The clump of Iris ensata ‘Silverband’ outside our kitchen window has just outdone itself this week. This striped leaf Japanese iris is naturally an aquatic plant, growing in shallow water, but as long as the garden soil isn’t drought stricken long term, it makes a suberb, easy-to-grow garden specimen. Although it grows in a tight
Ravishing Silverband Read More »
Baptisia ‘Spiked Lemonade’, a 2026 JLBG/PDN introduction, still looks fabulous this week, nearly a month after the first, early baptisias began flowering. By using genes from the little-known Baptisia albescens, the foliage is much more airy, giving the plant a see-thru look. Those genes also create an amazing number of flowering side branches, extending the
Just wrapping up it’s flowering season is the little-known, Baptisia megacarpa. The specific epithet “megacarpa” refers to the large fruit. This very rare (G1/G2) species is known from only a small region of Alabama, Southern Georgia, and North Florida. In the garden, Baptisia megacarpa is one of the larger species, forming a 4′ tall x
A North American perennial selection that’s put on quite a show this spring is Hans Hansen’s dwarf Amsonia hubrichtii ‘String Theory’. Not only is this amazing blue star introduction more compact, but the floral show is nothing short of outstanding. Here it is in our garden, growing beside agaves, a testament to its heat and
Three Dimensional String Theory Read More »
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 »
This is the second year, we’ve tried to offer the Southeast US native (Arkansas through Texas) beardtongue, Penstemon tenuis, to miserable sales. It’s always fascinating what sells, and what doesn’t. Below is a photo of our garden specimen this week. This robust grower forms a tight mass of rosettes that give rise in early spring
A Tenuis Situation Read More »
I’ve long had a fascination with the floral variegation of plants, and in particular, azaleas. Rhododendron ‘Gay Paree’ is a little-known Satsuki Azaleas from the 1950s/1960s work of California breeder, Howard Kerrigan. I acquired this back in the 1980s, and it’s thrived in our garden since then. For us, it’s never grown larger that 2′
We obtained this amazing variegated Japanese Solomon’s seal selection in 2015, and in the years since, Polygonatum odoratum ‘Ki Chou’ has formed an amazing specimen in the garden. We’ve started dividing our clump, and hopefully, will have enough to share within the next couple of years. Hardiness is Zone 4a-9b. JLBG currently holds one of
Ki Chou, Bless You Read More »
Early last year, we noticed a new seedling, growing in our crevice seep. We realized it was nothing we had planted, and concluded that it belonged to the genus of pocketbook flowers, Calceolaria. We had actually tried three of the mostly South American native calceolaria species years earlier, but the genus is known for its
Trying to Identify a Pick Pocket Read More »
Early to mid-April has been peak for the amazing calanthe orchid show in the garden. These easy-to-grow, semi-evergreen terrestrial orchids, are a woodland perennial we wouldn’t garden without. Calanthe discolor ‘Eco White’ is a selection from the late nurseryman, Don Jacobs. This species range includes China, Korea, and Japan. Calanthe ‘Golden Treasure’ is our selection
