The “dig of the day’ for February 29, 2024 It isn’t often that digging in Elizabeth Lawrence’s garden yields the discovery of an original plant tag, but when it does, it’s like a lightning strike… only in the very best way. Maybe that isn’t the best analogy, but I think you know what I mean. With every unearthed (and legible) original plant tag comes the potential of another piece of the most intricate, complex and dynamic puzzle you can imagine. Yesterday yielded one such puzzle piece that I’m still somewhat figuring out. “Labels… must be permanent, easily read, and inconspicuous. The best ..read more

Here are some of the plants you will find in bloom this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. dwarf Chinese cherry The beautiful bloom of Elizabeth Lawrence’s Prunus humilis “Caroline Dormon” is followed in late summer by tiny red cherries that the birds enjoy. triandrus daffodil Bulbs add so much to a garden! Find Elizabeth’s original Narcissus ‘Thalia’ in a few places throughout the sunny borders. lady tulip Elizabeth Lawrence’s original bulbs of Tulipa clusiana still bloom every spring in the middle sunny border. These flowers open during the day and close up every night ..read more

This year, 2024, marks the 75th anniversary of the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden! To celebrate, we are highlighting some of our favorite snippets of Elizabeth’s writings, plants, personal items, and a few other new-to-us discoveries along the way. This installment features a passage I came across while searching her book Gardens in Winter (1977, Claitor’s Publishing), now long out of print. “The violet crocuses are my favorites, and I wish I had room for wide pools of violet instead of small clumps stuffed into the borders or crowded in with the daffodils…” As I wander Elizabeth’s ga ..read more

Here are some of the plants you will find in bloom this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. Chinese witch hazel Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’ glows in the low winter sun. Its fragrance—something of pear and vanilla—is a welcome greeting near Elizabeth Lawrence’s front door. tazetta daffodil Narcissus ‘Early Pearl’, an old-fashioned favorite, is highly fragrant. daffodil Narcissus ‘February Gold’ lives up to its name by blooming early in the month. hoop-skirt daffodil This Narcissus romieuxii hybrid has a more flared “skirt” than other hoop-skirts. Moroccan snowflake A ..read more

Here are some of the plants you can expect to find in bloom (or of interest) this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. Chinese witch hazel Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’, planted near the front door, is brilliant and wonderfully fragrant on dreary winter days. crocus If the chipmunks haven’t found them, Crocus sieberi ‘Spring Beauty’ glows on sunny days in front of the house. horse tongue lily Ruscus hypoglossum flowers are minute—barely a half centimeter across—and beautiful. winter crocus Crocus laevigatus ‘Fontenayi’ started blooming in December, and flowers through th ..read more

Here are some of the plants you will find in bloom this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. camellia hedge Camellia sasanqua “Fruitland seedlings” Chinese witch hazel Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’ has splendid fall color. fall-blooming camellia Camellia sasanqua ‘Pink Snow’ winter-blooming iris Iris unguicularis at the front corner of the house. Cape shamrock Caudoxalis bowieana hardy mum Chrysanthemum “Little Pink Daisy” Thanksgiving mum Chrysanthemum “Ridgewood Yellow“, aka “Mrs. Clarkson” & the Thanksgiving mum camellia Camellia x vernalis ‘Dawn’ camellia Ca ..read more

Here are some of the plants you can expect to find in bloom (or of interest) this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. Chinese witch hazel Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’, planted near the front door, is brilliant and wonderfully fragrant on dreary winter days. crocus If the chipmunks haven’t found them, Crocus sieberi ‘Spring Beauty’ glows on sunny days in front of the house. horse tongue lily Ruscus hypoglossum flowers are minute—barely a half centimeter across—and beautiful. winter crocus Crocus laevigatus ‘Fontenayi’ started blooming in December, and flowers through th ..read more

Here are some of the plants you will find in bloom this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. camellia hedge Camellia sasanqua “Fruitland seedlings” Chinese witch hazel Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’ has splendid fall color. fall-blooming camellia Camellia sasanqua ‘Pink Snow’ winter-blooming iris Iris unguicularis at the front corner of the house. Cape shamrock Caudoxalis bowieana hardy mum Chrysanthemum “Little Pink Daisy” Thanksgiving mum Chrysanthemum “Ridgewood Yellow“, aka “Mrs. Clarkson” & the Thanksgiving mum camellia Camellia x vernalis ‘Dawn’ camellia Ca ..read more

Here are some of the plants you will find in bloom this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. camellia hedge Camellia sasanqua “Fruitland Seedlings” double Japanese aster Kalimeris pinnatifida (syn. Asteromoea mongolica) fall-blooming camellia Camellia sasanqua ‘Pink Snow’ hybrid tea olive Osmanthus x ‘San Jose’ cosmos Cosmos ‘Diablo’ Japanese anemone Anemone ‘Margarete’ rain lily Zephyranthes ‘Ajax’ strain hardy mum Chrysanthemum “Little Pink Daisy” hardy blue ageratum Eupatorium (Conoclinium) coelestinum fall-blooming camellia Camellia sasanqua ‘Fuji-no-Mine’ camelli ..read more

Here are some of the plants you will find in bloom this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden. fall-blooming camellia (hedge) The Camellia sasanqua seedlings Elizabeth Lawrence planted at the sidewalk in 1949 will begin blooming this month. wishbone flower Torenia fournieri “ELH&G strain” has been in bloom since July. red spider lily Lycoris radiata hybrid tea olive Osmanthus ‘San Jose’ Japanese anemone Anemone hupehensis var. japonica hardy blue ageratum Eupatorium coelestinum weaves its way through the sunny borders. hardy cyclamen Cyclamen hederifolium has been bloom ..read more