Nursery to visit JLBG. We have been huge fans of this small nursery, based in Aiken SC, since its inception in the late 1970s. Woodlanders was founded by architects, Robert and Julia Macintosh (deceased), who settled in Aiken, SC in the 1970s, after
Woodlanders – Reloaded Read More »
I was saddened to learn of the recent passing (April 4) of one of the most amazing horticulture figures, I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, the incomparable Pearl Fryar. It was 30 years ago this month, when I was speaking at South Carolina’s Brookgreen Garden, that we first met. Pearl was speaking ahead of
So many folks think running a nursery is such a pastoral, relaxing career, but as with most things in life, the realities are quite different….especially during the winter months. We have 30 greenhouse cold frames, which are kept at two different temperature regimens, 35F, and 55F, depending on the needs of the plants growing in
Interrupting Those Long Winter Nights Read More »
We’ve not experienced two back-to-back weekend winter storms in a while, although neither lived up to the meterologist’s hype. That’s because you can’t accurately predict non-linear systems like weather and climate with a linear model. To function well, liner models require you have data input from all of the variables. In the case of weather
Stuck in the Snownut Hole Read More »
Four new Mangave selections passed the final cut for inclusion in the 2026 Plant Delights catalog, that will launch in a few weeks. To understand how difficult it is to pass our tests for inclusion, we currently have 660 different mangave selections on trial, each vying for a few coveted catalog spots. For the next
It’s the time of year, we all hopefully stop and take time to thank those who are so important in our lives. I (Tony) am incredibly blessed to be embarking on our 40th year in business in 2026. No sane person thought our model of building a private, ex-situ conservation botanical garden, and mail order
We wanted to publicly recognize our friend, plant breeder, Hans Hansen of Walters Gardens, who was just granted his 516th plant patent. Of those incredible numbers, 18 patents came when he worked for Shady Oaks Nursery, and 498 were granted since he moved to Walters Gardens in 2009. To give you some perspective, only six
On Friday, August 13, I received a short, 5am text from a friend, plantsman, Laurence (Larry) Hatch, saying goodbye. Larry 65, had notified me a few weeks earlier, that he was in the late stages of heart failure, brought on by a life of obesity. All I could think was how odd it was to
