Those of us of an advanced age remember the old, but ubiquitous 1950s/1960s television commercials from the late John Cameron Swayze, extolling the toughness of Timex watches. I have flashbacks to that tagline every time I look at our plants of Rhododendron ‘Elizabeth Ard’ (sold as Southgate Grace). Through the years, I’ve killed far more
Rhodies that Take a Lickin’ and Keep on Tickin’ Read More »
As we were putting away the tender xMangaves for the winter, I took time to grab one more photo of a plant that has enchanted open house visitors this year. xMangave ‘Bridal Falls’ is a creamy edged sport of xMangave ‘Falling Waters’, developed by Walters Gardens Director of New Plant Development, Hans Hansen. This gem
Mahonias are highly prized by gardeners as winter-flowering evergreen shrubs, but the majority of mahonias that most people know are the Mahonia x media (M. japonica x lomarifolia) selections, that originated in the UK. With age, these can reach 10-12′ tall, and are highly prized for their fragrant winter flowers, and ability to feed pollinators
Re-imagining Mahonia Read More »
After finally getting some long overdue rain, the crinum lilies have put on quite a show. The crinum flower season at JLBG runs from March thru October. Here are a few of the July flowering cultivars to enjoy. These amaryllid family members form huge underground bulbs, making them difficult for most nurseries to offer in
The Crinums of Summer Read More »
We are in mourning this week, for our friend, Lycoris guru, Phillip Adams of California, who passed away in early July at the age of 82. Phil struggled to recover from a fall a couple of months earlier. Phil grew up in on the Mississippi delta, before moving to the Memphis, Tennessee region, where he
The Surprise Lily King has left the Garden Read More »
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 »
New century plant hybrids don’t usually just happen. Yes, a bee can occasionally transfer pollen, resulting in a new hybrid, but as a rule, new hybrids require an incredible amount of work, spearheaded here by our volunteer, Vince Schneider. Vince coordinates pollen collection, storage, as well as the pollination process. While we love agaves with
Sky Painting with Pollen Read More »
If you don’t grow Magnolia ‘Serendipity’ and live from Zone 7b south, I hope you’ll check this out. This amazing JC Raulston Arboretum introduction is a seedling they named from a cross made by Camellia breeder, Bobby Green of Alabama. The number of fragrant creamy-yellow flowers in late April to early May is truly unimaginable.
Serendipitous Behavior Read More »
We’re moving into the later stages of the spring baptisa season, but here are a couple images of two of our hybrids, taken on a recent photo shoot in the beds surrounding our parking lot. The top is Baptisia ‘Aspiring’ with its very tall lavender flower spikes. Below is Baptisia ‘Cherry Pie’, the closest we
Baptisia Baptismal Read More »
North Carolina State University has long had a commercial peach breeding program, but every now and then, a seedling emerges that may not have store quality fruit, but has instead good ornamental traits. Two of my favorites from their program are below. The first is Prunus persica ‘NCSU Dwarf Double Red’. I first saw this
With Peaches, beauty is more than skin deep Read More »
