Okay, how many out there are growing kungias? Be honest, now! Kungia is a little-known genus of only two species of succulents, native to Gansu, Shanxii, and northern Sichuan, China. The majority of plants that look anything like this are almost all native to the deserts of Africa, so it’s not surprising that our Kungia
We’re just over a week away from the amazing Southeastern Plant Symposium. If you aren’t signed up yet, we hope you’ll still join us for the 6th annual version of this amazing gardening event. So, who should attend? Anyone who has a true passion for both plants and in depth knowledge about them. Our symposium,
Southeastern Plant Symposium – Last Call Read More »
After 46 years in the mail order business, we sadly say goodbye to Glasshouse Works of Stewart, Ohio. The remaining founder, Ken Frieling (left), passed away on May 3, at the age of 79. Ken was preceded in death by his partner, Tom Winn (right) in 2013. Tom and Ken were both former teachers, but
The Glasshouse has Closed Read More »
In flower now at JLBG is the rarely seen, Southeast native, Parnassia caroliniana. This amazing, but difficult to grow bog perennial begins flowering for us in mid-November. Even more odd than the plant itself, are it’s relatives. It’s a member of the Celastraceae, meaning its cousins include the genus, Euonymus, and the bittersweet vine, Celastrus.
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Here is one of our bog gardens showing off the lovely native Spiranthes bightensis ‘Chadd’s Ford’, wrapping up its flowering in early November. This easy-to-grow native orchid is right at home with sarracenias (pitcher plants) in very moist soils. Despite its popularity in gardens, Spiranthes bightensis has a global rarity rank of G1, meaning it
Tressing Up for the Fall Dance Read More »
The Southeast Plant Symposium rare plant auction has begun. More plants will be added every other day until the symposium starts Friday. The auction ends mid-afternoon this Saturday. Many of these plants are simply unavailable anywhere else in the world. All auction proceeds are split between the JLBG Garden Endowment Fund at NC State and
Super Rare Plant Auction Read More »
Flowering now is the Federally Endangered hardy cactus, Escobaria minnima. Our plants are now almost five years old from seed. We are thrilled to see that these have performed so well, sailing through our 11 degree F. winter this year. This extremely rare gem (G1 rank) is only found a single rock outcrop in Brewster
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Flowering now in the garden is the delicate toadshade, Trillium delicatum. This diminutive trillium, published in 2019, hails from Central Georgia, where it naturally grows in floodplains. Despite a damp habitat, it has performed beautifully for us, even in average to dry garden soils. This species is quite rare, and is suffering significant damage from
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Mahonias have long been garden staples, but few people have ever seen or tried the rare Mahonia russellii. Discovered in 1984 in Vera Cruz, Mexico by the UK’s James Russell, this member of the “paniculate” clan of mahonias is more closely related to other Southern Mexico and Central American species, than anything most of us
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We were thrilled to have Lilium bakerianum show up recently with a couple of flowers. This rare, dainty, woodland lily rarely exceeds 2′ in height. The arching stems are difficult to spot in the Chinese grasslands that they call home, unless you are lucky enough to catch them in flower. Lilium bakerianum, named after English
