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
A North American perennial selection that’s put on quite a show this spring is Hans Hansen’s dwarf Amsonia hubrichtii ‘String Theory’. Not only is this amazing blue star introduction more compact, but the floral show is nothing short of outstanding. Here it is in our garden, growing beside agaves, a testament to its heat and
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I remember a few decades back, when my torso looked exactly like the foliage of Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’, during a somewhat unpleasant bout of shingles. Fortunately, there is nothing but joy, that comes from growing this equally patterned mayapple, that’s looking great in the garden now. For over two decades, this Terra Nova introduction has
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We’ve long admired members of the genus Packera, of which 57 species call North America home. In the garden, however, many species become some of our worst weeds, spreading like wildfire, and choking out every small plant in their reach. One species that has risen to the top of our white-list species is the well-behaved
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Looking great in the garden is month is the highly coveted crested form of Royal Fern, Osmunda japonica ‘Gotemba Crest’. Osmunda japonica is the Asian equivalent to our North American Osmunda spectabilis, and Eurasian Osmunda regalis. This stunning form of the moisture-loving, sun tolerant fern, from Japan’s Gotemba Nursery matures at only 2′. Our next
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Our 2023 introduction, Agave lophantha ‘Goldfinger’ is unique in that the tips of the foliage turn bright gold in cold weather. What’s also unique is that when it flowers, which it’s doing now for the second time, the flower buds are also yellow, instead of the typical green for all other agaves. The golden foliage
