Bobo and Bro
Here’s a fun combination from the gardens today with Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bobo’ underplanted with Sedum ellacombianum ‘Cutting Edge’, which nicely echos the various shades of green in the flowers.
A Not so Tropical Giant
Don’t let the name fool you, Hymenocallis caribaea ‘Tropical Giant’, as this North American native spider lily (Northern Mexico) has been hardy in our garden (zone 7b) without any protection since 2000. It’s flowering season has begun here at JLBG. Unlike some hymenocallis which require moist soils, this one will grow darn near anywhere. The
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Swamp Titi
Flowering at JLBG this month is one of our favorite small trees, Cyrilla racemiflora…aka: swamp titi. Cyrilla racemiflora was a favorite tree of the late J.C. Raulston, who was constantly extolling its virtues to anyone who would listen. Swamp titi has a native range from coastal Delaware south and west to East Texas. The flowers,
Goin tubing in the garden
We’ve got a different take on going tubing. For us, tubing is something we do, starting in mid-June each summer, when we sit and enjoy our patch of Sinningia tubiflora. This amazing South American (Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) gesneriad (African violet cousin) forms masses of underground potato-like tubers, which produce these amazing stalks of sweetly
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Michaux and Michauxia
Most keen botanist are familiar with the late French botanist, Andre’ Michaux (1746-1802). Michaux was a pioneer in botanizing North America, but how many people have actually grown the plant genus named in his honor. Michauxia is a genus of seven species, sister to campanulas, that hail from the Mediterranean though much of the Middle-East.
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Uun-yaaw noun (Cajun)
We’ve got some really superb unyaaw’s blooming now. Actually, if you’re not of the Cajun persuasion, they’re onions…of the genus Allium. The North American native Allium canadense is quite showy in the late spring/early summer garden. The first is a superbly dense flowering selection, Allium ‘White Flag’, made by the late bulb guru, Thad Howard.
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Fairy Wands Lighting up the Garden
We just love the East Coast native Chamaelirium luteum…aka: fairy wands. The male forms have the largest, most showy flowers, as seen here at JLBG this week. A lover of average/moist shade, it is long been used medicinally for female reproductive issues.
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Are you fashionably early?
Two of our favorite upright phlox are from the fashionably early series from Walters Gardens. These both derive from another of our favorites, Phlox ‘Minnie Pearl’. Here they are in the garden this week, with never a sign of mildew.
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Light in the Dark
One of our favorite new small trees is Styrax japonicus ‘Evening Light’…here it is in the JLBG gardens this week. The incredible black foliage serves as a lovely foil for the masses of pure white flowers. This fascinating introduction, was discovered in 2001 as a dark leaf seedling by Dutch nurseryman, Henny Kolster, and has
Sac-a-who?
The native Camassia leichtlinii ‘Sacajawea’ is looking great at JLBG today. This selection of the US West Coast native thrives also here in the hot, humid, southeast US. This selection was named after Sacajawea, the a member of the Lemhi Shoshone tribe, who helped guide explorers Lewis and Clark in the early 1800s. When food