The ideal conditions for a great rain lily flowering season is a dry period followed by rain. This summer, we’ve had that in spades. Following 23 days with no rain, we’ve had 8″ in the last two weeks. Rain lilies of the Amaryllid genus, Zephyranthes are designed to hold their flower buds below ground until
Deluged with Rain Lilies Read More »
In 2018, we offered the variegated rose of sharon, Hibiscus syriacus ‘Carpa’. Although it sold well, we never managed to offer it again. In the meantime, the plants in our garden have made truly outstanding specimens to 8′ tall x 4′ wide. What we like the most is that it has produced zero seedlings. Many
Carpa Diem – Seize the Hibiscus Read More »
The old British wartime quote could certainly apply to the beautiful Campsis grandiflora ‘Morning Calm’. This J.C. Raulston introduction is a summer flowering machine. We have long been fascinated by this amazing Asian (China, Japan) vine, a sister to the misbehaving North American native trumpet creeper, Campsis radicans. While I appreciate Campsis radicans in the
Keep Calm and Carry On Read More »
This week, we’ve been enjoying our first flowering of our South African native, Boophone disticha. This fascinating member of the Amaryllid family, which I was blessed to see in the wild back in 2005, can live to over 100 years of age. In cultivation, they can be flowered from seed in 9-15 years. While most
Flowering now in the garden is the lovely, variegated-leaf tiger lily, Lilium lancifolium ‘Fukurin Fu’.
Many years ago, US National Arboretum plant breeder, Don Egolf (1928-1990) embarked on a crape myrtle breeding program, combining the hardiness, and dark bark of the white-flowered Japanese Lagerostroemia faurei with the commonly grown Lagerostroemia indica, with its more colorful flowers. Most of the crape myrtles in the market today named after “Native American” tribes,
Dazzling Sweetheart Read More »
Our title is obviously borrowed from the 1961 Chubby Checker song, which few people reading this, probably remember. Abutilon ‘Twister’ is looking absolutely elegant now in the fall garden. This amazing flowering maple hybrid from the folks at California’s Monterrey Bay Nursery, has thrived here since 2005, enduring several single digit F. winters. For us,
Let’s Twist Again, Like we did Last Summer Read More »
I posted photos earlier from our lycoris selection back in August, but the season extends through September and into October. Below are some of the later flowering varieties. With a selection of cultivars, you can easily have a lycoris in flower from early July until mid October. Lycoris ‘Tipping Point’ looks like the common Lycoris
The Last Surprises Read More »
Looking lovely in the garden now is the Purple Velvet Bean vine, Mucuna cyclocarpa. This lowland native to Southeastern China makes a superb deciduous vine that flowers non-stop from mid-summer until fall. To us, the bizarre fleshy flower clusters look like those characters from the old Fruit of the Loom commercials. Interestingly, we must not
Purple Velvet Bean Read More »
Okay, raise your hand if you grow Orbexilum lupinellus in your garden? I’m still looking for hands out there… This endemic to longleaf pine/wiregrass habitats in the Coastal plain from NC south to Alabama, is a delightful rock garden plant, that’s made itself right at home at JLBG, flowering beautifully in late August/early September. This
Yet another good pea Read More »
