Aster oblongifolius ‘Fanny’ (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) has put on its normal superb show this fall. Keep in mind that this gets quite large. This is a 2 year old plant from a quart pot, which has already reached its mature size of 8′ wide.
Stare at our Fanny Read More »
Lespedeza ‘Little Volcano’ puts on quite a show each fall. Here it is in the garden this fall in full bloom. This amazing dieback perennial reaches an amazing 7′ tall x 15′ wide in good soils and full sun. Our friend Ted Stephens is responsible for bringing this gem from Japan to US gardeners.
Exploding Little Volcano Read More »
We take quite a few photos of the sky in addition to all of our plant images, but this recent cloud formation in front of JLBG bore a striking resemblance to the famed mushroom clouds which appear after the detonation of a small nuclear device. Isn’t nature amazing!
Mushrooms in the Sky Read More »
Outside of the nerdy members of the International Oak Society, few gardeners have ever heard of Quercus x vilmoriniana. This spectacular oak is a hybrid between the Asian Quercus dentata and the European Quercus petraea. Quercus x vilmoriniana has been known in European gardens since 1894, but is rarely seen in US gardens. The hybrid
Our favorite fall-flowering legume is looking fabulous now. While most daleas (baptisia cousins) flower in spring and summer, only one that we’ve grown waits until fall to produce its amazing floral show. Dalea bicolor var. argyraea is an easy-to-grow species, found in the dry alkaline sandy soils of Texas and New Mexico. Here at JLBG,
As an avid bromeliad collector back in the 1970s, I’ve had a long fascination with members of the bromeliad family. Although, I’m long past my house plant days, I continue to test bromeliads from cold climates for their adaptability in our Zone 7b NC garden. So far, we’ve had one member of the genus Puya
Can you say Poo-yuh? Read More »
Just snapped this photo of Aspidistra minutiflora ‘Leopard’…one of our favorite cast iron plants. Although it isn’t really winter hardy here in Zone 7b, it makes one heck of a tough house plant.
I fell in love with the Arizona/Mexico native ornamental grass, Muhlenbergia dumosa when the the late JC Raulston first brought it back from Yucca Do Nursery in 1992. This odd member of the genus muhlenbergia resembles a clumping bamboo unlike other members of the genus. For those non-connoisseurs of Latin, dumosa means “bushy”. JC touted
One of our favorite of the US native (Central Texas) desert ferns is Pellaea ovata. Here is our clump in the crevice garden looking quite nice this week. This is scheduled to return to the Plant Delights catalog in January. Hardiness should be at least Zone 7b and south.
Tis the season for prickly pear harvest. Many of our early ripening prickly pears are beginning to change from green to red, providing a lovely feature in the fall garden. Here is our clump of Opuntia pyrocarpa this week. We hope everyone’s prickly pear is growing well from our giant prickly pear pad giveaway at
Ripe pears…prickly pears Read More »
