Splatter in a Jacob’s Ladder
Trillium maculatum makes a lovely contrast in the midst of this clump of Polemonium reptans ‘Blount Blues’ this spring…two wonderful Southeastern natives.
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Monkeying around with Baboon Flower
We’ve played around with the mostly tender, African Iris relative of the genus Babiana for years. So far, we’ve tried 9 of the 93 species of Baboon flower with little success. The one that has survived in the crevice garden for five years is Babiana rubrocyanea, of which Doug caught this beautiful image last week.
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Messin’ with Mazus
One of the great groundcovers for small spaces is the Asian (SE China, Korea, and Japan) native, Mazus miquelii. For us, this 1-2″ tall, stunning groundcover bursts forth in flower, starting for us in mid-March. Its soil preference is for average to moist growing conditions. Recent taxonomic work has shown all material known commercially as
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Hark, the Arp
Our plant of Arp rosemary is looking quite spectacular this time of year. This seven year-old plant is now 7′ tall x 11′ wide. This is a lovely plant, but not one for a small location. It was discovered by the late Texas plantswoman and herb specialist, Madeline Hill, in the town of Arp, Texas.
A Pool of Blue
Occasionally some plants engender the reaction that it aught to be in most gardens, followed by the disbelief that it is not seen just everywhere. Who wouldn’t want a pool of cobalt blue flowers in February, March and April on a well behaved and easily pleased plant, wanting little more than a sunny spot and
Don’t Chase away the Winter Blues
Doug snapped this photo of a mixed-up clump of a Gentiana angustifolia hybrid, flowering in the crevice garden in mid-January. We asked why was it blooming in mid-January? The lack of an intelligible answer was similar to what you’d get trying to interview former Patriot’s coach Bill Bellicheck. This alpine/sub-alpine native of the Alps isn’t
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First Flowers of Flat Iris
Late December marks our first flowering of Iris planifolia. This odd native to Southern Europe and Northern Africa has a similar distribution to the better-known Iris unguicularis, but this Iris belongs to the group, known as Juno or bulbous iris. These deciduous iris are extremely sensitive to summer moisture, which is why this resides in
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Smart as a Blue Oak
Looking great well into December is the North American native, Salvia chamaedryoides, known as Blue Oak sage. This evergreen, dryland native hails form 7,000′ to 9,000′ elevation in the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico. For us, it flowers heaviest in spring and fall, with dark, cobalt blue flowers. It’s one of the few silver leaf
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Gold Crest…A Crowning Achievement
We’ve tried a number of Caryopteris x clandonensis cultivars over the years, and most fail to survive more than one of our hot, humid summers. One recent exception that surpassed all of our expectations is the amazing Caryopteris ‘Gold Crest’. Below is a mid-July image from the garden. From the incredibly fragrant foliage to the
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Laurentia Skirt
We love the way Laurentia fluvitalis forms a flowery skirt around the base of Tricyrtis lasiocarpa. This combination has thrived for years in a part sun garden location, where it receives full sun for 3-4 hours daily. The soil moisture is average to dry.