We really love the bamboo genus, Borinda, to the point that everytime I hear O.C. Smith’s 1987 beach music classic, Brenda, I think he’s singing about our bamboo. Our 18 year old clump of Borinda boliana is one of our absolute favorite non-invasive bamboos. Despite the fact that it doesn’t gallop, it’s still a large
We’ve long been fans of the tropical crepe ginger, Costus speciosus. We’ve trialed it several times, however, with no long term winter hardiness here in Zone 7b…until…a group of friends were botanizing in far Northern Vietnam, near the Chinese border, when plantsman Ozzie Johnson spotted it growing there at 3,900′ elevation. Returning home with a
Costumed in the Garden Read More »
The old British wartime quote could certainly apply to the beautiful Campsis grandiflora ‘Morning Calm’. This J.C. Raulston introduction is a summer flowering machine. We have long been fascinated by this amazing Asian (China, Japan) vine, a sister to the misbehaving North American native trumpet creeper, Campsis radicans. While I appreciate Campsis radicans in the
Keep Calm and Carry On Read More »
One of the joys of trialing so many plants are the unexpected successes. One of those successes, flowering now is the Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema prazeri ‘Chiang Mai’ (praise yer eye). This Northern Thailand collection from the late Alan Galloway has absolutely no business thriving here in the ground, yet here it is in flower in mid-June,
Calanthe is a genus of 235 species of terrestrial orchids. For us, the foliage remains evergreen through the winter, unless the winter temperatures are severe. We are still testing to find how many species are winter hardy here in Zone 7b. We have so enjoyed their amazing show over the last few weeks. Here are
Craving Calanthes Read More »
In flower this week at JLBG is the little-known, Iris speculatrix, known as Hong Kong Iris. Iris are one our specialty collections and this small, evergreen species from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, tops out at a mere 1′ tall. The specific epithet (second part of the Latin name) means “to observe”. It is related
Speculation about Iris Read More »
Looking lovely in the mid-January winter garden is the fern, Neolepisorus fortunei ‘Green Ribbons’. This fascinating evergreen fern looks nothing like what most gardeners are familiar with, when they think ferns. Neolepisorus is one of several genera of ferns, known as ribbon ferns. These ferns grow epiphytically (on trees) and lithophytically (on rocks), mostly in
Decorate the Woodland with Green Ribbons Read More »
We just love Rohdea, Japanese sacred lilies, and our collection is a showstopper in the winter garden. The winter fruit display adds yet another attractive element to these evergreen perennials. Here’s a clump of Rohdea japonica ‘Taiyoden’ in late December.
We’ve been growing the fall-flowering Farfugium japonicum for nearly 40 years, and despite growing numerous cultivars as well as seedlings, had seen no difference in the standard yellow flower color, until a 2008 visit to the Georgia garden of plantsman Ozzie Johnson. There, I first met the cultivar, ‘Beni’, which in Japanese, means red flowers.
Beni and the Not Yets Read More »
One of our favorite ferns, known as Cat’s claw fern, is putting on quite a show this fall. Onychium japonicum is a plant I’d never met until a 1996 expedition to Yunnan, China. Although it was a bit depauperate in the wild, the potential I saw, was far exceeded by its garden performance. We now
