When we first wanted to trial the incredible Arilbred irises, we were told in no uncertain terms that they wouldn’t share them with us because of our climate here in Raleigh. With some negotiations and sharing that we had built the crevice gardens, we were able to aquire some from Superstition Iris Gardens in 2017
Love is in the Aril-breds Read More »
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.
Monkeying around with Baboon Flower Read More »
The lovely Mediterranean bulb, Anemone pavonina is flowering in the crevice garden this week. Native to very rocky, dry soils from The Balkans to Turkey, and naturalized in France and Italy, Anemone pavonina flowers near the end of winter, providing a welcome jolt of color after the worst of winter has passed. From seed, flower
Peacock Windflower Read More »
If you’re looking for a great chance to learn more about plants for rock gardening, we’d love to have you join our virtual symposium this Saturday, February 10, 2024 from noon till 4pm, EST. The four speakers are: Rod and Elisabeth Zander of CT on their amazing rock garden; Paul Spriggs (Canada), co-author on The
Rockin’ this Saturday Read More »
How are your gerbil-pollinated plants doing this winter? Ours is doing just fine. The flowers of this hedgehog lily, Massonia depressa, were unfazed by several nights down in the high teens here at Juniper Level Botanic Garden and has survived 5 previous winters as well. It is a bulbous plant native to South Africa where
Snug as the proverbial bug in the rug, is our clump of Aloe aristata, nestled in the crevice garden, where it stays quite dry during the winter. On our 2005 expedition to South Africa, we found these growing at 7,800′ elevation, so the species has good winter hardiness when growing in the proper habitat. Aloe
Tucked away for winter Read More »
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
Don’t Chase away the Winter Blues Read More »
Looking great in mid-January in our crevice garden, is the shrubby Mediterranean native, Teucrium marum, known more widely as kitty crack. The incredibly fragrant foliage is enough to drive your cats wild…far beyond anything you’ve seen from its cousin, Nepeta catarica (cat nip), which is also in the Lamiaceae family. It you really want to
A Crack full of Kitty Crack Read More »
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
First Flowers of Flat Iris Read More »
As a high schooler, and through college, I ran a small backyard greenhouse selling tropical plants from my parents home. One of the groups that I specialized in were bromeliads, so I’ve long had a fascination with group. Later in life, when I switched to outdoor winter hardy plants, I continued to look for hardy
