As we prepare for the upcoming NFL season, we thought we’d offer a horticultural football analogy with this native plant combination of two evergreens, Heuchera ‘Grande Amethyst’ and Juniperus horizontalis ‘Copper Harbor’. Here, in this Minnesota Vikings color theme, the coral bell (heuchera) is the quarterback, carrying the color, and first drawing your eye. The
Vikings Quarterback-Receiver Combo Read More »
As much as we wish we could grow the purple leaf Norway maples, they simply will not survive our hot, humid summers. We were cautiously optimistic when we heard that the breeders at J. Frank Schmit, had created a more heat tolerant version, Acer ‘Crimson Sunset’ (aka: JFS-KW202), by crossing the purple Norway maple, Acer
Our Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Geisha Gone Wild’ is looking rather dazzling this spring. This Buchholz Nursery introduction has amazing variegated foliage, purple with a red edge. Our plant has now topped 10′ tall after 12 years.
Early April is peak time at JLBG for Ajuga flowering, commonly known as bugleweed. We think these amazing new cultivars are a great solution to reducing the need for mulch in sun to part sun landscaped areas. Some of the new colored leaf cultivars are even more spectacular when in flower…below are a few.
Trumpeting Bugleweed Read More »
In 2021, our staff spotted one of our patches of Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’, in which part of the clump had mutated to a form which had foliage that was nearly 2-3 times as large as the original. We moved the sport nearby and watched it over the next three years until we were sure the
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 »
One of our favorite rock garden perennials for summer color is the amazing Ruellia ‘Black Beauty’. We love this small, easy-to-grow, unobtrusive perennial, and spent over a decade searching for it after we first saw it in the Maryland garden of the late Alexej (Sasha) Borkovec, where it occurred as a probable hybrid of East
Albizzia ‘Chocolate Fountain’ takes the “Cousin It” pose in the garden, looking particularly dazzling this week. We love using colorful and architectural plants like this to create memorable garden vignettes.
Cousin It in the Garden Read More »
The advancements plant-breeders have made in developing garden-worthy Alstroemeria (princess lily or Peruvian lily) is truly amazing. Modern introductions such as ‘Indian Summer’ bloom from mid-spring through fall, perhaps slowing down a bit if summer is exceptionally hot and dry. The planting of ‘Indian Summer’ in the photograph is in a small island bed (the
Indian Summer in Spring, Summer and Fall Read More »
Here’s an early November shot from the garden, just prior to our first freeze. By using lots of evergreens, the garden continues to have interest and structure into the less active seasons.
Time to Fall Back Read More »
