native plants

Conservation Sense and Nonsense

Conservation Sense and Nonsense – Invasion Biology

Earlier this year, my friend, former Garden Rant columnist, Carol Reese, told me about a California blog, Conservation Sense and Nonsense, written by Sierra Club conservationist, Mary McAllister. In her thought provoking blog, Mary calls out those who engage in ethnic profiling of plant for the purpose of discrimination, something about which we have voiced

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Summer garden

Summer Member Newsletter now on-line

For those who have joined us as a Founding member of JLBG, our quarterly members only newsletter is now available for your reading pleasure. Below is a teaser from our Founder’s message to members. Summer 2024 has been an interesting one from a weather perspective. As of August 5, we had recorded 48 days above

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Agave funkiana 'Grand Funk'

Thorny and Horny

Can you imagine living your entire life, looking forward to only one sexual encounter, which will only happen just before death? Such is the life of an agave (century plant). In botanical terms, this is known as being monocarpic. Growing monocarpic plants is the ultimate mixed emotional undertaking. It’s exciting to see them finally flower

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Hepatica acutiloba

Lovin’ Liver Leaf

Looking good in the garden this week is the North American native, Hepatica acutiloba. The flower color ranges from white to blue to lavender. This particular clone, now 18 years old, is a selection from St. Clair County, Alabama. Hepatica is a member of the same family, (Ranunculaceae) as clematis and hellebores. Hardiness Zone 6a-9b,

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Smart as a Blue Oak

Looking great well into December is the North American native, Salvia chamaedryoides, known as Blue Oak sage. This evergreen, dryland native hails form 7,000′ to 9,000′ elevation in the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico. For us, it flowers heaviest in spring and fall, with dark, cobalt blue flowers. It’s one of the few silver leaf

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Winter is a good time to be Hairy

Looking exceptional in the garden is the selection of the North American native Yucca flaccida ‘Hairy’. Yucca ‘Hairy’ is a Tom Foley selection that we feel is probably the finest clone of Yucca flaccida that we’ve ever seen. It’s truly puzzling why this isn’t an industry staple. Below is a photo of our 20 year

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To Breed or Not to Breed

We make crosses on our flowering agaves during the early summer, then in some cases, must wait until fall to see if we were successful. If we don’t get pods formed within a few weeks, we know that the particular cross was a failure, but in some cases, the cross forms pods, but there is

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Falling for Sarracenia

Many of our sarracenia (pitcher plants) have started to go dormant by now, but that’s not the case for Sarracenia leucophylla and any of it’s hybrids. Patrick explained this difference by noting that this species is designed for attaching moths, due it’s white tops that illuminate at night. These moths are prevalent in the fall,

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A Nickel-siae for Your Thoughts

Our oldest clump of the amazing Agave nickelsiae (formerly A. ferdinandi-regis) is now over a decade old, so we’re probably within five years of flowering. Often confused with the similar Agave victoriae-reginae, this North American (Northern Mexico) endemic is somewhat similar, but has more leaves, darker spines, and more prominent leaf markings. Some seedlings offset,

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