Looking great as it emerges from dormancy is Asparagus cochinchinensis ‘Graham’s Cracker’, our incredible 2015 introduction, that came from NC gardener Graham Ray, who originally purchased this dwarf seedling from Plant Delights. Asparagus ‘Graham’s Cracker’ makes a very tight, upright, 18″ tall x 18″ wide clump, great for a textural contrast in the garden. For
Nothing signals that winter in trending toward spring in our garden more than the seriously cute, Amana anhuiensis. Most folks have probably never heard of this miniature bulb, since it was only published in 2013. The genus itself, was first published in 1867 as an Orithyia, before becoming a tulip a few years later, and
We love the winter color forms of the fascinating spikemoss, Selaginella tamariscina. This Asian (China, Japan, Korea, Russia, India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Philipines) native naturally has solid green foliage, but through the centuries, Japanese gardeners have made countless selections with colored foliage. I’m particularly fond of Selaginella ‘Golden Sprite’ (below). In growth, these make very
While most gardeners are quite familiar with boxwoods of the genus, Buxus, far less are familiar with their close cousins, sweet box of the genus Sarcococca. Sarcococca is a small genus of only 15 species of small woody evergreen shrubs, ranging from the Western Himalayas to Thailand, with one long lost family member that resides
Christmas boxes through the Garden Read More »
One of the most festively fashionable plants in the garden during the winter holiday season is undoubtedly, Ruscus aculeatus ‘Elizabeth Lawrence’. This amazing evergreen perennial has a wide native range through Southern Europe and into Asia, but in the wild, most plant are either male or female. They also range naturally in height from 2′
Festively Fashionable in the Woodland Read More »
Our specimen of the dwarf, Gingko biloba ‘Mariken’ is looking quite lovely this week, with its golden fall foliage. This amazing plant was discovered in 1995 in Holland as a witches broom mutant. Fifteen years later (2010), it was named Plant of the Year by the American Conifer Society, and also awarded the Royal Horticultural
Looking fabulous in the winter garden is one of our favorite firethorns, Pyracantha ‘UNCC Dwarf’. Originally shared with us by the late Dr. Larry Mellichamp, this selection is both dwarf and thornless. Although birds love the berries, they usually don’t consume them until very late winter, which allows the color show to remain long after
Spineless Firethorn Read More »
Looking lovely in December are the Japanese Laurels of the genus, Aucuba. If you’ve hung around any southern gardeners, you already know that we often have some peculiar pronunciations. I’m from the south and still remember thinking, whaaat, the first time I heard someone talking about the A Coobers in their garden. Perhaps many folks
One of the plants widely promoted by the late JC Raulston was the old cultivar, Nandina domestica ‘Filamentosa’. Although it will never been widely grown, since it doesn’t bear the bright red fruit, what it adds texturally to a garden is truly irreplaceable. Below is our patch in mid November, as the foliage takes on
A Nandina that’s So Fine Read More »
Apologies for writing about this two years in a row, but few plants give us more joy in the fall garden that Allium kiiense. A couple of years ago, nursery sales of this were so poor that we planted about 40 plants to create a green mass on 1′ centers, as one would do with
Making sense with Kiiense Read More »
