Last year, we wrote about the famous Sabal ‘Birmingham’ palm, but until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t visited the old specimens at Raleigh’s Jaycee park in well over a decade, so I thought it was time to check on their status. We don’t know an exact planting date, but best guesses are that they
A Visit to Birmingham Read More »
Phlomis x cytherea is a little-known Jerusalem sage that we find incredibly garden worthy. First published in 1967 and named for the island of Cytherea (Kithira), which lies halfway between Mainland Greece and Crete, this natural hybrid occurs in Greece and the Greek islands, where Phlomis fruticosa and Phlomis cretica cohabitate. Compared to the much
Cytherea – The Phlomis G-Spot Read More »
We have long been fans of the Asian ferns in the genus, Woodwardia. Of the eleven species in the genus, five are North American, and the rest are Asian. Our particular infatuation are with the giant, evergreen species, including Woodwardia prolifera, Woodwardia unigemmata, and the hybrid, Woodwardia x izuensis. All of these have huge, tropical
Wards of the Woods 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,
Emerging beautifully from its winter slumber is the elegant native fern, Dryopteris x australis. The 4′ tall clumps look superb all through the heat of summer. Despite the “down under” sounding specific epithet, “australis” actually means “from the south”, referring to its’ natural range from from Virginia to Arkansas, where it is found in moist
One of our favorite clones of the North American native, Agave x protamericana is Agave ‘Funky Toes’. Below is our clump in mid-February, looking no worse for wear after a low of 14 degrees F. This is a splendid introduction from the former Yucca Do Nursery, that we’ve grown since 2004, and is a natural
A Century of Funky Toes Read More »
Looking lovely this week in the garden is our clump of Agave x protamericana ‘Silver Surfer’. This 2007 Plant Delights/JLBG introduction is our winter hardy (Zone 7b) selection from seedlings of a 1992 Yucca Do seed collecting expedition (YD 45-83) at 5,200′ in Palmillo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, where Agave americana ssp. protamericana intergrades with Agave asperrima.
Century Plant Superhero Read More »
Back in 1940, this fascinating naturally-occurring lily hybrid between the native Lilium canadense and Lilium michiganense was discovered in Panola County, Mississippi. Eighty five years later, it’s looking astonishing in the gardens at JLBG. We look forward to having enough to share one day.
Up until a couple of years ago, we could find no literature detailing any hybrids in the cast iron plant genus, Aspidistra. With our extensive in-ground collection, we had begun noticing seedlings that were obvious hybrids, so we began first by confirming that both the flowers and foliage showed signs of being intermediate between both
In full flower now is Patrick’s selection of the native Helianthus angustifolius from Berkeley County, SC. This widespread wetland, often shaded species can be found from New Jersey to Texas. As is the case for most species, each population varies in one or more traits. Most Helianthus angustifolius usually reaches 5′ in height, but this
