In flower now, is our specimen of Distylium racemosum ‘Akebono’. While Distylium is quite popular now, compared to decades earlier, many of the specialty variegated cultivars are still little known. The word Akebono is Japanese for the color of the sky at dawn. It is commonly used in Japan to name plants with a bright
Akebono…no relation to Sonny Read More »
Putting on quite a show this month is the North American native, Malvaviscus drummondii ‘Big Momma’. This supersize form has been flowering all summer, but continues unabated as we move into fall. In the wild, malvaviscus grows in dry shade, but we have found that slightly moist sun produces a much more showy plant. This
This October marks our first flowering of Musa aurantiaca, a little-known species from the Arunchal-Pradesch and Assam region of India, into surrounding Myanmar and Tibet. We love that both the flower and developing bananas are both bright red. So far, our plant has sailed through winter temperatures of 11 degree F, with no problems. Thanks
“You should have seen my garden last week” or some variation on this theme is a common refrain when visiting a garden. I felt much this way recently when I led a tour of Juniper Level Botanic Garden. I just could not find a knock-your-socks off clump of Rhodophiala bifida. So here is a glorious
Hill Country Red Perfection Read More »
The procession of Lycoris (Surprise lilies) continues as we pass mid-August. Here are some recent images. So far, this year, we have flowered over 300 different taxa. Below is Lycoris aurea, which has the widest natural range of any lycoris, from India to Africa, south to Indonesia. Winter hardiness of this fall-leaf species is dependent
A Summer of Surprises Read More »
The gloriosa lily was named, Gloriosa superba. It is a scientific name that should scare no one. The generic name, Gloriosa, means “glorious’. As if this wasn’t praise enough, this species of Gloriosa was given the species name Gloriosa superba, the superb and glorious lily. Clearly someone was dazzled by this flower. I know I
Glorious Gloriosa Lily Read More »
We love the south Brazilian native, Abutilion megapotamicum, which as you can see, is looking absolutely fabulous in the garden. This amazing plant makes a towering stack of thin branches, each laden with hundreds of bright red calyces above the yellow bell-shaped flowers. This abutilon dies back to the ground when our winter temperatures drop
Brazilian Bellflower Read More »
Back in 1940, this fascinating naturally-occurring lily hybrid between the native Lilium canadense and Lilium michiganense was discovered in Panola County, Mississippi. Eighty five years later, it’s looking astonishing in the gardens at JLBG. We look forward to having enough to share one day.
We can think of few plants better designed for hummingbirds than our clump of the native Penstemon cardinalis ssp. regalis that’s currently in flower in the JLBG crevice garden. Known as the Guadalupe Mountain beardtongue, it’s hails from the rocky, alkaline slopes (4,500′-6,000′ elevation) of southern New Mexico and adjacent West Texas, in juniper/pine scrubland.
Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica) is most often encountered in woodlands where it performs in an entirely satisfactory manner. The same can be said for its performance in a shaded home garden. Yet, I can’t help but think that, if only it could operate a chainsaw, it would create a full-sun spot for itself. In full
Dreaming of a Chainsaw Read More »
