This October marks our first flowering of Musa aurantiaca, a little-known species from the Arunchal-Pradesch and Assam region of India, into surrounding Myanmar and Tibet. We love that both the flower and developing bananas are both bright red. So far, our plant has sailed through winter temperatures of 11 degree F, with no problems. Thanks
Salvia glabrescens is a little-known (in gardening circles) woodland perennial sage from the mountains of Japan’s Honshu Island. We have been thrilled with their garden performance since 2005, but equally disappointed at their sales. Customers continually ask for fall-flowering plants for the woodland garden, yet fail to buy them when they are made available. Salvia
The Bald Sages of Fall Read More »
One of the many wonderful North American natives from just south of our southern US geopolitical border is the amazing Purple Mexican Spiderwort, Tradescantia pallida, aka Setcreasea pallida. Although most people know it as a hanging basket specimen, it is also a fabulous garden perennial from Zone 7b south. Here is a plant at JLBG
From Mexico with Love Read More »
The procession of Lycoris (Surprise lilies) continues as we pass mid-August. Here are some recent images. So far, this year, we have flowered over 300 different taxa. Below is Lycoris aurea, which has the widest natural range of any lycoris, from India to Africa, south to Indonesia. Winter hardiness of this fall-leaf species is dependent
A Summer of Surprises Read More »
After finally getting some long overdue rain, the crinum lilies have put on quite a show. The crinum flower season at JLBG runs from March thru October. Here are a few of the July flowering cultivars to enjoy. These amaryllid family members form huge underground bulbs, making them difficult for most nurseries to offer in
The Crinums of Summer Read More »
Looking lovely in the rock garden this month, despite the heat and drought is our 10 year-old patch of the Greek native, Dittany of Amorgos (Origanum calcaratum). This amazing woody perennial oregano can be found on island like Crete, hanging out in crevices of limestone cliffs. At JLBG, we grow it in our gravel amended
Dittany of Amorgos Read More »
It’s that time of year, where the parade of lycoris (surprise lilies) kicks into high gear. For us, flowering season begins in late June, and continues into October with a steady parade of cultivars. Lycoris flowering is trigged by the natural timing window, but increases after rain showers, and can be consequently be delayed during
Surprise time begins Read More »
This week, we’ve been enjoying our first flowering of our South African native, Boophone disticha. This fascinating member of the Amaryllid family, which I was blessed to see in the wild back in 2005, can live to over 100 years of age. In cultivation, they can be flowered from seed in 9-15 years. While most
Bouffant Boophone Read More »
Many years ago, US National Arboretum plant breeder, Don Egolf (1928-1990) embarked on a crape myrtle breeding program, combining the hardiness, and dark bark of the white-flowered Japanese Lagerostroemia faurei with the commonly grown Lagerostroemia indica, with its more colorful flowers. Most of the crape myrtles in the market today named after “Native American” tribes,
Dazzling Sweetheart Read More »
Few people grow the amazing Southeast native Macbridea caroliniana, so we wanted to share our clump that’s in full flower now. This is primarily a coastal plain species that ranges from NC south to Georgia, and provides quite a feast for native bees. This is a two year old clump, growing in average to slightly
Here Comes the Bride…the MacBride Read More »
