About five years ago, we picked up this fascinating crinkled leaf form of Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna in the UK. Both the leaves and form are different from any other forms of sweet box we’ve grown. Since it didn’t have a valid cultivar name, we’ve christened it Sarcococca ‘Chris Crinkle’. It’s looking quite nice here
Chris Crinkle’s Sweet Gift Box Read More »
We know it’s time to start thinking of spring when the Atlas Mountain native, Narcissus romieuxii ssp. romieuxii, bursts into flower, here in late January. Nights in the teens F are no match for this amazing bulb.
Cold-blooded Narcissist Read More »
Last year, we posted a garden photo of the amazing new Galanthus ‘Mt. Everest’, which came to us as a Galanthus elwesii selection from Holland. We now think it is most likely a hybrid between Galanthus elwesii and Galanthus plicatus, first prompted by the assessment from Patrick McMillan. Below is it in full glory, starting
Mt. Everest – an easy Garden Climb Read More »
Here is another member of the early-winter flowering Helleborus x lemperi hybrids, Helleborus ‘Leona’. I’d say, she’s looking quite ravishing in the garden for mid-January. All Helleborus x lemperi are sterile hybrids and created by crossing Hellborus niger with Helleborus x hybridus.
Meet Liara’s sister, Leona Read More »
Flowering for us, just after the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, are the Helleborus x lemperi group. These hybrids represent crosses between Helleborus niger, which only comes in white flowers, and the slightly later group of Helleborus x hybridus, which come in a range of colors. These sterile hybrids flower with, or slightly after the Christmas
What a lovely surprise to find our native liver leaf (Hepatica americana) in flower in the garden on Christmas day. This fabulous North American native, evergreen perennial, is found in moist woodlands, throughout the Eastern US. Because this collection is from Western South Carolina, it’s flowering months earlier than forms from colder regions. The common
Liver for Christmas Read More »
It’s been a while since we posted a photo of our Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Snow Cream’ in full flower, so for those who missed seeing it at our recent Winter Open Nursery and Garden, here it is in its full splendor in mid-March. Our 26 year old specimen is now 8′ tall x 15′ tall, growing
Flowering for the last month is the amazing, winter-flowering Urophysa henryi. Formerly an Isopyrum, this rare Chinese endemic in the Ranunculaceae family, has thrived for over five years in our rock garden. Now that we finally have some spare seedlings, thanks to ours self-pollinating last year, we’ll be trying this around the garden to see
Looking good in the garden this week is our selection of the Croatian native lenten rose, Helleborus croaticus ‘Bells of the Ball’. This is a seedling grown from a Will McLewin wild seed collection, without benefit of breeding. Unlike most Helleborus x hybridus, this is a completely deciduous species. This plant gets full sun for
Cracking Croaticus Read More »
Looking great in the garden in early March is Cornus officinalis ‘Spring Glow’. I remember when the late J.C. Raulston first planted this in the 1980s at the arboretum that now bears his name. It elicited so many comments, that he finally named and introduced it to commercial horticulture. As it did over forty years
Spring Glow – No Mas Read More »
