We are pleased to share another outstanding selection from our epimedium introduction program for 2018.  Epimedium ‘Peachie‘ is not only a color break, but is also incredibly floriferous.  If you have a woodland garden, we think you’ll enjoy this as much as we do.  Hardiness is Zone 5a-8b, at least. 

Popping out of the ground today is the delightful shredded umbrella plant, Syneilesis aconitifolia...love how the new growth is covered with white hair. 

It's pretty rare for a woody plant to make our on-line catalog, so if you see one, you should assume it's something special. Such is the case with Ligustrum 'Little Moon'. We picked this up from Alabama plantsman Bobby Green on a trip back in 2011, and planted it immediately upon our return.  After seeing so many people plant ligustrum as foundation plants under a low window without realizing that they mature as 40' tall trees, the idea of a miniature ligustrum that never needs pruning was quite intriguing. After 7 years in our garden, our original plant is only 2' tall x 30" wide...in other words, a no-prune green meatball.  Can you imagine all the energy that would be saved countrywide if people would stop butchering shrubs and instead focus on planting the right plant in the right place.  We we see people constantly shearing shrubs (topiary artists excluded), the first question that comes to mind is "Don't they know what shovels are for?".  Read more [...]

After years of breeders trying to shrink all perennials down to toy train size, there are signs that the trend is finally reversing. One of the best examples for 2018 is Heuchera 'Lemon Love' from our friend Hans Hansen at Walters Garden. Imagine a coral bells that grows in excess of 4' wide!!!  Maturing at 13" tall x 50" wide, the bright yellow foliage of Heuchera 'Lemon Love' is sure to be an imposing specimen in your garden. Morning sun or very high/open shade and well-drained soils are best. If enough people are as excited as we are, this could lead to an entire color range of giant coral bells.   Hardiness is Zone 4a-8b.  Read more [...]

We love fall anemones, but don't allow them in our garden. Well, we did once upon a time, and after 20 years of trying to exterminate it, we're almost ready to negotiate the rental of a small nuclear device to handle what we've been unable to accomplish with traditional garden weaponry In the garden, fall anemones are like extroverts on a sugar IV drip...they run around and socialize with everyone nearby, never seeming to slow down. Consequently, it always fascinated us that most nurseries and catalogs fail to mention that these will run rampant through your garden.  Every time we see a new anemone enter the market, we inquire if it runs, and as you can imagine, we've been given incorrect information quite often as we discovered after our on-site trials. We had almost given up our quest for a well-behaved fall anemone, when up popped the "Swan Series". In our trials, these gems absolutely refused to run, while still putting on an amazing show. The most popular of the "Swans" Read more [...]

We're always on the search for new ornamental grasses, and especially those with good blue foliage, since many of the more cold loving grasses aren't exactly thrilled with our summers. Well, back in 2003, we were botanizing in Liberty County, Florida...just west of Tallahassee, when we ran across this grass growing in a sandy roadside ditch. Despite fantastic performance in our trials, it took us 15 years to finally get around to dividing it for propagation, and christening it Andropogon glaucopsis 'Liberty Blue'. This little-known species ranges in the wild from North Carolina to East Texas.  For us, the foliage of Andropogon 'Liberty Blue' reaches 18" tall x 30" wide, while the late summer flower stalks reach 42". We've rated it as hardy to Zone 7b, because we're not aware of anyone whose tried it in colder zone yet, but we hope you'll give it a try.  Read more [...]

As we approach our first open garden and nursery day of the 2018, we wanted to share some Helleborus x hybridus photos we took in the garden this week...even though you'll see them when you visit.  These are all our own seedlings raised here. In addition to all the named varieties we offer, we'll have a selection of our own seedlings for sale during our open days, and if any remain, they'll be added on-line.  We hope to see you this weekend and next.  Read more [...]