We’ve previously mentioned that we are re-starting or renowned One More Block Tours, that we paused in the mid-1990s, due to starting the nursery. Our initial idea was to provide unique botanical/horticultural travel opportunities to visit exceptional nurseries, gardens, and natural areas. This new version of the OMB tours, which will also serve as a
One More Block Tours returns…Let the Travel Begin Read More »
Looking great throughout our rock garden sections is the elegant, evergreen desert fern, Cheilanthes eckloniana ‘Naude’s Neck’. Cheilanthes eckloniana is named after the 1800s Danish plant collector Christian Ecklon. We first met this gem on our 2005 expedition to South Africa. This is our 2013 Plant Delights/JLBG introduction, spore grown from plants along the road
African Desert Fern Read More »
I have long enjoyed botanizing in the wire grass/pine, fire habitats, found throughout the Southeastern US coastal plain. One of the namesake plants in these eco regions is wire grass, belonging to the genus, Aristida, of which there are 37 native species in the genus. Those in the Southeast US coastal plain were previously considered
Wised up about Wire Grass Read More »
I was first introduced to lowland loosestrife on a 2022 South Carolina botanizing trip with Zac Hill and Patrick McMillan. I was shocked that I’d never heard of Steironema hybridum before, despite it being a widespread US native from Canada south to Florida. How is it possible that this late season-blooming perennial wildflower is completely
Orphaned Lowland Loosetrife Read More »
Looking great in the garden now, is the rare, Southeast (NC, SC, GA) US native mint relative, Carolina bogmint. Macbridea caroliniana is a Federal Species of Concern (Global G2 rank), found most often in sphagnum bog edges, open forested bottomlands, and savannas. The first photo below is our newly named, dark pink-flowered clone ‘Pink Hill’,
Pink Hill Carolina Bogmint Read More »
We’re always excited when a new fern finds our garden to it’s liking, and such is the case with Cyrtomium tsinglingense ‘Li Ping’, which is now heading into it’s fifth year in the ground. This previously uncultivated species of holly fern is from a Mark Weathington collection in Shaanxi, China.
Sing-a-long Holly Fern Read More »
We struggled for years to grow the commercial selections of the mostly heat-intolerant, North American native, alternate-leaf dogwood, Cornus alternifolia, which naturally ranges from Canada south to Alabama. It wasn’t until years 30 years ago when local botanist Jesse Perry provided us with seed from a local disjunct population, that we had plants to survive
The Lost Dogwood of Texas Read More »
Looking great in the garden today is the miniature elephant ear, Colocasia bicolor ‘La La La’. This is our 2005 collection from 2,200′ elevation in Vietnam’s Son La province. This isn’t a fast grower, which is why it’s taken us 20 years to grow a patch this large. Since seemingly every province in the region
Looking dazzling at JLBG for the last couple of weeks is the amazing Davidia involucrata ‘Sonoma’. As you can see, the common name is quite apt since when in flower, it resembles a tree laden with handkerchiefs. This coveted Chinese native is related to our native black gum, in the family, Nyssaceae. This mystical tree
Excuse me while our Handkerchief Tree Flowers Read More »
Looking lovely in the garden this week is the amazing Southeastern US native, Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Storm Cloud’. Amsonia, commonly known as blue star, are a group of mostly native, typically deer-resistant perennials, prized both because they make such good drought-tolerant plants and they bear one of the few true blue flowers in the perennial world.
Storm Clouds Brewing Read More »
