I’ve been enchanted with the New Zealand native fern, Paesia scaberula, since obtaining my first specimen from Washington fern guru, Judith Jones in 2011. We didn’t expect any plant from the cool summer climate of New Zealand to have a chance of surviving here, but after fourteen years, it actually thrives. We almost failed on
Aloe grandidentata has been a lovely surprise in our hardiness trials for the genus. This caespitose (doesn’t grow on a stalk) species forms 1′ wide dull green rosettes, spotted white, that spread via short underground rhizomes. The plant in the photo below is only 2.5 years old from a single division. We’d killed this twice
Big-tooth Medicine Plant Read More »
After going 0 for 3 in the past couple of decades to even get spores to even germinate, we now have the amazing, dwarf rock garden fern, Aspidotis densea (dense lace fern) thriving in the crevice garden. Because of it’s native range from Canada south through central California, we started with two strikes against us,
In 1994, when I first saw the tree yucca, Yucca filifera, growing in the mountains of Northern Mexico, it immediately went on my plant lust list. My first plants, acquired under the old name, Yucca australis, all met with a demise as untimely as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I thought our garden spots
Climbing to the Hairy Top Read More »
One of our favorite desert/dryland ferns that grace our crevice garden is the Texas native, Pellaea ovata. The zig-zag rachis (the thing that holds the leaflets) gives it its common name of zig-zag fern. This dryland evergreen native from Central Texas south into Central America, makes a great specimen for a rock garden setting. For
The amazing Clematis ‘Purple Gumdrops’ is looking rather fabulous in the crevice garden this month. This amazing 2023 Plant Delights/JLBG introduction is a Hans Hansen creation, using the native Clematis addisonii. It is a tight clump former in the garden, starting to flower for us in early April. It’s hard to imagine a better clematis
I’m just back from speaking to a couple of North American Rock Garden Society Chapters in Massachusetts, an area I hadn’t visited in over two decades. My journey began at the Berkshire Botanic Gardens in Stockbridge, a venue I last spoke at in 1999. Over 50 folks showed up on a cold, drizzly day, as
Hanging with a Mass of Rockers Read More »
I became entranced with the South African succulent genus, Aloinopsis, years ago, after discovering that Colorado rock gardener Bill Adams had found many of them hardy there in Zone 5/6. We tried quite a few, but found that while they take our winter cold temperatures, they do not take winter moisture. Once we built our
How Low can Aloinopsis Go? Read More »
Our patches of Lithops (Living Stones) seem to enjoyed their first snow in years. This is something they never see in their native haunts, the deserts of South Africa. The experience and the accompanying 14 degree F temperatures have left them nonplussed.
Rockin’ in the Snow Read More »
Looking good in the garden as we end January is the Himalayan native ground orchid, Goodyera biflora. In the wild, it can be found in Nepal, Bhutan, China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, up to 6,500′ elevation. This is a first cousin look-alike to our Southeast native, Goodyera pubescens. Goodyera biflora is a lithophyte, growing
