We’ve long been enamored with the Southwest native genus of slow-growing woody lilies belonging to the genus, Dasylirion. Since the early 1990s, we’ve been growing these, trialing as many species as we could obtain to see how well they adapted to our climate here in the colder, wetter Southeast. So, far, we have grown 16
So Long Sotols…In the Spirit of Plant Extinction Read More »
Gardeners typically curse fall leaf drop, but ginkgo trees often get a pass, not only because the golden fall leaves look so great on the tree, but they also look great on the ground, not displaying the disheveled look of other larger tree leaves. Here’s our ginkgo tree, planted just in front of our office,
Falling for Ginkgos Read More »
We’re just back from a quick outing to the Flower Hill Nature Preserve in Johnston County, NC…just a few miles from JLBG. This unique coastal plain site contains remnants of species more common in the NC mountains, nearly 5 hours west. The top of the bluff is a small stand of enormous Rhododendron catawbiense, while
Flowers at Flower Hill Read More »
What a lovely color echo we caught this week at JLBG when the tiger swallowtails were visiting Mertensia virginiana (Virginia Bluebells). Remember that botanical diversity results in more pollinators in the garden.
Tiger by the Tongue Read More »
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 is the NC State University Day of Giving…a time for those who want to support activities at NC State. In our case, that means the endowment we are building to preserve Juniper Level Botanic Gardens. If you care about ensuring the gardens remain intact for future generations, please consider making a
NC State/JLBG Day of Giving Read More »
I was scanning some older slides recently, and came across this image of the late Ritchie Bell from 1968. Dr. Bell was director of the NC Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill for 25 years, from 1961 to 1986. Here he is in 1968, posing by a sign for the first nature trail opened at NCBG,
Richer for Ritchie Read More »
One of our prize plants in the garden is the Tarahumara Oak, Quercus tarahumara. This truly odd oak is native to Northern Mexico, where it resides in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain range in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, and Sinaloa. In cultivation, Quercus tarahumara is extremely rare and of high conservation value. It seems that
