blue flowers

Gentiana angustifolia

Don’t Chase away the Winter Blues

Doug snapped this photo of a mixed-up clump of a Gentiana angustifolia hybrid, flowering in the crevice garden in mid-January. We asked why was it blooming in mid-January? The lack of an intelligible answer was similar to what you’d get trying to interview former Patriot’s coach Bill Bellicheck. This alpine/sub-alpine native of the Alps isn’t

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First Flowers of Flat Iris

Late December marks our first flowering of Iris planifolia. This odd native to Southern Europe and Northern Africa has a similar distribution to the better-known Iris unguicularis, but this Iris belongs to the group, known as Juno or bulbous iris. These deciduous iris are extremely sensitive to summer moisture, which is why this resides in

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Smart as a Blue Oak

Looking great well into December is the North American native, Salvia chamaedryoides, known as Blue Oak sage. This evergreen, dryland native hails form 7,000′ to 9,000′ elevation in the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico. For us, it flowers heaviest in spring and fall, with dark, cobalt blue flowers. It’s one of the few silver leaf

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Gold Crest…A Crowning Achievement

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

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Erect Blues

Below is our 5 year old clump of Commelina erecta looking absolutely dazzling, as it does each spring and summer. Commelina erecta is an amazing perennial, virtually unknown in horticultural circles, despite being native from 30 of the 50 states (Minnesota to New Mexico). Our collection below is from Elbert County, Georgia. Each plant forms

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Baptisia’s Little Cousin – Shunned by the Masses

A few years ago, we propagated and offered what we think is a really cool native perennial, closely related to baptisia, Orbexilum psoralioides. That experiment was a flame out, as sales were some of the worst we’ve ever experienced. We dumped most of the crop, but planted several in the garden, where we continue to

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