Flowering for us, just after the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, are the Helleborus x lemperi group. These hybrids represent crosses between Helleborus niger, which only comes in white flowers, and the slightly later group of Helleborus x hybridus, which come in a range of colors. These sterile hybrids flower with, or slightly after the Christmas
Looking quite impressive after our recent night at 15 degrees F, is the Eastern US native Phlox amoena. The common name, hairy phlox’, is given because of the obviouslyr hairy stems. Native from Kentucky south to Florida, it can be found in dry, open woodlands, usually in sandy, well-drained soils. The typical flowering season is
We have been enjoying the amazing Cyclamen hederifolium in the fall garden. One of my favorites is Cyclamen hederifolium ssp. crassifolium, with its uniquely mottled foliage. Cyclamen hederifolium ssp. crassifolium is a subspecies of Cyclamen hederifolium from the Greek Peloponnese that was formally described in 2009 as being different from typical Cyclamen hederifolium in both
We’ve been in love with the fall-flowering, woodland Salvia glabrescens for over a decade, but wanted to share photos of a new clone we’ve been trialing from our friends at Issima Nursery. In three years, Salvia glabrescens ‘Dark Heart’ has formed a 2′ tall x 7′ wide clump, that’s in full flower this week (mid-October).
Dark Hearts – a Sage you’d be Wise to Grow Read More »
One of the new butterfly bushes that has impressed us in our trials is Buddleia ‘Cherry Royale’ from breeder Hans Hansen. The habit, flower color, fragrance, and lack of seedlings has made this one worthy of our 2026 Spring Catalog. In our garden, it matures at 6′ tall x 6′ wide.
When we built our retirement home a few years ago, we surrounded the patio with pollinator plants, one of which was a mass of the native Eupatorium purpureum ‘Little Red’. For the last few weeks, we can sit in our screen porch and watch a steady parade of butterflies. This amazing perennial, which forms an
Little Red is Butterfly Bait Read More »
It’s lycoris time at JLBG, as we’re just wrapping up the early part of the flowering season (July 15-August 10). Most of the early blooming surprise lilies are the spring-foliaged species and hybrids. Typically, there are only a few of the fall-foliaged selections that flower during this early period. Sadly, most gardeners have only grown
The Season of Surprises Read More »
Looking great in the garden now is our clump of Physostegia virginiana ‘Pink Manners’. This offspring to the shorter, white-flowered, Physostegia ‘Miss Manners’, is one of the finest summer-flowering North American (Canada to Florida) native perennials we grow, yet when we offered it for sale, sales were miserable, which leaves us perplexed. The 4′ tall
The plant genus, Rhexia is a primarily North American native genus in the Melastomaceae family, making it a cousin to the popular tropical house plant, Tibouchina. Rhexia is a genus of only thirteen species, of which we’ve grown eight. The most widespread is Rhexia virginica, which naturally occurs from Canada south to Texas. They are
Trained Rhexia vs. Untrained Rhexia 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 »
