Guilding the Lily
This combination recently caught our eye, where we planted the variegated tiger lily, Lilium lancifolium ‘Fukurin Fu’ in the midst of Clematis ‘Rain Dance’.
Filter posts by category
Go Seek Yee Five Colors
Looking lovely in the garden now is the Japanese selection of Osmanthus heterophyllus, known as ‘Goshiki’. The Japanese translation of Goshiki is literally, five colors, which accurately describes the intricate patterning and color changes in the foliage. The evergreen shrub, itself, is native to Japan, Korea, and into Taiwan. As the new growth emerges in
Go Seek Yee Five Colors Read More »
Grass Pink Swamp Orchid
Putting on quite a show this week is the native bog orchid, Calopogon tuberosus…aka: grass pink. In the wild, these have a huge native range, from Canada south to Florida. Loving the same growing conditions as sarracenia (pitcher plants), they thrive here in full sun, in a bed of 50% peat/sand. If you have time
Grass Pink Swamp Orchid Read More »
A Star Sedge is Born
Looking absolutely elegant in a crevice garden seep is the native Carex echinata. Although star sedge is quite common from Maine to Minnesota, it’s quite rare in NC. This is seed grown from a population in the mountainous Alleghany County, NC, although it’s thriving in our coastal plain garden. In the wild, this clump former
A Star Sedge is Born Read More »
Turban Lily
This year marks our first flowering of the Mediterranean Alp native, Lilium pomponium. This lily is native to dry, rocky, alkaline soils, and has been right at home in our crevice rock garden. It’s probably good, however, that we didn’t read how difficult it is to grow before we tried it. These are now three
Holy Golden Moment
Several years ago, I fell in love with a new holly on a visit to Garden Treasures Nursery, and two years later, our specimen has lived up to my high expectations. Ilex vomitoria ‘Panhandle Gold’ is a selection of our native (Virginia to Texas) yaupon holly, discovered by Florida nurseryman, John Davy. We don’t know
Holy Golden Moment Read More »
Puya – The Magic of Amethyst
In flower now in our crevice garden is the amazing Puya alpestris, a plant better known by its common name of sapphire tower. This native bromeliad to the Chilean Andes south of Santiago, is a plant we really shouldn’t be able to grow, yet here it is in flower. This is growing at the south
Puya – The Magic of Amethyst Read More »
Staring Down a Golden Dragon
Every year, I fall further in love with the false yew, Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Golden Dragon’. These eight year old plants are our oldest, and now measure 30″ tall x 6′ wide. This incredible import from Japan, holds it color year round when planted where it will receive at least full sun for a few hours.
Staring Down a Golden Dragon Read More »
It’s Aliiive! Cycas Rebirth
After a winter where our temperatures drop below 15 degrees F, all the foliage on our cycad fry. We wait until 1 month before last frost (around March 15) to remove the old foliage, which you can see in the photo below. One month later, on April 15, the new fronds are emerging. A month
It’s Aliiive! Cycas Rebirth Read More »
Strawberry Fields Forever
Looking amazing in the garden now is the stunning Strawberry Fields deutzia. This amazing 1927 hybrid selection from France’s Lemoine Nursery is actually correctly named, Deutzia ‘Tourbillon Rouge’, but that’s not exactly a great sellable name in Western culture, so it’s no surprise that nursery marketing folks improperly re-named it. Despite the name issues, it’s
Strawberry Fields Forever Read More »