How are your gerbil-pollinated plants doing this winter? Ours is doing just fine. The flowers of this hedgehog lily, Massonia depressa, were unfazed by several nights down in the high teens here at Juniper Level Botanic Garden and has survived 5 previous winters as well. It is a bulbous plant native to South Africa where
In the plant nerd world, certain plants are referred to as BIO plants. This means they are so odd or so poorly named, that they will be relegated to the world of “botanical interest only” (BIO). These are indeed, plants that only a mother could love. I couldn’t resist sharing a winter photo of our
The latest new group of lenten roses are the Helleborus x lemperii hybrids. These are crosses, long thought to be impossible, between Helleborus niger and Helleborus x hybridus. The first variety, H. ‘Walberton’s Rosemary’ was introduced in 2012 as Helleborus x lemonnierae, but the name was too confusing with the cultivar, Helleborus ‘Madame Lemonnier’, so
The rosettes of pale green leaves of Sedum palmeri ‘Mendoza’ are exquisitely beautiful year-round, as beautiful as flowers, especially so in winter when the leaves become tipped with red. The early spring floral display is more like a well-worn piece of jewelry, a bonus of gold stars of five-petaled flowers repeating the form of the
Winter with Mendoza Read More »
Narcissus romieuxii ssp. romieuxii (Romieux Hoop Petticoat Daffodil) The low temperature on the morning of January 17, 2024, was 19 degrees. The open flowers of this hoop petticoat daffodil were unfazed as you can see in this photo taken at 10:00 am when the temperature had risen to 23 degrees. The Alpine Garden Society’s website
Cold Blooded and Narcissistic Read More »
Here’s a garden image this week with two Southeast US native spring ephemerals, both of which emerge in the middle of winter and are dormant by summer. The Trillium underwoodii is surrounded by a patch of Cardamine bulbosa ‘Fairy Lights’. Both should be in full flower in another 3-4 weeks. How much is going on
When people first hear the name, Daphniphyllum, they immediately think, Daphne, and obviously, when this was named by Blume in 1826, he thought the same. Daphniphyllum, however, couldn’t be more different. First, it’s completely unrelated. Daphne is in the Thymelaeaceae family, while Daphniphyllum sits alone in its own family, Daphniphyllaceae. Daphniphyllum is a small genus
Looks like a Daphne, but… Read More »
Looking out our home window this week, I shrieked that the Persian ironwood, Parrotia persica was in flower, while Anita looked on as though I’d lost my mind- which isn’t a rare occurence. I grant you, most folks probably don’t get as excited as I do, over flowers that normal folks can barely see, but
Persian Ironwood Ablaze with Color Read More »
My first encounter with the Taiwan tree viburnum, Viburnum arboricola, was on our 2008 expedition to Taiwan. Below is our garden specimen, grown from seed from that trip. Some taxonomists consider it a subspecies of Viburnum odoratissima, but we feel it is distinctive enough to warrant species status. While our plant has now topped 20′
Snug as the proverbial bug in the rug, is our clump of Aloe aristata, nestled in the crevice garden, where it stays quite dry during the winter. On our 2005 expedition to South Africa, we found these growing at 7,800′ elevation, so the species has good winter hardiness when growing in the proper habitat. Aloe
Tucked away for winter Read More »
