One of our favorite winter hardy (Zone 7b) century plants is the non-spiny Agave bracteosa ‘Stingray’. Here is one of our garden specimens this week, which has been thriving in the ground since 2016. Unlike most agaves, which prefer full sun, Agave bracteosa is better in part sun (full sun for only a few hours
Stingray in the Garden Read More »
I remember falling in love with the dwarf river birch, Betula nigra ‘Little King’, back around 1990 when it was first planted at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. This amazing compact selection originated in the late 1970s at King Nursery in Oswego, Illinois, and starting in 1991, was adopted and formally marketed through
Honey, I shrunk the River Birch Read More »
It’s hard to imagine a plant more obscure that the Southeast coastal native Houstonia procumbens. You may recognize the name houstonia as belonging to one of the many more common bluets. Instead, this is a creeping white-et. We’ve had this in our alpine rock garden for a couple of decades, but barely notice it until
In celebration of the obscure Read More »
The beauty berries are looking quite good this fall in the garden. Two forms of Callicarpa americana are a bit unique. The white fruited Callicarpa americana ‘Lactea’ has been stunning, as has the pink-fruited Callicarpa ‘Welch’s Pink’, discovered by Texas plantsman, Matt Welch. A fairly new beauty berry to cultivation thanks to the US National
More Beauty Berries Read More »
Salvia regla ‘Jame’ (pronounced Haam-hey) is looking so wonderful this time of year. This amazing North American native (US/Mexico) was originally shared back in 2000, by the late Salvia guru, Rich Dufresne. It has adorned our gardens every year since with these amazing fall shows. Hardiness is Zone 7b and warmer.
There are few plants that put on a better fall show than the amazing Eupatorium havanense, now known as Ageratina havanensis. This oustanding Texas native is flowering now, having burst into flower in early November, providing nectar for a wide variety of insects, and great floristic enjoyment for a wide variety of gardeners. Plant Delights
Have a Fall Flowering Show Read More »
Looking particularly good this week is one of the Southeast US (NC to Texas) native water orchids, Habenaria repens. This gem flowers through most of the growing season, and hasn’t slowed down as we enter November. Water spider orchid can grow both as a marginal or as a true aquatic. Our plant is growing in
Happened on a Habenaria Read More »
Couldn’t resist this photo of a couple of carpenter bees looking for a drink after a hard day of work, and happened on this enticing stray pitcher full of water. Oh, if they only knew…
Calycanthus ‘Burgundy Spice’ is looking so great in the garden at JLBG this fall…right before it strips down for the winter. We love this exceptional purple-foliage selection of the native Sweet Betsy, discovered and introduced by our friends, the Hesseleins’ of Pleasant Run Nursery in NJ.
Burgundy Spice Girl Read More »
Flowering this week is the amazing Southeast native subshrub, Clinopodium georgianum. The leaves have a wonderful fragrance of strong peppermint, and the flower show isn’t bad either. This is Zac/Jeremy’s collection from Henry County, Alabama. A carpenter bee working nearby stopped in for a floral snack.
