decorative seed pod

Zingiber mioga 'Lushan Gold'

Magnificent Mioga

This year, we introduced an amazing new Chinese collection of the shade-loving Mioga ginger, that we named Zingiber mioga ‘Lushan Gold’, from an Atlanta Botanical Garden expedition. It’s amazing, first, in that it clumps, instead or runs like many forms of the species. We grew quite a few from seed, looking for any that might

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Euscaphis japonica

Oh, Sweetheart

One of the trees that the late J.C. Raulston cherished, and hoped to see become more widely planted is the Asian (China, Japan, Korea) native, Euscaphis japonica, commonly called the Korean sweetheart tree. This little-known genus consists of only two species, and in 2017, one taxonomist proposed eliminating the genus altogether, and moving it into

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Who Called a Cop-tis?

We love the miniature Coptis japonica var. dissecta in full seed now. This dwarf, evergreen, woodland-growing member of the Ranunculus family (Clematis, Helleborus), has small white flowers in the winter, but we adore the seriously cute seeds heads that are adorned in March and April. Not only is this Japanese endemic a cool garden plant,

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Winter flowering Strawberry Tree

There aren’t a large number of trees that flower in winter in temperate climates, but one we can’t imagine gardening without is Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’. This amazing Mediterranean native has thrived for us since the late 1980s. Arbutus is a member of the  Ericaceae family, which is why the flower so closely resemble those of

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Blackburn’s Palm

We love plant mysteries, and Sabal ‘Blackburniana’ fits the bill nicely. This pass-along seed strain has been considered by some to be an old hybrid of Sabal minor, while others consider it to be synonymous with Sabal palmetto, yet others consider it to be Sabal domingensis. Whatever it is, our plant is looking quite good

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