Echinacea, commonly called coneflowers, are easy-to-grow, drought-tolerant, summer-flowering perennials that attract both butterflies and hummingbirds. We love echinacea as an addition to a butterfly garden or when used in a mixed-perennial border. Looking lovely in the garden this week is the dazzling coneflower, Echinacea ‘Sombrero Tres Amigos’. You’ll almost need some infrared glasses for these
One of our personal favorite genera is the Southeast US native swamp gentian, Sabatia. Blooming in the garden now is Sabatia kennedeyana….no relation to the current Presidential candidate. Swamp gentian is quite vulnerable with a rarity rank of G3. It has a very limited range, naturally occurring only in sandy/peaty coastal plain habitats in an odd,
Unwanted and Unloved Read More »
Back in 1999, we were thrilled to have Alabama magnoliaphile, Dr. John Allen Smith, of Chunchula, Alabama, stop by JLBG on his way to the International Magnolia convention. We never dreamed this would be the last time we’d ever speak, as he passed away a few months later of a brain aneurysm at age 63.
Mattie Mae Smith – the Striped Magnolia Read More »
Brian William’s introduction of Colocasia ‘Pharoah’s Mask‘ is looking particularly lovely now in the garden. A sunny, slight to moist site, with plenty of nutrition are the keys to success.
Mask of the Pharoah Read More »
We truly love the dwarf ginger lily, Hedychium ‘Slim’s Orange’. Not only is it the earliest ginger lily to flower, but it’s also one of the smallest and most floriferous. The photo below was taken a few weeks ago in mid-June. I can’t imagine gardening without this amazing selection, first shared with us by Raleigh
Looking great in the garden this week is Eucomis comosa ‘Sparkling Burgundy’, seen here with a couple of North American natives, Thuja occidentalis ‘Concessarini, and Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine’. Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ was one of our first Plant Delights/JLBG introductions in 1997 and since that time we have introduced over 1,440 new plant species, cultivars
A Toast with Sparkling Burgundy in the Garden Read More »
Cortaderia is a genus of 20 species of ornamental grass, only one of which is grown commercially. This is peak flowering month in the garden for a couple of the lesser-known species of pampas grass. The first is Cortaderia araucana, which hails from Central/Southern Chile and Argentina. It’s much smaller than Cortaderia selloana and has
No Pampering Pampas Grass Read More »
The floriferous Cestrum parquii ‘Orange Peel’ is a stunner in the summer garden as you can see by this weeks photo. This amazing South American dieback shrub is a literal flowering machine during the heat of summer. For us, it eventually matures into an 8′ tall x 8′ wide clump. We find hummingbirds and butterflies
Emerging from their winter rest in mid-June are the miniature elephant ears. These little-known plants make fascinating garden specimens (Zone 7b south), and great container specimens further north. All of these mature at around 1-1.5′ tall, when happy. They are slow spreaders via very short rhizomes. By far, the fastest grower of the bunch is
Although our focus is primarily on longer term perennials, we just can’t resist growing and sharing one of the coolest plants we know, moon carrot. Seseli gummiferum hails from Crimea, Turkey, and the Agean Islands. This crazy plant has silver grey foliage that resembles an artemisia, but the spikey carrot-like flowers, just opening this week,
Launching Moon Carrots Read More »
