One of the new butterfly bushes that has impressed us in our trials is Buddleia ‘Cherry Royale’ from breeder Hans Hansen. The habit, flower color, fragrance, and lack of seedlings has made this one worthy of our 2026 Spring Catalog. In our garden, it matures at 6′ tall x 6′ wide.
I have long enjoyed botanizing in the wire grass/pine, fire habitats, found throughout the Southeastern US coastal plain. One of the namesake plants in these eco regions is wire grass, belonging to the genus, Aristida, of which there are 37 native species in the genus. Those in the Southeast US coastal plain were previously considered
Wised up about Wire Grass Read More »
I was first introduced to lowland loosestrife on a 2022 South Carolina botanizing trip with Zac Hill and Patrick McMillan. I was shocked that I’d never heard of Steironema hybridum before, despite it being a widespread US native from Canada south to Florida. How is it possible that this late season-blooming perennial wildflower is completely
Orphaned Lowland Loosetrife Read More »
In 2024, I happened to check out one of the plant auction sites, and was shocked to see a listing for an edged form of Agave utahensis ssp. utahensis var. nevadensis. I had only seen one listed twice before, and each time, the price for a tiny, unrooted division topped $10,000 USD. Both times, the
Gambling with Liberty and Death Read More »
We love any late season flowering woodland perennials, and few are more impressive than our native Actaea cordifolia. This wonderful rare native (globally rare ranking of G3) from Virginia west to Tennessee has languished in taxonomic purgatory under a parade of invalid names. The 4′ tall, upright, branched terminal spikes end in finger-like clusters of
Agave desmetiana is a mysterious North American native century plant, hailing from south of the US border, toward the southern tip of Mexico. Experts still argue about exactly where, with some claiming its origin is Oaxaca, Yucatan, and Veracruz. Not only do we not know for sure where it’s from, but we don’t have concensus
Agave desmetiana – The elegant mystery century plant Read More »
After peak hydrangea season is long in the rear view mirror, the Japanese/Taiwanese Hydrangea involucrata erupts in flower. For us, that means August and September in NC. The main clone on the market (pictured below) is Hydrangea involucrata ‘Wim Rutten’, from Dutch plant breeder, Catherine Rutten. Our garden specimen is now just over six years
High on Late-summer Hydrangeas Read More »
We’re just wrappping up the midseason of the Lycoris (Surprise Lily) flowering season, that runs from August 11-August 25. This typically wraps up the last of the spring-foliage species and hybrids, and takes us through the middle part of the fall-leaved species and hybrids. Lycoris aurea is one of the most tender of the Lycoris
Midsummer Surprises Read More »
Looking lovely in late August is the variegated turmeric ginger, Curcuma longa ‘Snowdrift’. Thriving in light shade, this amazing garden plant is obviously both ornamental and useful. Discovered as a mutation by plantsman Richard O’Brien, this amazing selection is late to emerge, rarely making a garden appearance before mid-June in NC. Our oldest clumps, planted
Snowdrift in Summer Read More »
Most of the elephant ears we now grow in the garden are the clumping forms, since the fast runners simply outgrow their space too quickly, on the way to their goal of world domination. One running cultivar we can’t part with is Colocasia esculenta ‘Lemonade’. While it does spread, it doesn’t do so anything like
Drinking in the Lemonade Read More »
