We’ve experimented with a number of conifers through the decades, and as you can imagine, we’ve killed quite a few of those experiments. One of the nice surprises has been the unexpected success of Pinus strobiformis ‘Loma Linda’. Pinus strobiformis is the Southwestern US (Sierra Madre Occidental) equivalent of the Northeastern native white pine, Pinus
Looks like a Strobe Read More »
Over the years, we’ve grown tens of thousands of Japanese sacred lily (Rohdea japonica) from seed. While the variegated leaf edges don’t come true from seed, the general form of the parent usually shows up in a majority of the offspring. Our goal has been to see how far we can push the outer limits
Here’s a shot from the garden this week with a textural triumvirate of three North American natives, Muhlenbergia sericea ‘White Cloud’, Opuntia aciculata, and Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’. This drought tolerant combination illustrates what’s possible when you design with plant textures in mind.
Textural Triumvirate Read More »
Looking absolutely ravishing in the October garden is the native pitcher plant, Sarracenia ‘Daina’s Delight’. This 1990s introduction was selected by pitcher plant expert, Kim Magnuson of Hawaii, from an original cross involving Sarracenia leucophylla and an unresolved hybrid created by New Zealand’s Mark Edwards. The Sarracenia leucophylla genes cause it to produce an insane
Daina’s Delight – Fit for a Princess Read More »
Aloe grandidentata has been a lovely surprise in our hardiness trials for the genus. This caespitose (doesn’t grow on a stalk) species forms 1′ wide dull green rosettes, spotted white, that spread via short underground rhizomes. The plant in the photo below is only 2.5 years old from a single division. We’d killed this twice
Big-tooth Medicine Plant Read More »
We’ve been in love with the fall-flowering, woodland Salvia glabrescens for over a decade, but wanted to share photos of a new clone we’ve been trialing from our friends at Issima Nursery. In three years, Salvia glabrescens ‘Dark Heart’ has formed a 2′ tall x 7′ wide clump, that’s in full flower this week (mid-October).
Dark Hearts – a Sage you’d be Wise to Grow Read More »
While the peak season for crinum lilies is May-July, there’s always quite a few blooms in late summer and even into early fall, before our first frost turns the foliage and remaining flowers into green slime. Here are a couple of clones that stood out in the garden this week. The first is Crinum ‘Bright
It’s just hard to walk by our amazing specimen of Forestiera ‘Woodlanders Weeping’ without snapping a photo, but since it’s been several years since we mentioned it on-line, it’s time to share our most recent shot from this week. Forestiera angustifolia, better known as desert olive, is a Texas native from the Southern part of
Can’t see the Forest for the Forestiera Read More »
We see quite a few television adds for an alcoholic drink known as “twisted tea”, so we thought we’d share the OG twisted tea, Camellia sinensis ‘Unryu’, in flower this week at JLBG. Camellia sinensis is the source of tea, and the Japanese cultivar, ‘Unryu’ means contorted or twisted, which refers to the branch structure.
There are more ways to add color to the fall garden other than planting a new crop of mums. Each fall, we enjoy the colors provided when the Red-spotted Purple butterflies, Limenitis arthemis, stop by to feed on the sweet nectar secreted by the white-topped pitcher plant, Sarracenia leucophylla. Depending on the angle of the
Sipping from a Dangerous Pitcher Read More »
