This past weekend, I noticed an unexpected fragrance from the mixed border that surrounds our home. It didn’t take long to realize that it was time for the amazing Autumn tea olives, Osmanthus fragrans to begin their perfumed floral show. The first to open for us this year is the amazing Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus
Goin’ bonkers in the garden in late August is the hardy South African spider plant, Chlorophytum bowkeri. Chlorophytum bowkeri is an African native (Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa, and Zimbawae), non-running spider plant that can be found in damp grasslands and forest margins to 6,000′ elevation. In the garden, it has been an outstanding performer for
Cryptomeria japonica ‘Champagne’ is a lovely, but little-known selection of Japanese cedar. This gem was discovered by David Parks of Camellia Forest Nursery at the now defunct, Yadkin Valley Nursery in Yadkinville, NC, as a dwarf sport of Cryptomeria ‘Knaptonensis’. It was later named by Brie Arthur, and introduce by Camellia Forest Nursery. Our 9
A Toast to Champagne Read More »
Back in 1999, we were thrilled to have Alabama magnoliaphile, Dr. John Allen Smith, of Chunchula, Alabama, stop by JLBG on his way to the International Magnolia convention. We never dreamed this would be the last time we’d ever speak, as he passed away a few months later of a brain aneurysm at age 63.
Mattie Mae Smith – the Striped Magnolia 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
As a young gardener, the chance of growing the high elevation North American native quaking aspen in NC was always nothing more than a random thought that kept popping in my mind, being quickly dismissed, until we spotted one a few years ago at South Carolina’s Spartanburg Community College Garden. Garden director, Dr. Kevin Parris,
Not Quaking from the Heat – Aspens in NC? Read More »
With a large diversity of plants, the garden looks different almost daily. Here’s a recent scene featuring Deutzia ‘Nikko’ (white flowers, front), Nandina domestica ‘Twilight’ (pinkish center), Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Chirimen’ (left of the nandina) and Acer palmatum ‘Kashima’ (behind the Chirimen).
If you don’t grow Magnolia ‘Serendipity’ and live from Zone 7b south, I hope you’ll check this out. This amazing JC Raulston Arboretum introduction is a seedling they named from a cross made by Camellia breeder, Bobby Green of Alabama. The number of fragrant creamy-yellow flowers in late April to early May is truly unimaginable.
Serendipitous Behavior Read More »
Here’s a fun spring color echo in the garden, where Yucca smalliana ‘Bright Edge’ is using Agave ‘Cordial Canary’ as a complimentary skirt and groundcover.
Spring Color Echo Read More »
Our Eastern US native sand myrtle, Kalmia buxifolia is a far cry from its better-known cousin, mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia. This is why for many years, it was placed in an entirely different genus, Leiophyllum. This more diminutive cousin prefers moist acidic sandy soils. Our collection from NC’s Brunswick County has made itself right at
