While we love the typical redbuds that we’re all familiar with in our garden, only one plant stands out in the genus, as a true shade tree. While most redbuds that gardeners know, mature at 10-20′ tall, Cercis glabra towers above them all at a whopping 50-60′. This long-lived redbud is sadly virtually absent in […]
Flowering this week in the garden is Cymbidium (pronounced “Some Biddy Yum”) goeringii ‘Datuanyuan’. The evergreen foliage of this woodland, terrestrial orchid, resembles a clump of monkey grass, until it starts flowering in early March. While we have grown these for decades, this is the first flowering of this special cultivar with rounded petals and
Some Biddy Yum flowers Read More »
Two of the best performing lungworts in our trials are pictured below, Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’ from Cotswold Garden Flowers, and Pulmonaria ‘Shrimps on the Barbie’ from the breeders at Terra Nova. Both have incredible vigor, and put on an exceptional show in the late winter garden and into spring, currently at JLBG. Both are planted
Take a Deep Breath for these Lungworts Read More »
Here are a few photos of our garden specimens of Helleborus x hybridus this week. If you weren’t one of the 7,800 visitors who got to see these in person during our recent Winter Open Nursery and Garden, here’s what you missed. Although they look decent in photos, they are much better in person. Since
Lenten Rose on Parade Read More »
Here is our production block of the spring-leaf lycoris species and hybrids. Sadly, the only one of these amazing plants that is widely known is the hybrid, Lycoris x squamigera. These are much slower to offset than the fall-leaf species, so when we dig a clonal block to offer, it may be five of more
Surprise Production Read More »
Here are more wild gingers flowering this week in our garden collection. This fascinating genus is a member of the pipewort family, Aristolochiaceae. All of the images below are clump forming species. Asarum asaroides ‘Dohmu’ is a yellow-flowerd form of a typically purple-flowered Japanese species. Asarum campaniflorum ‘Ginormous’ is our selection of the beautiful Chinese
Wild Ginger Flowers – Part 2 Read More »
Last year, we posted fall pictures of our Sabal bermudana in full green leaf, but we would also like to share a current photo of the same specimen in its winter dress. As you can imagine, being from Bermuda, this palm isn’t enamored with our cold winter temperatures. Consequently, any nights that fall below 20
I was just admiring the genetic instability of Camellia japonica ‘Your’s Truly’ in the garden this week. This 1949 introduction was named as a sport of Camellia japonica ‘Lady Vansittart’. Our plant regularly throws three different flower types. If genetic stability is your thing, this probably isn’t for you, but then, who are we to
Genetic Instability Read More »
In full flower in early March is Cardamine quinquefolia, better known as the Five-leaf Black Sea toothwort. This extremely showy spring ephemeral can spread to 8′ wide in 10 years…if grown in rich, organic soils. Like most spring ephemerals, it’s dormant by early May in NC, so be sure to underplant with later emergers like
Black Sea Toothwort Read More »
Flowering now in the winter garden are several members of the Thymelaeceae family. The more showy of those include the genera Daphne and Edgeworthia. Also in riotous bloom, is their cousin, little-known, not so fragrant, and far less showy North American native, Dirca palustris. It’s also known by its common name, leatherwood, which comes from
