Looking great in the garden now is the amazing southeast US (coastal NC south to northern Florida) native, Coreopsis palustris ‘Summer Sunshine’. Our 2000 introduction has rated at the top of the list at the famed Mt. Cuba native plant trials. It’s nice when one of our introductions get the independent adulation it deserves. Although
Looking amazing this month is the evergreen, southeast US native groundcover, Houstonia procumbens. Our selection of roundleaf bluets, Houstonia ‘White Clay’, is our 2003 cutting collection from Clay County, Florida. Originally discovered in 1902 in Charleston, South Carolina, and hailing from the southeastern US, (southeastern South Carolina west to eastern Louisiana), roundleaf bluets live their
Florida’s Houston-ia Read More »
Years ago, I had the privilege of serving on the NC Rare Plant Scientific Committee for eight years with Dr. Alan Weakley, and I can truely say, each encounter was an incredible learning experience. It’s not often you get to work closely with a true genius in your field. For those who don’t know Alan,
The Strength of Weakley Read More »
Hypericum lloydii has looked great in the garden for the last few years. This little-known, imperiled (G4 rank) Southeastern US native, has shown excellent potential as a garden plant. In the wild, it’s found in dry open woodlands and woodland edges in well-drained soils in a narrow band from Virginia south to Alabama. In the
Lloyds St. John’s Wort Read More »
Last week, Zac and I made our first visit to the Dutch enclave in the Terra Ceia region of coastal NC. This region was founded in the 1930s and 1940s, when several Dutch families arrived in America, after fleeing problems back in the homeland, looking for inexpensive land on which to farm. Back in the
How could you not love a plant that can put on a show like this for months on end during the heat of the summer? So, why is is that so few people grow the amazing Euphorbia corollata? This amazing perennial is native to most every county east of the Mississippi River, even extending it
The Little Euphorbia that Could Read More »
Few people grow the amazing Southeast native Macbridea caroliniana, so we wanted to share our clump that’s in full flower now. This is primarily a coastal plain species that ranges from NC south to Georgia, and provides quite a feast for native bees. This is a two year old clump, growing in average to slightly
Here Comes the Bride…the MacBride Read More »
I’m amazed that everyone with a dry sun garden doesn’t grow the amazing native (Wisconsin south to Florida) legume, Tephrosia virginiana, commonly known as Virginia goat’s rue. Here is our clump this week, thriving in the crevice garden. They certainly don’t require a crevice garden as long as the soils dries quickly after a rain.
A Legendary Legume Read More »
In flower now at JLBG is the rarely seen, Southeast native, Parnassia caroliniana. This amazing, but difficult to grow bog perennial begins flowering for us in mid-November. Even more odd than the plant itself, are it’s relatives. It’s a member of the Celastraceae, meaning its cousins include the genus, Euonymus, and the bittersweet vine, Celastrus.
Grass of Parnassus Read More »
Many of our sarracenia (pitcher plants) have started to go dormant by now, but that’s not the case for Sarracenia leucophylla and any of it’s hybrids. Patrick explained this difference by noting that this species is designed for attaching moths, due it’s white tops that illuminate at night. These moths are prevalent in the fall,
Falling for Sarracenia Read More »
