One of the most colorful plants of the fall garden is Clerodendrum speciosissimum ‘Arkansas Hardy’. This Indonesian native is rightly listed as only hardy to Zone 9 by most sources. Years ago, however, Arkansas customer, David Cockrell, told us about a form that was winter hardy there, which he later shared. His clone, shown below
One of our favorite vines is unquestionably the South American, Brazilian firecracker vine, Manettia cordifolia. This amazing, well-behaved plant doesn’t emerge for us until mid-to-late June, but once the temperatures rise, it explodes into a hummingbirds dream. The peak flowering season for us, is September and October, when it puts on a show like little
Manettia – a Hummer’s Dream Read More »
It’s been four years that we’ve been trialing the dwarf princess lily, Alstroemeria ‘Zoe’. We were hesitant about it’s winter hardiness, especially after everyone got burned by the tender Alstroemeria ‘Rock and Roll’. After an extensive trial period, it has proven to be an outstanding, albeit slow-growing, gem for the garden. Below is a photo
We are just wrapping up the early spring lily season in the garden, and here are few we captured images of this year. Lilium formosanum var. pricei ‘Hehuan’ is a dwarf form of the Taiwan lily, from our 2008 expedition, collected at 9,300′. It blooms two months before the much taller, lowland form Lilium formosanum
I remember a few decades back, when my torso looked exactly like the foliage of Podophyllum ‘Spotty Dotty’, during a somewhat unpleasant bout of shingles. Fortunately, there is nothing but joy, that comes from growing this equally patterned mayapple, that’s looking great in the garden now. For over two decades, this Terra Nova introduction has
Horticultural Shingles Read More »
I was just admiring the genetic instability of Camellia japonica ‘Your’s Truly’ in the garden this week. This 1949 introduction was named as a sport of Camellia japonica ‘Lady Vansittart’. Our plant regularly throws three different flower types. If genetic stability is your thing, this probably isn’t for you, but then, who are we to
Genetic Instability Read More »
In 2015, we introduced an amazing selection of the short-lived, but showy, native Silene virginica, discovered by Alabama’s Colleen Keleher and shared by her husband, nurseryman, Maarten van der Giessen (photo below). Silene ‘Jackson Valentine’, was such a dramatic improvement over the typical species, that it was purchased and shared with gardeners worldwide. One of
The Little Native Perennial that Could Read More »
Looking quite lovely in the garden, now is Camellia japonica ‘Nuccio’s Bella Rossa Crinkled’. This stunning camellia is slow growing, has golden edged foliage, and large, fully double, rose-red flowers.
Long ago, we gave up our red plastic hummingbird feeders for a more natural way to attract hummers to the garden, and one of the best is the Southwest US native Anisacanthus wrightii. Starting for us in August, it continues to be a blaze of glory through September. Texas firecracker prefers full sun and dry
Natural Hummingbird Feeders Read More »
Flowering this week in the garden are two stunning buckeyes, Aesculus pavia ‘Splendens’ (native from Ohio through Texas) on the right, and its offspring, Aesculus x carnea on the left. Aesculus x carnea is a cross of Aesculus pavia and the European Aesculus hippocastanum. It’s hard to imagine two more showy trees for the spring
Aesculating the Buckeye Battle Read More »
