I’ve been enchanted with the New Zealand native fern, Paesia scaberula, since obtaining my first specimen from Washington fern guru, Judith Jones in 2011. We didn’t expect any plant from the cool summer climate of New Zealand to have a chance of surviving here, but after fourteen years, it actually thrives. We almost failed on
Aloe grandidentata has been a lovely surprise in our hardiness trials for the genus. This caespitose (doesn’t grow on a stalk) species forms 1′ wide dull green rosettes, spotted white, that spread via short underground rhizomes. The plant in the photo below is only 2.5 years old from a single division. We’d killed this twice
Big-tooth Medicine Plant Read More »
Despite a summer with a month of incessant rains, our patch of Acantholimoni halophilum continues to thrive. This native to very dry regions of Central Turkey should not have a chance in our hot, rainy summer climate. This shows how habitat creation can can often serve to mitigate the effects of weather on plants from
If Life gives you Climatic Lemons, try Acantholimon Read More »
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 »
This year marks our first flowering of the Mediterranean Alp native, Lilium pomponium. This lily is native to dry, rocky, alkaline soils, and has been right at home in our crevice rock garden. It’s probably good, however, that we didn’t read how difficult it is to grow before we tried it. These are now three
Looking great in the crevice garden this month is our specimen of the Arizona native Dudleya saxosa ssp. collomiae. Through the years, we tried this succulent in several of our rock gardens with no success, until we planted one under a rock overhang, where it has thrived since 2018. As we suspected, winter hardiness wasn’t
Dudleya Done Right Read More »
Three years ago, we wrote about our success growing the Western US (North Dakota to Southern California) desert native, Stanleya pinnata, Desert Prince’s Plume. In the years since, we planted more, with our recent attempts being in the crevice garden, where, as you can see below, they have thrived. The key for success is superb
Lord Stanley’s Cup Runneth Over Read More »
Ablaze now in our well-drained, gravel-infused, dryland garden is the amazing Calylophus berlandieri ssp. pinifolius ‘Fugitive’. This Patrick’s McMillan superb collection of the US native (Missouri west to New Mexico) sundrop from Kimble County, Texas. The 1′ tall x 2.5′ wide patches are clothed with short and extremely narrow, fleshy green leaves, and topped with
Consider Housing a Fugitive in Your Garden Read More »
I became entranced with the South African succulent genus, Aloinopsis, years ago, after discovering that Colorado rock gardener Bill Adams had found many of them hardy there in Zone 5/6. We tried quite a few, but found that while they take our winter cold temperatures, they do not take winter moisture. Once we built our
How Low can Aloinopsis Go? Read More »
Flowering in late February in the rock garden is the tiny bulb, Ornithogalum chionophyllum. This genus of onion relative has both some garden treasures and horrific weeds. This gem is a narrow endemic to the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus between 2,000′ and 6,000′ elevation. If the Troodos Mountain don’t sound familiar, perhaps you’ve heard of
