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
In flower now at JLBG is the fascinating tree, Firmiana simplex. This odd Chinese/Taiwan/Japan native, with smooth green-striped bark, produces these fascinating flowers that mature to seed receptacles which resemble three-part umbrellas with lots of heads (seed) underneath. This odd tree is currently a member of the Malvaceae family, making it a cousin to hibiscus,
The Tree of Parasols Read More »
An outstanding BLE (Broadleaf Evergreen) at JLBG this month is the amazing Prunus laurocerasus ‘Batumi Rubies’. This full-size form of the more commonly sold dwarf selections makes an amazing specimen. The fruit of this Black Sea native is typically black, but plantsman Todd Lasseigne made this amazing red-fruited collection in 2001, in the country of
The bright red fruit of Rohdea japonica, the Japanese sacred lily, are showy all fall and winter so we wait to collect them until after our Winter Open Garden and Nursery so our guests can enjoy them and realize that this is another ornamental aspect of Rohdea. The fruit are worn by these plants like
False Advertising Read More »
Looking lovely in late winter is the Mexican beautyberry, Callicarpa acuminata. Long after most beautyberry fruit has been long gone, the tawny purple fruit of Callicarpa acuminata ripen. The Mexican beautyberry plant matures around 4′ tall x 8′ wide, and thrives in light shade. While the fruit are loved by wildlife, it’s often wildlife that
Mexican Beautyberry Read More »
One of the most interesting discoveries over the last few years, is the realization that our rohdeas are mating with other rohdea species in the garden. Below is our first documented hybrid between the commonly grown Rohdea japonica and the little-known Taiwan native, Rohdea chinensis var. watanabei. We use the name Rohdea x japensis for
It looks like we might get viable seed this year on our farfugiums in the garden. Most years, the winter temperatures drop too cold for the late fall flowering seed to develop to maturity. Since Farfugium japonicum isn’t problematic even if we were to get some viable seed to drop, we like to leave seed
I was lucky enough to catch the winter fruit show on our clump of Iris foetidissima last weekend. This little-known, evergreen, woodland iris from southern Europe, suffers because of its specific epithet “foetidissima”, which means stinking. That’s probably a bit much coming from someone with hundreds of amorphophallus clones. The name reportedly was given because
Looking lovely in the garden during the Christmas holiday season is a plant that hails from around the world, most notably Iran, and into the surrounding Caucuses. Despite this disparate climatic origin, Danae racemosa has thrived in much of the country as a pass-along plant for over a century. Danae is one of many plants,
A Laurel and Hardy Garden Addition Read More »
Putting on a lovely show in the fall garden this month is the native Callicarpa americana ‘Lactea’. Callicarpa americana is a native from Maryland southwest to Texas, where it pops up, usually in disturbed areas as an early/mid successionary species in sunny sites. The typical fruit color is purple, but the white-fruited Callicarpa americana ‘Lactea’
A Snow-white Beauty Read More »
