Tibouchina urvilleana, the princess flower or glory bush, is a Brazilian subtropical grown for some of the most saturated purple flowers in the garden. Soft, velvety, prominently veined leaves clothe the arching stems, and against that green the large, five-petaled, royal-purple blooms, each with a spray of curved violet stamens, seem almost to glow. In all but essentially frost-free areas the shrub grows as a dieback perennial, returning from the roots each spring.
American basswood is one of the great shade and honey trees of eastern North America, a fast, stately deciduous tree with large, heart-shaped, softly toothed leaves and a broad, rounded, generous crown. Tilia americana has been cherished by Indigenous peoples, European settlers, and naturalists alike, and goes by a string of names: linden, bee tree, and lime, though the tree is no relation to the citrus lime. In late spring and early summer, hanging clusters of pale yellow, sweetly fragrant flowers open and hum with bees.
Hardiness
Zones 3–8
Light
Full Sun / Part Shade
Height
60–80 ft.
Spread
20–30 ft.
Bloom
Yellow
Plant type
Tree
Traditional use
mental & emotional well-being, respiratory support, digestive health
Basswoods are medium to large deciduous trees with heart shaped leaves, yellowish fragrant flowers, and small nutlets on stalks attached to a papery wing. There are many species in the Northern Hemisphere but the taxonomy of the Basswoods that are widespread in eastern North America is very confused and variously interpreted as one variable species or as many species. Our plants are of south Alabama provenance and may be considered Tilia caroliniana or T. americana var. caroliniana. Basswood is a good shade or ornamental tree for moist but well-drained fertile soil. Bees make a prized honey from basswood flowers.
Strongly aromatic tree. Evergreen needles spreading in two rows on twigs are dark green. Gray-brown bark. Seeds and male cones on separate trees. Sun to light shade on well-drained soil. (See DIR)
Little-known in cultivation and rare in the U.S. this yew-like conifer has sharp-tipped green needle-like leaves. It becomes a tree in the wild but Hillier (Manual of Woody Landscape Plants) says it is the "least grand" of the genus. It usually remains shrubby or a small tree in cultivation. Plant in good soil that is well-drained but not xeric. Native to China.
Pyramidal dense conifer with yew-like aromatic needles which are stiff and prickly. Fruits are like small plums. Fertile well-drained soil in sun or light shade. May reach 40 feet in suitable site. Casts moderate to dense shade. Native to Japan and possibly the hardiest of the Torreya species.
This wide spreading evergreen conifer has aromatic, sharp, flat needle-like leaves in one plane. This clone originated at Hillier's Nursery in England in 1970 and was named 'Spreadeagle' for it's low spreading growth habit. Hillier lists it as a clone of the California Torreya (Torreya californica) but we suspect that it is actually a form of the endangered T. taxifolia (which see) as it has much longer needles than would be expected on the California species. Plant in semi-shade or sun in good soil that is well-drained but which is not excessively dry.
Stinking Cedar is a beautiful conifer despite the name. The foliage actually smells pleasant! It is a medium size pyramidal evergreen tree with Yew-like leaves and purple nutmeg-like fruit on female plants. Needs light organic soil, adequate moisture and part shade. This very rare conifer is native to a very limited area on the Apalachicola River in northwest Florida and adjacent Georgia where it is now almost extinct. It is a FEDERALLY LISTED ENDANGERED SPECIES. CANNOT BE SOLD IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
A multi colored variegated cultivar of a species which is widepread in eastern U.S. woodlands. Armitage (Herbaceous Perennial Plants) says the leaves of this variety have a V shaped reddish-pink blotch in the center of each leaf and new leaves are creamy white and touched with light green or pink. This easily grown and prolific plant will brighten up dark shady corners where the soil is reasonably moist.
Asian Jasmine is not a true Jasmine but is a close relative of the popular "Confederate Jasmine" (named for the Malay Confederation). It is less of a climber but a great dense groundcover vine with small, lustrous, dark green, leathery evergreen foliage. It does not flower much but the flowers would be fragrant small white star-shaped blossoms with a yellow center. One of the best plants for a groundcover under trees in the South. Native to eastern Asia.
This is a highly variegated form of Trachelosperumu asiaticum (which see). The name 'Ogon Nishiki' translates to Gold Brocade. This is an extremely colorful plant with leaves splotched with green, yellow, and orange.
Confederate jasmine, or star jasmine, is one of the best-loved evergreen vines of the warm South, prized for glossy dark leaves and clouds of small, star-shaped, intensely fragrant flowers. The common form wears white blooms, but this selection, which Woodlanders offers as 'Mandianum' and which may be the cultivar 'Star of Toscana', opens flowers in shades of creamy to clear yellow, an unusual and welcome color in the tribe.
This variegated form of Confederate jasmine, or star jasmine, is grown as much for the foliage as the flowers. Each leathery, evergreen leaf is bordered and splashed with creamy white, often flushed pink in cool weather, and the leaves run larger than on most forms of Trachelospermum jasminoides, so the vine reads as a soft, marbled cloud of green and cream on a fence or trellis even out of bloom.
'Madison' is the cold-hardy Confederate jasmine, the selection that carries the beloved evergreen vine a full zone north of where the tribe usually stops. Vigorous and twining, with glossy dark leaves and the powerfully fragrant, white, star-shaped flowers that make star jasmine famous, this form has proved hardy into USDA zone 7, well beyond the reach of the standard Trachelospermum jasminoides.
This is a Trachelospermum, one of the star jasmines, offered here as an unnamed selection. Like others in the genus, the plant is a twining, self-clinging evergreen vine with glossy, leathery, dark-green leaves that clothe a fence, trellis, or arbor in dense green through the year and take readily to clipping into a clean, structured cover.
This fan leaf palm is native to eastern Asia but is grown worldwide. It is the most common palm seen northward and grows well in cool regions including the British Isles and coastal British Columbia. Good specimens have grown outdoors as far north as Maryland and Tennessee but it is not usually happy in peninsular Florida. The trunk can reach 15-20 feet tall and is covered with black hair-like fiber. Plant in well-drained soil and with shelter from the north winds in areas where it is borderline hardy.
Wagner's Windmill Palm is known only in cultivation and apparently came from Japan. It is considered by some to be a variety of the common Windmill Palm (T. fortunei). It is about equally hardy and requires the same conditions. It is distinctive and distinguished by a stiffer appearance and smaller leaves. The Southeastern Palm Society's book Hardy Palms for the Southeast says: "The primary horticultural feature of Trachycarpus wagnerianus is its stiffness in all parts, giving the palm a refined, formal appearance. It also grows more slowly than Trachycarpus fortunei, so it can be planted in a confined space, where it will remain in scale for may years,"
This native of Japan is a coarse, large-leafed, effective groundcover for shady sites with good moist to dry soil where it can be a fairly rapid spreader. This plant is uncommon and little-known in the U.S. and we originally acquired it through the courtesy of Mr. John Elsley of Greenwood, South Carolina.
