Lessons About Plants & Gardens
Syllabub! Home Grown Ginger in a Bubble Cocktail
Syllabub with a twist! Syllabub is an old school Southern desert. When I was little, the center of neighbors Christmas party was a huge bucket and real, antique syllabub pump. What’s more fun than making bubbles inside? Syllabub making makes a party. Elaborate contraptions for blowing bubbles into sweetened cream and whiskey become the center…
Read MoreIs a pot of peculiar bulbs the adult version of sea monkeys?
Did you dream of a tiny kingdom of Sea Monkeys? I did. Or were you the Living Magic Rock kid? Both? Me too. Are you now ready for the grown-up version? We put together a box of peculiar bulbs with quirky, enticing traits. They all fit in a pot. Planting them, watching them grow will…
Read MoreVirus Prevention on a Lily Farm. It’s a Community Thing.
Imagine endless rows of fields of corn on a modern farm. Now let the rows turn into endless pink flowers. Sounds pretty right? On our little farm, which specializes in one type of lily, we could grow that way. But like the small farms that sustained and built this country, here, diversity is key. Diversity…
Read MoreAxis Point A Story of Garden Design from Concept to Installation by Sam Thorp Engler
It all started with a new house and an empty yard. A clean slate if you will. A canvas that would soon prove to introduce a dream garden that ultimately ties this lonely brick home into a fluent mixture of architecture and landscape. A mid century-modern masterpiece. I have had the pleasure of working on…
Read MorePlectranthus fruticosus ‘Purple Martin’
Neon purple flowers for late summer through fall. I named this plant for horticulturist Jim Martin and of course for my favorite birds.
Read MoreA Mist of Tiny Leaves and All the Greens of Spring
Call it acid green or April-fresh or lime-jello-fake-green. This time of year spring greens catch my eye and soul to remind me that the life force is too strong to contain. Ryegrass or dandelion leaves, those dreaded yellow-green catkins pushing out pollen, that powerful color fades as spring turns into summer. Heat makes most leaves…
Read MoreEnthusiastic Children and Vines
Pay attention, indulge, wait, and be delighted. This month my buddy’s pre-teen boy is into magic. He’s showing me a card trick with a fake deck. He’s been through Egyptian mythology, dinosaurs and bigfoot. His dad’s endless patience amazes me. The magic show commences with an elaborate introduction, “On the death-day of the great…
Read MoreCrinum x augustum
Spectacular heads of flowers as big as a volley ball! Killer maroon coloring. Dramatic, sword like leaves to five feet tall. In zone 8, needs a warm spot — thrives in coastal, warm gardens.
Read MoreIt’ll Be Fine By Fall
Gardening, painting, sculpting. Those things have something in common– they all start with imagination of something you’ll bring to fruition. A vision. Sometimes these really hot days make me have visions. Stifling hot. Swooningly hot. I chop some crinum down to the ground; it’ll be fine by fall, I think to myself. I weed, pulling…
Read MoreCollector Crinum
We have an extensive collection of specialty crinum. Some are just slow, so don’t get added to our general store. Some need special places and care. Some are spectacular, some have special moments, some are just plain rare. All intrigue true bulb collectors. Occasionally, we offer them for sale on days such as our…
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