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 »
One of the first plants we ever put in the ground, when we purchased the first piece of land that would become JLBG, was the red-twigged Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’. It didn’t take long before the red no longer showed on the branches, and while we were quite disappointed, we allowed the specimen
Redneck Maple, All Grown Up Read More »
The amazing Southeast US native groundcover, Amsonia ciliata ‘Georgia Pancake’ is putting on a stunning fall show now, as the foliage changes from rich green to gold, before going dormant for the winter. This is truly one of the most amazing, garden-worthy native perennials we grow. Amsonia ciliata ‘Georgia Pancake’ has been slow to propagate
We’ve tried a number of Caryopteris x clandonensis cultivars over the years, and most fail to survive more than one of our hot, humid summers. One recent exception that surpassed all of our expectations is the amazing Caryopteris ‘Gold Crest’. Below is a mid-July image from the garden. From the incredibly fragrant foliage to the
Gold Crest…A Crowning Achievement Read More »
Our trials of Amsonia ‘String Theory’ are looking quite good. This dwarf version of Amsonia hubrichtii is headed for our 2024 catalog. This Hans Hansen creation has topped out at 22″ tall x 3′ wide, which is exactly 1/2 the size of the typical species.
String Theory Propagation Read More »
In 2006, NC plantsman, and our long time customer, Graham Ray of Greensboro, emailed to see if we were interested in a dwarf Asaparagus densiflorus (Sprengeri) fern that he grew in his rock garden, and had been winter hardy for several years in his Zone 7a garden. We had already worked with several asparagus species
The Little Asparagus that Could Read More »
We all love the color of leaves in fall…at least until they need to be raked. Here are a few that we enjoyed at JLBG recently. Acer triflorum ‘Aureum’ really put on a lovely show with leaves that held on quite a while. It also colored later than most other maples. Euonymus carnosus was quite
Act Like a Tree and Leave Read More »
Here are few images of our Solomon’s Seal (polygonatum) going to sleep in the garden. We think they are fascinating even as they approach dormancy. The top image is Polyongatum falcatum showing the amazing fruit set contrasting with the aging foliage. The next image is Polygonatum odoratum, which probably has the best golden fall color
Solomon’s going to sleep Read More »
Gardeners typically curse fall leaf drop, but ginkgo trees often get a pass, not only because the golden fall leaves look so great on the tree, but they also look great on the ground, not displaying the disheveled look of other larger tree leaves. Here’s our ginkgo tree, planted just in front of our office,
Falling for Ginkgos Read More »
