While most folks from Zone 7 and north are quite familiar the English, Japanese, and European boxwoods of the genus, Buxus, gardeners in hotter climates had to turn to a substitue plant with similar traits for their climate. That plant is Myrsine africana, a woody member of the Primula family, which gained the common name,
An interesting plant that’s looking nice in the garden now is Hyoscyamus niger. This European native, member of the nightshade family Solanaceae, is a first cousin to tomatoes and potatoes. Although it’s short-lived in the garden, it is rather ornamental, but it’s popularity is actually due to its other properties. In traditional medicine, it’s known as
Fun with Black Henbane Read More »
Flowering now in the garden is one of the more fascinating woody plants we grow, Daphne pseudomezereum. This odd Daphne, hailing from Japan and Korea, is the only known Northern temperate plant that loses its leaves in summer, but regrows them in fall, for a wintergreen appearance in the garden. I should add that Daphne
The legend of screaming mandrakes of the genus Mandragora is enough reason to grow these fascinating members of the Solanaceae (tomato, potato) family. I’m always reminded of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins 1956 classic, I Put a Spell on You, every time I’m working nearby. We’ve actually tried all four species in the genus, but so far
The Mandrake Lives…Quietly, for Now Read More »
Aloe grandidentata has been a lovely surprise in our hardiness trials for the genus. This caespitose (doesn’t grow on a stalk) species forms 1′ wide dull green rosettes, spotted white, that spread via short underground rhizomes. The plant in the photo below is only 2.5 years old from a single division. We’d killed this twice
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(aka: Costus speciosus) Hellenia speciosa ‘Wizard of Oz’ is an amazingly winter hardy form of the typically warm tropical, southeast Asian native crepe ginger. This gem is a 2013 Ozzie Johnson collection from near Yan Ming, Vietnam at 3,900′ elevation. Emerging in mid-June (NC), the thick, fleshy green stalks, quickly rise to 6′ tall. The
One of the great North American native plants that never gets a bad rap is Comptonia peregrina, commonly known as sweet fern. Looking good now, this wax myrtle relative in the Myricaceae family, is usually classified as a sub-shrub. The fragrant, finely textured foliage clothes the 2′ tall stems, which spread by underground rhizomes, to
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Carpeting the woodland garden now is the North American native spring ephemeral, Sanguinaria canadensis. This widespread wildflower is native to virtually the entire Eastern US. The common name, bloodroot, comes from the red pigment, Sanguinarine, which can be found in all plant parts, especially the underground rhizomes. The red pigment has long been used for
Red Roots and White Flowers Read More »
Looking great, despite our cold winter temperatures is the fabulous North American (Canada south to Alabama) native groundcover, Dentaria diphylla (aka: Cardamine diphylla). This woodland native spreads slowly via a thick rhizome, usually found at, or just below the soil surface. The silver-veined foliage often has a contrasting purple back in many clones. In our
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Looking great in mid-November here is Echinacea ‘Tres Amigos’. For us, many of the hybrid coneflowers are repetitive flowering machines, if they are cut to ground after each flowering. And when we say cut to the ground, it could be one of two senarios: if the basal foliage is still looking good after flowering, you
Coneflower Matrix, Reloaded Read More »
