I’ve spent the last 60+ years tromping through woodlands across the Eastern US, from Maine to Florida, and west to Texas, and have looked at more Christmas ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides) than you can imagine. Being a diversity freak, I am always looking for odd forms, which are surprisingly rare for this species. I could count
All I want for Christmas is a new Christmas Fern Read More »
In 2022, Lysimachia lanceolata ‘Burgundy Mist’ hit the native plant market with great fanfare. Here was an ornamentally improved version of the Eastern North America (Wisconsin south to Florida) moist meadow native, Lysimachia lanceolata (aka: Steironema lanceolatum), from the folks at Tennessee’s GroWild Nursery. The linear-leaf foliage of this selection takes on a burgundy cast
The Legend of Burgundy Mist Read More »
One of the truly fabulous Southeast natives, that is completely unknown to gardeners, is the amazing Trautvetteria nervata. The genus, Trautvetteria, a member of the Ranunculus family, is already poorly known. Even the comprehensive Kew Gardens database makes a mess of the species list. Trautvetteria nervata, a coastal plain denizen of only a few counties
Trautvetteria – Queen of the Swamp Read More »
One of our great native small trees is Cyrilla racemiflora, commonly known as Titi. The genus, itself, is so odd, that it warrants its own family, Cyrillaceae. Although there are 10 species in the genus, this is the only one in commerce. Interestingly, the other nine species only occur in Cuba. In the wild, Cyrilla
It’s odd when one of the rarer members of a plant genus is actually one of the best garden subjects. Such is the case with the rare (G3 rank) wine cup, Callirhoe bushii. Although there are only 50 populations in the wild, scattered from Arkansas to Kansas, it is certainly one of the most amazing
We were recently visited by a well-known landscape designer, who specializes in Southeastern US native plants. As we walked through the crevice garden, and I pointed out a clump of Polygonella americana, he was shocked at how nice it looked. His comment was that American jointweed always looked scraggly in the wild, so he hadn’t
American Jointweed – Smoke this Over Read More »
Looking great recently is a new, still undescribed dryland, shrub mint from south-central Georgia. This amazing dwarf Clinopodium sp. nov. Upson County, matures at only 6″ tall x 18″ wide with a stunning show of pink flowers for us, in early June. We’ve long treasured the shrubby wood mints, but this is truly exceptional. Hopefully,
The Missing Shrub Mint Read More »
One of the little-grown, but fabulous native milkweed species is Asclepias perennis. In the wild, this amazing plant is found from Indiana south into Texas, where it grows in seasonal flood plains, swamps, ditches, and otherwise wet areas. In the garden, however, we have found it very happy in average to moist garden soils, as
White Swamp Milkweed Read More »
Just finishing up its flowering show in the garden is the baptisia cousin, Pediomelum piedmontanum ‘Columbia’, commonly known as Dixie breadroot. Commonly, probably isn’t exactly the right word, since this southeast native is anything but common. In fact, it’s only known from three counties, one in Georgia, and two in South Carollina, hence a G1
Looking absolutely elegant in a crevice garden seep is the native Carex echinata. Although star sedge is quite common from Maine to Minnesota, it’s quite rare in NC. This is seed grown from a population in the mountainous Alleghany County, NC, although it’s thriving in our coastal plain garden. In the wild, this clump former
A Star Sedge is Born Read More »
