We’ve been trialing two very exciting new groundcovers, a spreading, gold-foliaged mondo grass (Ophiopogon), and a gold-foliage monkey grass (Liriope). Both are currently scheduled to be 2026 Plant Delights releases. While both plants will tolerate light shade, they are much more vigorous, and maintain their foliage color better in half day sun. Liriope minor ‘Gotemba
Monkeying Around with Gold Read More »
A plant that always draws the interest of garden visitors is our ever-expanding collection of non-running bamboos. One that I get to admire daily from my second floor office window is the Chinese (Sichuan) native, Fargesia robusta. Bamboo taxonomy is at best difficult, since most species only flower once every 100 years. Consequently, Fargesia robusta
We love the winter color forms of the fascinating spikemoss, Selaginella tamariscina. This Asian (China, Japan, Korea, Russia, India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Philipines) native naturally has solid green foliage, but through the centuries, Japanese gardeners have made countless selections with colored foliage. I’m particularly fond of Selaginella ‘Golden Sprite’ (below). In growth, these make very
In January, we posted photos of the Asian epiphytic fern, Neolepisorus fortunei ‘Green Ribbons’ growing in the ground, in our woodland garden. Here is another planting of it, growing as a lithophyte (on rocks) in our crevice garden. This six year old patch of ribbon fern shows that it doesn’t require soil to thrive. This
Our acanthus in the garden are looking absolutely superb now. This clump of Acanthus ‘Morning Candle’ was particularly photo worthy with its 4′ tall flower spikes and shiny, lobed basal foliage. We find that very open light shade to a few hours of morning sun produces the best floral shows. Acanthus require little in the
Morning Candles that last for Days Read More »
Some folks of a certain age, remember Columbo as a 1970s television series starring Peter Falk, but long before that, 1788 in fact, there was an Eastern (Michigan south to South Carolina) native perennial, Frasera caroliniensis, commonly known as American Columbo. This odd deciduous gentian relative is a monocarpic perennial that takes between 5-15 years
We’ve been growing the fall-flowering Farfugium japonicum for nearly 40 years, and despite growing numerous cultivars as well as seedlings, had seen no difference in the standard yellow flower color, until a 2008 visit to the Georgia garden of plantsman Ozzie Johnson. There, I first met the cultivar, ‘Beni’, which in Japanese, means red flowers.
Beni and the Not Yets Read More »
On a recent trip to Michigan, I made my first stop at Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand Haven. Most homeowners may not have heard of them, but Spring Meadow is a liner producer of shrubs, primarily for the Proven Winners branded program. If you buy a shrub from a retailer in a PW white pot,
Summer visit to Spring Meadow Read More »
Many hardy aroid lovers have grown the popular Sauromatum venosum–a plant that has been cultivated for hundreds of years. Few people, however, have tried another lesser-known species, that we think is an exceptional garden plant, Sauromatum horsfieldii. We’d grown a couple of clones of this species for years, and found it to be a BIO
Sauromatum…a Different Take Read More »
Here are a few of our favorite hardy Hippeastrums flowering in the garden this week. Many gardeners incorrectly know these South American bulbs as Amaryllis, which is an entirely different genus of two species of South African bulbs, which do not thrive here. Hardiness is Zone 7b-10b.
Check out those Hipps Read More »
