One of the great plants to help the winter garden look less drab are the evergreen Solomon’s seals, of the genus, Disporopsis. This Bill Baker discovery in China, was later determined to be a new species, and in 2015, was named Disporopsis bakerorum, to honor Bill. Our oldest clumps are 20″ tall x 5′ wide.
Bill Baker’s Bakerorum Read More »
Looking good in the garden this month is Aucuba japonica var. borealis ‘Male Man’. The subspecies “borealis” is from a much colder region than typical Aucuba japonica, and consequently will survive much further north, reportedly as far north as Zone 6a. This subspecies grows in the Honshu region of Northern Japan, where they are subjected
Time for the Male Man Read More »
Rohdeas, also known as Japanese sacred lilies, are one of the star perennials of the winter garden, since unlike their cousin, Hosta, they remain evergreen. Below is a small assortment of the 117 named clones we grow. Hardiness is Zone 6a-9b.
Rohdea – Evergreen Hosta Read More »
Unless you’re from a more tropical climate, you probably aren’t used to growing table ferns (Pteris) outdoors in the garden. About 30 years ago, I began a mission to collect and evaluate winter hardy forms of a number of species in a genus that’s almost exclusively tropical. Below is our patch of Pteris cretica ‘Ping
Table Fern in the Garden Read More »
We’ve spent the last few years assembling a collection of species camellias, many of which are quite dainty, and very different from what most gardeners think of, when they hear the genus Camellia mentioned. Flowering today is Camellia euryoides, the camellia that looks like a Eurya, with small pendant white flowers. Eurya is an even
Eurya-like Camellia Read More »
For 2024, we are thrilled to offer the amazing, dwarf, variegated hardy orchid, Cymbidium goeringii ‘Xueshanbiancao’. Below you can see how it has thrived in our garden. The evergreen foliage is edged with a band of cream and has withstood 11 degrees F in the garden with little foliar damage. For us, the cream and
What is a Xueshanbiancao? Read More »
One of our frustrations in introducing little-known plants is that they often don’t sell well, despite being superb garden plants. One such is Dryopteris stenolepis. Dryopteris stenolepis is a beautifully symmetrical evergreen, 18″ tall x 3′ wide clumping fern that hails from streamside slopes at 2,000′-7,000′ from India and Nepal and into southern China and
More of the winter-flowering hoop petticoat daffodils continue to open every week in the garden. Below is Narcissus ‘Spoirot’…an exceptional 1998 introduction, that originated at Tasmania’s Glenbrook Farm, as a cross of Narcissus bulbocodium var. conspicuus and N. cantabricus subs cantabricus var foliosus. It’s namesake is Agatha Christie’s detective extraordinare, Hercule Poirot. It was originally
Playin’ Hoops in Winter Read More »
Looking good in the garden this week is the North American native, Hepatica acutiloba. The flower color ranges from white to blue to lavender. This particular clone, now 18 years old, is a selection from St. Clair County, Alabama. Hepatica is a member of the same family, (Ranunculaceae) as clematis and hellebores. Hardiness Zone 6a-9b,
Looking delightful in the garden today is Iris unguicularis ‘Great White’. The typical flower color is lavender, so this albino flower is one of the rarely seen color forms. This iris, native to Northern Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco), is growing in one of our alpine garden berms near the base of an agave. It
Great White in Winter Read More »
