In 1994, when I first saw the tree yucca, Yucca filifera, growing in the mountains of Northern Mexico, it immediately went on my plant lust list. My first plants, acquired under the old name, Yucca australis, all met with a demise as untimely as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I thought our garden spots
Climbing to the Hairy Top Read More »
Fenway Park Golden Ivy is a fabulous, deciduous, Asian native vine for covering buildings, fences, or the belongings of sloppy neighbors. On the way to a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park in 1988, now-retired Arnold Arboretum Research Scientist, Peter Del Tredici, spotted a golden mutation on a Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), growing on
Fenway Park is a Hit Read More »
After a long and magnificent flowering season, we’re now enjoying the fruit of the Gloriosa lily, Gloriosa superba. This sprawling vine has an odd distribution that includes both the Indian subcontinent, as well as Central and Southern Africa. There are many names in the genus, since through the years, taxonomists have named seemingly every variation.
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Flowering for over a month now is the Southeast (NC to Alabama) US native, Ampelaster carolinianus. This odd aster is actually a woody vine, and our plant below is growing on our 7′ tall deer fence. As you can see in the top image, it’s a great fall attractant for Monarch butterflies. The stems remain
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
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Imagine our surprise, when the odd evergreen vine, Kadsura longipedunculata began flowering for the first time last month. This woodland vine hails from Southern and Western China, where it’s prized for it’s medicinal uses. Reportedly, it is used to treat arthritis, cankers, digestive issues, infections, and as a perfume. This member of the Schisandraceae family
