Although the title sounds like it, we’re not promoting a new Woody Allen flick. It seems that despite having 27 agaves in the garden flower this spring and summer, three more have taken leave of their proverbial senses, and started sending up flower spikes that won’t open until fall, including the top Agave x amourifolia
The Smell of Love and Death is in the Fall Air Read More »
Here’s our latest bit of mangave related plant breeding craziness. In 2015, we (Zac Hill) used pollen from a Jon Lindstrom xPolifreda hybrid (Manfreda maculosa x Polianthes geminiflora) to pollinate a flowering Agave victoriae-reginae. To our surprise, we got a single viable seed, creating a tri-generic x Hansara (name unpublished), that we named H. ‘Queen
Recreating Frankenstein? Read More »
For those who have followed us for a while, you know we have a fascination for tuberous aroids, particularly those in the genus, Amorphophallus. We’ve spent quite a bit of time making seed selections as well as hybrids, often using the super winter hardy Amorphophallus as a parent. So far, we have 14 species that
Cognac or Konjac – We’ll take the Latter Read More »
Looking great in the garden is the superb fern hybrid, Adiantum x mairisii. We received our first plant in 1993, as a gift from the late fern collector Nancy Swell of Virginia. The similarity in name to the Chinese native Adiantum mariesii, has caused a good bit of confusion in fern collections. This sterile hybrid,
As much as we wish we could grow the purple leaf Norway maples, they simply will not survive our hot, humid summers. We were cautiously optimistic when we heard that the breeders at J. Frank Schmit, had created a more heat tolerant version, Acer ‘Crimson Sunset’ (aka: JFS-KW202), by crossing the purple Norway maple, Acer
The amazing Clematis ‘Purple Gumdrops’ is looking rather fabulous in the crevice garden this month. This amazing 2023 Plant Delights/JLBG introduction is a Hans Hansen creation, using the native Clematis addisonii. It is a tight clump former in the garden, starting to flower for us in early April. It’s hard to imagine a better clematis
We’re preparing for another crazy year of century plant breeding, with fourteen agaves in spike so far. After flowering 34 clones over the last two years, we expected less this year, but now, that doesn’t appear to be the case. From the initial spike appearance to the first flowers opening is generally 6-7 weeks, so
In flower in late March at JLBG is the sweetly fragrant Osmanthus x burkwoodii ‘Elizabeth Lawrence’, a plant we acquired from the late garden writer, Pam Harper. This sweet olive is a cross of the Turkish Osmanthus decorus and the Chinese native Osmanthus delavayi, created by 20th century English nurserymen, Arthur and Albert Burkwood. The
The Burkwood’s Sweet Legacy Read More »
I always find it amusing when I encounter gardeners with a staunch opposition to hybrids and cultivars in their garden, despite them being unable to look in the mirror and realize that they are both a hybrid and a cultivar. The first photo below is our wild collected lungwort from Croatia, Pulmonaria officinalis. The second
I Hate Hybrids – Lungwort time Read More »
Looking quite lovely in the garden this week is Magnolia ‘Frank’s Masterpiece’ from magnolia breeder, Dr. Frank Galyon of Knoxville, TN. This represents a hybrid of Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Deep Purple Dream’ and Magnolia ‘Paul Cook’. This amazingly fast growing selection is expected to mature at 30′ in height. For us, this normally flowers in
Frank’s Masterpiece Read More »
