If you like botanical oddities, then the cute Camellia parvilimba is just what you’ve been looking for. This miniature species, is tiny, in terms of flowers, leaves, and overall stature. Camellia parvilimba is the victim of a taxonomic tug of war, with many taxonomists classifying it as simply a tiny form of Camellia euryoides, while
Honey, Who Shrunk the Camellia? Read More »
My love affair with viburnums came later in life, as it simply wasn’t a plant I connected with at an early age. The longer I’ve gardened, the more I’ve grown to appreciate all that viburnums add to the landscape, in terms of form, fragrant flowers, and fruit. The Asian evergreen Viburnum odoratissimum is one that
The Odoriferous Viburnum Read More »
Our specimen of Mahonia ‘Marvel’ is in full flower today. This curious plant from Georgia’s Ozzie Johnson is reportedly a seedling of Mahonia x media ‘Charity’, and while it shares the flower characteristics of the parent, I’m not sure what odd mutation occurred to remove all of the leaf spines. We think this is a
A Mahonia on which to Marvel Read More »
One of the bright spots in the fall garden are Aucubas, like Aucuba japonica ‘Ogon no Tsuki’. Even on a dark, dreary day, the bright leaves serve as a focal point to help lighten the mood.
A Bright Spot in the Woodland Read More »
Here’s a fun combination from the fall garden, with Ginkgo ‘Mariken’ sporting it’s fall colors. In a supporting role are Cephalotaxus ‘Golden Dragon’, Mahonia tikuensis ‘Datun’, and Hedera colchica ‘Green Spice’. There isn’t a right or wrong way to combine garden textures and forms, but simply paying attention to them makes a garden so much
Textures and Forms of Fall Read More »
Looking like it’s covered by a dusting of snow is our garden specimen of Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Kaori Hime’. This amazing plant is adorned, starting in early November, with thousands of sweetly scented, small white flowers. In Japan, the word “hime” literally translates to young lady of nobility, such as a princess. In plant names, however,
Tiny Leaves, Tiny Flowers, and a Big Belly Read More »
We’ve experimented with a number of conifers through the decades, and as you can imagine, we’ve killed quite a few of those experiments. One of the nice surprises has been the unexpected success of Pinus strobiformis ‘Loma Linda’. Pinus strobiformis is the Southwestern US (Sierra Madre Occidental) equivalent of the Northeastern native white pine, Pinus
Looks like a Strobe Read More »
Looking absolutely beacon-esque in the woodland garden as we head into fall is the evergreen Aucuba japonica ‘Mr. Goldstrike’. We grow well over 100 aucuba cultivars, and this is certainly one of the brightest. This is a male selection, so it produces no fruit, but instead has fascinating terminal clusters of rusty red flowers around
Due to the large number of neighbors endowed with ex-domus (outside of the house) hoarding tendencies in the Southeastern US, homeowners are always looking for unique evergreen screening plants over 6′ tall. While there are plenty of choices for full sun, the choices for shade are quite limited to plants like Fatsia, Illicium, Thujopsis, Taxus,
Woah…Meet Big Mamma Read More »
In flower now, is our specimen of Distylium racemosum ‘Akebono’. While Distylium is quite popular now, compared to decades earlier, many of the specialty variegated cultivars are still little known. The word Akebono is Japanese for the color of the sky at dawn. It is commonly used in Japan to name plants with a bright
Akebono…no relation to Sonny Read More »
