{"title":"Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium)","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarolina jessamine is the state flower of South Carolina, which makes the vine something close to a local obligation at a nursery in Aiken. The plants open clear yellow trumpets in the first warm week of the year, often in February, running along fencerows and up into pines with a scent that carries down a whole road on a still morning. Evergreen, fast, durable, and one of the earliest nectar sources of the Southern year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Margarita' is the cold-hardy selection, taking winters well north of the natural range; 'Pride of Augusta' is the double-flowered form, longer in bloom and heavier in the hand. \u003cem\u003eGelsemium rankinii\u003c\/em\u003e, the swamp jessamine, is the one to plant for a second season, flowering in spring and again in autumn, though the flowers carry no fragrance and the plant wants wetter ground. One honest caution: every part of a jessamine is toxic, nectar included, so keep the vine away from where children graze and do not let anyone mistake the flowers for honeysuckle.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"gelsemium-sempervirens-hardy-margarita","title":"Gelsemium sempervirens (hardy) ‘Margarita’","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarolina jessamine is the state flower of South Carolina and one of the most beloved evergreen vines of the South, prized for the wash of fragrant yellow trumpets that opens the gardening year. 'Margarita' is the cold-hardy answer to that beauty, a selection that carries the same sweet-scented gold well north of where the species usually gives out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNamed by Gene Cline, a true native-plant pioneer, from a plant found in northern Georgia, 'Margarita' has proven hardy and grown well as far north as Washington, DC, holding evergreen where ordinary Carolina jessamine would sulk or freeze. The bright yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers are fragrant and generous, opening in late winter and early spring with a scattering of repeat bloom in fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeyond the extra cold nerve, this is the familiar jessamine in every good way: a well-mannered twining vine, evergreen, tolerant of a range of soils and sites, and happiest in a sunny spot with little competition. The glossy foliage gives structure the year round, and the vine climbs a fence, a trellis, a post, or an arbor with an easy, non-clinging grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive 'Margarita' full sun to part shade and ordinary, well-drained soil, and the plant asks little once established. One honest caution belongs with the fragrance: like all jessamines, every part of Gelsemium sempervirens is poisonous if eaten, so site the vine away from where small children or pets might be tempted by the flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057874243699,"sku":"GELS-SEMP-HARD-MARG-01G","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-821.jpg?v=1720138286"},{"product_id":"gelsemium-sempervirens-pale-yellow","title":"Gelsemium sempervirens 'Pale Yellow'","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarolina jessamine is the twining gold of the Southern spring, native to the southern United States and honored as the state flower of South Carolina. An evergreen vine of easy grace, the plant clothes a fence or trellis in glossy, narrow leaves and, as winter loosens, opens a wash of fragrant yellow trumpets that scent the whole garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNatural variation in Gelsemium sempervirens is genuinely rare, which makes this selection a quiet treasure. The pale yellow-flowered form was found years ago by Chris Early in the piney country of northwestern Florida, and the soft, primrose-toned blooms set the plant apart from the deep golden yellow of the ordinary species, a subtle difference that reads clearly against the dark foliage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOffered as a Woodlanders introduction, 'Pale Yellow' carries all the virtues of the Carolina jessamine in a gentler key: the same sweet fragrance, the same evergreen polish, the same easy constitution in sun or light shade. The vine twines rather than clings, so a fence, a mailbox post, a trellis, or an arbor gives the growth something to climb.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive a sunny to lightly shaded spot and ordinary, well-drained soil, and the plant asks little more. One honest caution: like all jessamines, every part of Gelsemium sempervirens is poisonous if eaten, so site the vine away from where small children or pets might be tempted by the flowers. Grown with that in mind, few native vines give so much fragrance and evergreen grace for so little trouble.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057874473075,"sku":"GELS-SEMP-PALE-YELL-01G","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-822.jpg?v=1720138290"},{"product_id":"gelsemium-sempervirens-pride-of-augusta","title":"Gelsemium sempervirens 'Pride of Augusta'","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Pride of Augusta' is the old double-flowered Carolina jessamine, a twining evergreen vine that turns the familiar Southern gold into something fuller and more lavish. Where the wild species opens simple funnels, this selection packs each bloom with extra petals, so the vine carries a long, generous show of ruffled, double yellow flowers, sweetly fragrant, from late winter into early spring.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe double blooms last longer than the single wild type and often keep the vine in color for weeks, a bright curtain against the glossy evergreen leaves. Because the flowers are doubled, the plant sets little or no seed and pours the saved energy into a heavier, more sustained display.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Pride of Augusta' carries a piece of Southern horticultural history: the selection traces to the historic Fruitland Nurseries in Augusta, Georgia, the nineteenth-century nursery whose grounds later became the Augusta National golf course. A native vine with a pedigree, the plant twines readily up a fence, a trellis, a post, or an arbor, and holds evergreen structure the year round.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive full sun to part shade and ordinary, well-drained soil, and 'Pride of Augusta' asks little once established, taking heat and occasional drought in stride. One caution belongs with the beauty: like all jessamines, every part of the plant is poisonous if eaten, so site the vine away from where small children or pets might reach the flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057874604147,"sku":"GELS-SEMP-PRID-AUGU-01G","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Gelsemiumsempervirens_PrideofAugusta_JCRA.jpg?v=1787062691"},{"product_id":"gelsemium-rankinii","title":"Gelsemium rankinii","description":"\u003cp\u003eGelsemium rankinii is one of the South's gentler mysteries, a twining, semi-evergreen vine that has long threaded through the quiet wetlands and river margins of the Gulf Coast. Where other vines sprawl boldly, the swamp jessamine moves with a kind of restraint, weaving through shrubs and small trees on glossy, fine-textured foliage, with a poise born of deep, humid landscapes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn spring, and again in fall, the vine shows a clear kinship: clusters of soft yellow, funnel-shaped flowers that echo the famous cousin, Gelsemium sempervirens, the beloved Carolina jessamine. Rankin's jessamine gives a more delicate performance, smaller and refined blooms carried in generous succession as the weather warms, though without the rich fragrance of the Carolina kind. Early botanists in the coastal plains of Louisiana and Mississippi noted this species quietly brightening bog edges and cypress shadows, the blooms flickering like droplets of gold where sunlight filters through the canopy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe horticultural history is equally understated. While the showier Carolina jessamine captured early gardeners and became a staple of Southern landscapes, Gelsemium rankinii lingered in the wings, treasured mostly by naturalists and those who paid attention to the subtler threads of the region's flora. Today the plant stands as an elegant, well-behaved alternative for gardeners who prize native charm without overwhelming vigor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn cultivation the swamp jessamine is adaptable and rewarding, a graceful climber for a trellis, a small arbor, or a woodland edge. True to the swampy origins, the vine appreciates moisture but proves surprisingly tolerant once established, especially in dappled shade, and holds foliage through winter in mild climates when little else stirs. One caution belongs with the beauty: like all jessamines, every part of the plant is poisonous if eaten, and even the nectar can harm, so site the vine away from where small children might be tempted.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAdditional photo courtesy of Alan Cressler.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057874735219,"sku":"GELS-RANK-01G","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/GelsemiumrankiniiAlanCresslerWoodlanders.jpg?v=1764122325"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/gelsemium.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}