One of our jack-in-the-pulpit hybrids that has looked fabulous in the garden this spring is Arisaema x trigesii ‘Zebra Stripes’. This selection is from our cross of the North American native Arisaema triphyllum and the Chinese native, Arisaema fargesii. This selection has amazing vigor, and we look forward to the day that we will have […]
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Putting on an incredible show now is one of my favorite evergreen magnolias, Magnolia crassipes ‘Purple Queen’. This amazing selection comes from legendary Japanese nurseryman, Akari Shibimichi. Our four year-old plant is now 7′ tall x 7′ wide. Both the floral show and delicious fragrance are outstanding. Magnolia crassipes is the purple-flowering counterpart to the
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One of the most asked about trees in our garden is the Indochina native, Broussonetia papyrifera. Flowering paper mulberry has long been an important tree in tropical Asia, both for its edible fruit, and bark, which is used to make a fiber, known as tapa cloth. It also has tremendous medical use as an antioxidant,
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Looking lovely this week in the garden is the rock jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema saxatile. This splendid, mid-season jack hails from rocky pine forests in Sichuan and Yunnan, China, at elevations between 5,000′ and 10,000′. The Latin epithet “saxatile” translates to “grows among the rocks”. Despite it’s natural habitat in dense shade, we have found it performs
Cotinus ‘Winecraft Gold’ PP 30,327, is an amazing 2019 introduction from French nurseryman, Patrick Pineau, who selected it from seed, grown from the first gold leaf cultivar, Cotinus ‘Ancot’. Cotinus ‘Ancot’ was a breakthrough, although it’s lanky, open habit left a bit to be desired. Cotinus ‘Winecraft Gold’ is much more dense selection, with far
Baptisia ‘Spiked Lemonade’, a 2026 JLBG/PDN introduction, still looks fabulous this week, nearly a month after the first, early baptisias began flowering. By using genes from the little-known Baptisia albescens, the foliage is much more airy, giving the plant a see-thru look. Those genes also create an amazing number of flowering side branches, extending the
It’s been over six years since we planted our first Pinellia ‘Purple Dragon’ in the garden, and we continue to be enthralled by it’s garden performance. If you don’t know the genus, Pinellia, it’s effectively an all-season flowering cousin of arisaema (Jack-in-the-pulpit). Down here in the south, we affectionally call ’em Redneck Jack-in-the-pulpits. While many
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When the new Downtown Cary Park opened in Fall 2023, visiting plant people were shocked at the poor plant choices, many of which simply won’t survive the summer in the Raleigh, NC area. Sadly, this is an all to common occurrence, when landscape architects, instead of knowledgeable horticulturists make the plant selections. In looking through
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Just wrapping up it’s flowering season is the little-known, Baptisia megacarpa. The specific epithet “megacarpa” refers to the large fruit. This very rare (G1/G2) species is known from only a small region of Alabama, Southern Georgia, and North Florida. In the garden, Baptisia megacarpa is one of the larger species, forming a 4′ tall x
Looking lovely in the garden this week, is the popular Asian garden fern, Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’. This Casa Flora introduction is slightly shorter than the typical species, with new fronds that are more colorful. We remove the old fronds of autumn fern, in very early spring, so they won’t visually interfere with the amazing new
