Looking lovely in the late July garden is the rare North American native Allium oxyphyllum. This little-known species hails from the shale barren (eroded, and often baking steep slopes of degraded shale) region of Virginia and West Virginia, where it is extremely rare, with a global G2 rank. The 1′ tall x 1′ wide clump
One of our favorite summer flower natives, that’s looking great in the water garden now, is the stunning water hemlock, Cicuta maculata. Although it’s native across all of North America, it’s rarely grown in gardens. Perhaps this is because nurseries like us, are terrified to offer a perennial plant that contains such a highly effective
One of many horticultural oddities to grace the JLBG gardens is this fascinating, variegated selection of our native cross vine, Bignonia capreolata. This Tennessee selection, named Bignonia ‘Jeana’s Jewel’ was discovered and shared by plantswoman, Jeana Prewitt, who is also the namesake of the popular Phlox ‘Jeana’. Although we love this oddity, I can’t imagine
As early July rolls around, our buffalo gourds in the garden are looking like, well, like buffalo gourds. Ibervillea lindheimeri is an odd North American native member of the squash family, occurring naturally from Oklahoma south into Northern Mexico. At ground level, it forms a rather nice caudex (swollen plant base), that’s highly prized by
Cornus kousa ‘Akatsuki’ and Asclepias perennis putting on a lovely light show in the summer garden. The white flowers of the native asclepias are a bright color echo of the white variegation of the dogwood. Cornus kousa ‘Akatsuki’, Asclepias perennis
The North American (Durango, Mexico) native, Hymenocallis durangoensis, has been absolutely spectacular this month in the garden, where we grow it in full sun, in average to moist soils. Sadly, this spider lily never sells very well, so we keep having to dump our surplus nursery stock at years end. We’re just stubborn enough to
Striking a pose in the moist garden is Sarracenia flava ‘Black Ascot’. This incredible, native yellow pitcher plant has a variety of amazing forms. The key for success is full sun for 6-8 hours, and moist toes (roots). We offered this selection for the first time in 2020. We have it in production again and
One of the rarest of the Southeast US native Barbara buttons is Marshallia ramosa, a plant previous more abundant, but now classified at one of the rarest and imperiled levels, G2. This endemic to a few populations in Georgia and Florida has dwindled, primarily to a lack of fire, and a subsequent takeover by more
Barbara almost lost her Buttons Read More »
Just finishing it’s flowering for the year is our specimen of Cylindropuntia kleinii. This North American native to the Chihuahuan desert regions of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, forms a 5′ tall, gnarly specimen, composed of long, jointed sections, that break away as they become attached to anything that tries to pass to near. Many
Although it was discovered by U.T. Waterfall (not making this up), in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, in 1966, and subsequently named in 1970, the Glade Bee Balm, Monarda stipitaglandulosa is still little-known in gardens. This is only found in Arkansas and adjacent Oklahoma, where is grows in glades and open woodlands, over alkaline rock. These odd
