Let's Walk and Talk Plants

Let's Walk and Talk Plants

This Thursday, October 6, from 4-5:30 is Imbibe & Inspire, our monthly tour of Elizabeth Lawrence’s garden. Some of the things you will see of interest this time may not surprise you, like the perennial sunflower, Helianthus angustifolius, and hardy blue ageratum, Conoclinium coelestinum. There may be a couple of things that may surprise you, like hardy cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolium, and a tiny autumn-blooming daffodil, Narcissus obsoletus.

A Late Summer Seductress

A Late Summer Seductress

“The season of squills need not end with spring...”

Elizabeth Lawrence, The Little Bulbs

Rarely do I refer to any flowering plant as a delicate workhorse, but Barnardia japonica, commonly known as autumn squill, deserves that association full-stop.

A Return to Garden Structure

A Return to Garden Structure

Recently I migrated every post from the original Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden blog, which was begun in 2009 and on the Blogger platform (not integrated into the Wing Haven website, as this one is). …
I re-read every post. In so doing, I realized that there are more layers to some of those topics than meets the eye, and what has been learned in the years since the posts were written should be shared. …

Looking Back to Plan Ahead

Looking Back to Plan Ahead

The first winter storm of 2022 whipped through Charlotte on January 2 and 3. It brought with it a few inches of rain and wind gusts up to 40 mph. For this historic landscape, with its many original structural plantings, my greatest concern is wind… especially for the relatively few remaining pine trees. …

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Red-letter Relics

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Red-letter Relics

When I began my work here at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden in November 2010, I had a lot to learn. I think it was about 2012 before I thought it would be a good idea to take at least a visual inventory of everything that was in the house. I set about on a search through every closet and cabinet to see what was there. In one of the hall cabinets, I found a collection of metal items. Among them was what I thought at the time might be a curtain stay.

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A Single Bulb, A Legacy in Bloom

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A Single Bulb, A Legacy in Bloom

Last week, I had an incredible discovery: one of Elizabeth Lawrence’s original plant tags intertwined in the original hog-wire fencing on the west property line. As soon as I saw the tag, just hanging out with its “legs” wrapped around the fencing, my brain went all fizzy and buzzy…

Garden-worthy Gems, Plants to Know & Grow

Garden-worthy Gems, Plants to Know & Grow

I truly wish this plant had a common name, but apparently it does not. What it does have, however, is three solid seasons of subdued attractiveness in the woodland garden. So what is this plant, you ask?

Pachyphragma macrophyllum is a nearly evergreen perennial. It is not a showy top-billing plant, but rather nicely fills a supporting role under larger shrubs or at the edge of a path.