One of the more fascinating shaped, tree seed that drop in the fall season, is that of the Styrax-family member, Meliodendron xylocarpum. This monotypic genus, flowers in spring, with huge flowers, whose color ranges from white to pink. The flowers are long forgotten, as the seed gradually form, and then hold on the plant until
Our native wax myrtle, Myrica cerifera, is a ubiquitous plant, oft scorned by plant snobs as a mere commoner. As a functional shrub with deliciously fragrant foliage, it’s prized by both builders, and the mow and blow crowd, because its tough as nails in a wide range of conditions from sun to shade, and from
Waxing eloquently about Myrtle Read More »
When Bartlett Arboretum plantsman, Adam Black, offered me a pot of Brucea javanica, a few years ago, I quickly turned him down. The last thing we needed was a tender tree from the Indonesia island of Java. Java is located at 6-9 degree latitude, so the idea that anything from Java would have a chance
This very rare Japanese selection isn’t the most vigorous loquat we’ve ever grown, but it is one that we weren’t going to give up on until we were able to get it established.
High Flying Loquat Read More »
We’re all familiar with maple trees, but one of our favorite smaller maples in the garden is the little-known, single-lobed, evergreen Acer cordatum. This fascinating group of maples have foliage that looks nothing like what most people know as a maple. This Chinese species was formerly considered a form of Acer laevigatum, before being elevated
Looking quite stunning is the garden, is the Eastern Chinese (Anhui, Zhejiang provinces) native, Acer pubipalmatum. Our 13 year old specimen is now 15′ tall. Related to the more common Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, the main difference is the pubescent (hairy) leaf backs. If that isn’t complicated enough, taxonomists then lumped Acer pubipalmatum with Acer
Hairy Backside Maple Read More »
On a recent trip to visit our friends at Garden Treasures, we found our collection of Acer palmatum cultivars expanding once again…the nature of our OCD affliction. The diversity of the genus is quite amazing, as our collection at JLBG now tops 90 different selections. Below are a few that I photographed recently in the
Japanese Maple Spring Read More »
Even unclothed, Styrax japonica ‘Fragrant Fountain’ still provides great winter interest with it’s weeping branches, like a fountain frozen in time. This gem from Oregon nurseryman, Crispin Silva, is slow growing and should mature around 8′ tall x 8′ wide. Our garden specimen has been in the ground since 2008. Zone 5a-8b.
One of the first plants we ever put in the ground, when we purchased the first piece of land that would become JLBG, was the red-twigged Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’. It didn’t take long before the red no longer showed on the branches, and while we were quite disappointed, we allowed the specimen
Redneck Maple, All Grown Up Read More »
The deciduous Korean spindle tree has been looking quite sharp for the last month. Native to Japan and Korea, Euonymus oxyphyllus is a small tree, usually to only 8′ tall in cultivation, that brightens the fall garden with its showy fruit. Reportedly, it can reach 25′ with great age, but that certainly wouldn’t be in
A Sharp Heart’s a Bustin Read More »
