It’s the start of arum flowering season at JLBG. These fascinating tuberous aroids grow through the winter, and sleep during the summer months. Our earliest species to burst into bloom are Arum creticum from Greece, Arum sintensii, from Cypress, and Arum palestinum from Palestine. Unlike many of their relatives, arums don’t produce foul odors. Arum
While the genus Oxalis has a few species that are known “bad actors”, it has many others that are amazing garden gems. One of our favorites has always been Oxalis palmifrons. Hailing from South Africa’s Southwest Cape Province, this gem forms texturally-fascinating, ground-hugging rosettes, that are right at home in the rock garden. We grow
Palm-leaf Wood Sorrel Read More »
Carpeting the woodland garden now is the North American native spring ephemeral, Sanguinaria canadensis. This widespread wildflower is native to virtually the entire Eastern US. The common name, bloodroot, comes from the red pigment, Sanguinarine, which can be found in all plant parts, especially the underground rhizomes. The red pigment has long been used for
Red Roots and White Flowers Read More »
Even after growing the hardy Cyclamen hederifolium for over five decades, I’m still amazed by the incredible diversity of leaf patterns. Since cyclamen are obligate out-crossers (they can’t have productive sex with themselves), the pattern diversity from each new crop of seedlings continues to expand. In the garden, we plant similar patterned forms nearby, resulting
Psyched for Cyclamen Read More »
Looking great, despite our cold winter temperatures is the fabulous North American (Canada south to Alabama) native groundcover, Dentaria diphylla (aka: Cardamine diphylla). This woodland native spreads slowly via a thick rhizome, usually found at, or just below the soil surface. The silver-veined foliage often has a contrasting purple back in many clones. In our
Nothing Munches on Toothwort Read More »
While most plants are going dormant in winter, others have a seemingly backward schedule. One of those is our native cardamines. Below is our garden clump of Cardamine bulbosa, which emerged in late November, and is growing happily as we hit the new year. This cabbage family (Brassicaceae) member, native from North Dakota south to
It’s Grow time for Cardamines Read More »
In our search for the worlds’ most esoteric perennials, we’ve managed to grow enough of the hardy monotypic aroid, Ambrosinia bassii, to share in the new 2025 catalog, that launches at year end. This miniature oddity from Europe’s Mediterranean region, prefers to hang out in woodlands, growing in humus over the top of limestone rocks.
It’s all about that Bassii Read More »
Last weekend, we planted our first Androcymbium rechingeri in the garden. In Latin, the genus name roughly translates to masculine cup like. This little known Colchicum cousin hails from a very tiny region on the Eastern sea coast of Crete. This highly endangered species, first described in 1967, grows from an underground corm, which flowers
Masculine Cup Flower Read More »
It’s peak flowering season for the Mediterranean native Cyclamen hederifolium, both in the gardens and cold frames. Here is our crop of nursery cell packs currently. These were transplanted from seed pots last year, and are putting on quite a show, which typically last several months. It’s hard to imagine any garden not being filled
The word “primrose” is from the medieval Latin prima rosa, literally the “first rose”. Perhaps it was a time when “rose” was used in a more general way. We all know that a primrose is not a rose not even by any other name, but we certainly think of it as an early spring flower.
The first rose from Japan Read More »
