Starting in late winter, the amazing blue-flowered South American Ipheion ‘Rolf Fiedler’ begins its stunning floral show in the garden. This rare native, which has only been found on the top of two hills in Uruguay, has yet to be formally assigned a confirmed species name, although some botanist believe it to be Ipheion peregrinans.
Rolfing in the Garden Read More »
What a lovely color echo we caught this week at JLBG when the tiger swallowtails were visiting Mertensia virginiana (Virginia Bluebells). Remember that botanical diversity results in more pollinators in the garden.
Tiger by the Tongue Read More »
Magnolia ‘Forest’s Pink’ put on a splendid show this year in early to mid-March. Sold as a cultivar of the Chinese Magnolia denudata, some magnolia experts insist that it’s actually a hybrid, due to the intensity of the pink color as well as the form of the plant. Magnolia ‘Forest’s Pink’ originated as an introduction
Carex conica ‘Hime’ has been in horticultural commerce for many decades, and remains a superb woodland garden sedge. The evergreen species Carex conica is native throughout Japan, where it occurs in woodland conditions. This variegated selection that goes by an array of names such as ‘Snowline’ and ‘Marginata’, but Carex conica ‘Hime’, which translates to
Japanese Princess Sedge Read More »
This is the time of year (October – April) when voles are extremely active in the garden, as you can see below from this recently chewed aspidistra in the garden. Voles are vegetarian mouse relatives that tunnel underground eating the roots of plants…usually those with the most expensive price tags. Once the roots are gone,
Prunus ‘Pink Cascades’ is a recent introduction from NC State’s Tom Ranney. This strict weeper can be staked to any desired height, then allowed to trail from there. Here are our stunning two year-old plants this March, grafted at 4′ tall. The plants have already reached 11′ in width on the way to 20′ –
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 is the NC State University Day of Giving…a time for those who want to support activities at NC State. In our case, that means the endowment we are building to preserve Juniper Level Botanic Gardens. If you care about ensuring the gardens remain intact for future generations, please consider making a
NC State/JLBG Day of Giving Read More »
We’ve made a regular habit of killing fritillarias (the bulb…not the fried food) in the garden, especially those ungrowable brightly-colored species like Fritillaria imperialis that tantalizingly appear each fall in the major bulb catalogs. Although it lacks the bling of it’s showier cousins, the species that is reliable for us in the garden is Fritillaria
Fritters in the Garden Read More »
I had a great visit recently with David Cain and Denny Werner. Most of you know Dr. Werner from his work at NC State, first as a peach breeder and later as the creator of a parade of amazing redbud hybrids. David and Denny were both grad students together back at Michigan State. Dr. Cain
One of the fun reasons to grow plants from seed is that each seedling is different…unless you’re growing highly bred annuals. Most non-hybrid seedlings will be under the bell curve, meaning they all look and behave relatively similar. As plant collectors, we get excited when one appears that falls outside the bell curve. An example
Ginger drama in the Garden Read More »
