Geisha Gone Wild
Our garden specimen of Acer palmatum ‘Geisha Gone Wild’ is looking quite fabulous. Not only is it great from a distance, but a closeup of the foliage is simply amazing. Our 10 year-old plant has reached 10′ in height.
Desperate Aroids – The adventures of Phallicity
The spring garden at JLBG has a number of phallic moments if you’re lucky enough to catch them. Here are a few of our favorites. Below is a color echo we created, using Pig’s Butt Arum (Helicodiceros muscivorus) and Salvia x nemorosa. We’re sure you’ll want to recommend this combination for everyone in your HOA.
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The Wisdom of Solomon’s Seals
In our spare time, we’ve been playing around with Solomon’s Seal hybrids. This cross of Polygonatum martinii x falcatum is one of the few we’ve found worthy of a name. Polygonatum ‘Winsome Wonder’, flowering now, has long arching stems that reach 6-7′ in length. One day, we’ll have enough of this amazing selection to share.
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The Allure of Aromi’s
Our collection of the native deciduous azalea hybrids, bred by the late Dr. Gene Aromi, of Mobile Alabama, is almost in full flower. Dr. Aromi was a professor at the University of South Alabama, who liked azaleas so much, he taught himself how to make crosses. During his lifetime, he named over 108 azaleas, many
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What a Rascal
Below is our 16 year old clump of the ladyslipper, Cypripedium ‘Rascal’, this week. This amazing Carson Whitlow hybrid is a cross of two North American species, Cypripedium parviflorum var. parviflorum x Cypripedium kentuckiense. As you can see, it thrives despite our summer heat and humidity.
Shady Iris
Looking great for the last few weeks in the woodland garden is Iris cristata ‘Eco Orchid Giant’. This native gem matures at only 6″ tall, but puts on a splendid early spring show in the garden. Hardiness zones 3a to 8b.
Outstanding in their field
We were delighted to have the amazing UK botanists, John and Soejatmi Dransfield drop by this week for a visit. Both are retired scientists from Kew Garden, where Dr. Soejatmi Dransfield specialized in paleotropical bamboos, and Dr. John Dransfield specialized in palms. It turns out that John also works with podophyllum in his retirement, so
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Very Wet behind the Ears
Despite the impending flooding late last week, Patrick, Zac, and I took off to the mountains of western South Carolina for a few days of botanizing. Despite the monsoon-like rains, we managed to visit seven amazing sites. Below is a highlight. One stop was at a giant granitic outcrop. The rocks are covered in an
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Blue Champion Blues
Looking absolutely fabulous in the late winter/early spring garden has been Primula ‘Bellarina Blue Champion’. These plants have been in the ground for over 2 years, so have thrived through both our summers and winters. We offered this selection through Plant Delights for a couple of years, but the sales were quite disappointing. It’s hard
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Euphorbia Hanky Panky
A couple of years ago, we were thrilled to acquire seed of Euphorbia ‘Rubicund’ from the Hardy Plant Society seed exchange. That little-known clone is a selection from a cross of Euphorbia myrsinites x E. rigida made by Rhode Island’s Issima Nursery. While the clone doesn’t come true from seed, we love our offspring and
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