Looking absolutely dazzling in the garden now, is the star of the genus, Baptisia arachnifera. This superb garden plant from only two counties in Coastal Georgia, is very easy to grow, but sadly very rare in the wild. It’s Federally Endangered status is due to most (95%) of its habitat being crowded out by commercial
Spider Web Baptisia Read More »
A plant that’s really thriving in our summer heat and drought is the Southwest US (Arizona, Texas, New Mexico) native cactus, Grusonia emoryi. This colorful, compact, rock garden-sized specimen, matures at 1′ tall x 3′ wide, with great age. If you have free-range pets, who like to play with such plants, you may want to
After an initial introduction in 2024 where demand outstripped supply, we should have more xMangave ‘Mayan Moon’ in our Fall 2026 catalog to be released in early August. This amazing but non-offsetting (without horticultural coercion) plant was discovered by plantsman Hans Hansen as a sport of his xMangave ‘Mayan Queen’. Zones: 9a to 11, guessing.
Here is one of several clumps of the hardy Sinningia ‘Bananas Foster’ we planted along our patio retaining wall, where we can sit at night and watch the hummingbirds dine. This amazing plant flowers from May through the summer, so there’s no need to refill the red plastic feeders with high fructose water. These are
A Hummingbird Dessert – Bananas Foster Read More »
Here’s a shot from the garden this week with a textural triumvirate of three North American natives, Muhlenbergia sericea ‘White Cloud’, Opuntia aciculata, and Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’. This drought tolerant combination illustrates what’s possible when you design with plant textures in mind.
Textural Triumvirate Read More »
From 2009-2014, we offered, what I think is one of the finest ornamental grasses we’ve ever grown, Sporobolus wrightii. Sadly, sales were miserable. Well, a decade later, we are still just as passionate about this amazing plant, and are trying to figure out how to get folks to try it. Over the years, we’ve tried
Thriving through our summer of heat is the fascinating Asparagus horridus. If you can’t tell from the photo, the foliage of this asparagus fern is actually masses of needle-sharp spines, from hence the specific epithet arises. This species is little-known in ornamental gardening circles, although foragers actually harvest the young foliage for food before the
Asparagus is Horrid Read More »
It’s that time of year, where the parade of lycoris (surprise lilies) kicks into high gear. For us, flowering season begins in late June, and continues into October with a steady parade of cultivars. Lycoris flowering is trigged by the natural timing window, but increases after rain showers, and can be consequently be delayed during
Surprise time begins Read More »
Echinacea, commonly called coneflowers, are easy-to-grow, drought-tolerant, summer-flowering perennials that attract both butterflies and hummingbirds. We love echinacea as an addition to a butterfly garden or when used in a mixed-perennial border. Looking lovely in the garden this week is the dazzling coneflower, Echinacea ‘Sombrero Tres Amigos’. You’ll almost need some infrared glasses for these
In 2021, Patrick McMillan brought us seed of a desert prairie grass that he’d seen on an expedition to West Texas at elevations of over 8,000′. Below is the photo Patrick shared of Elionurus barbiculmis in the wild. Although interesting, it’s doesn’t seem overly ornamental. We grew out a number of seedlings and planted them
