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1721 products
1721 products
Maidenhair Spleenwort. We love common names. We must dig out our 15th century Herbal and read up on how to properly decoct this sweet little fern for afflicting humors of the spleen. Or we can just grow it in a gritty well-drained shaded rock garden and enjoy its evergreen delicate appearance which belies its rugged constitution. This little fern grows throughout the northern part of the northern hemisphere and just has a small foothold in our North Cascades. One of our favorite sights of this fern was when we did the Coast to Coast walk in northern England in the epic rainy summer of 2012 and we walked close to 200 miles through the Lakes District and Yorkshire Dales and Moors. We saw this growing everywhere naturalized on old stone walls, stone bridges and stone buildings. Very attractive and a clue to its drainage preferences.
A very attractive introduction by us from Yunnan if we do say so. Broad lightly hairy leaves in a dense clump with lots of large soft lavender daisy flowers fringed heavily in very fine petals surround a prominent dark "cone". This steals the show in mid to late July here in our gardens. Karen, a friend of ours who has exceptional taste was strolling the gardens last night (July 20), saw this Aster blooming and said "I want that plant!". And she had barely touched her glass of wine so it was a completely valid assessment. When shipped in the fall, we'll need to cut this plant back.
One of the jewels in the tiara of shade garden royalty which is supposed to sound aristocratic and appealing and I believe it does. Put this little Chinese gem in a special spot where you can enjoy the white flowers over the patterned foliage. This would likely thrive in a moist rotting stump. Found up to 12000' in alpine meadows, we've also seen a tiny form in forests in Chongqing. These are from our own divisions.
A choice and very dwarf form of the species in which everything is extremely miniaturized. This makes a tightly packed dumpling of dense, tiny leaves with 4" sprays of light pink flowers. Quite ideal for the damp rock garden or trough as this is an alpine form of Astilbe glaberrima endemic to the mountains of Yakushima in Japan. We were curious as to what constitutes the typical form of A. glaberrima and with a bit of noodling, were able to access online the herbarium sheet of this species from 1922 which is the holotype that was the basis for the original description of the species and we saw that it is indeed, a much larger plant. Plants are such great things to be curious about!
A fine little dwarf Astilbe native to Japan and one that has proved to be very enduring as well as endearing. This is one Sue used to grow at her old place in northern Vermont and charmed her to the point that it made the cut and followed her out west lo those many years ago. Low mounds of dense and finely cut foliage with short spikes of soft pink fluff in early summer. We grow this out in the full sun with ample water.
A big look for the shade with magnificent rounded leaves to 3' wide and early summer panicles of plumed white flowers on stalks up to five feet high. Loves a rich moist soil and shovelful or two of cow, horse, goat or llama poo would be most welcome.
Pencil Pine. Very interesting conifer from the highlands of Tasmania where it is threatened due to fires and degradation of habitat from grazing and too many Eucalyptus. The leaf scale are tightly appressed to the stem so the green branchlets do look very pencil-like. A moderate grower with old-growth trees 30'-60' but you won't have to worry about it - it takes a while.
Our collection from an end-of-day hunch-driven venture up a nondescript dirt track into forested hills which remains one of the best two hours we have ever spent in the field. A deciduous species with upright fronds 20"-30" tall on plum-colored stems (stipes and rachis). Texturally, graceful and light. Spore-grown by us. Tolerates deep shade and rabbits.
Distinctive Chinese species with this variety being especially so with its narrow evergreen leaves well-measeled in creamy yellow spots. Clustered small red-purple flowers give way to large red fruit in fall which is just another bit of ornament for this tough plant which can tolerant dark shade and neglect. This brings a full helping of textural necessity to the shade garden.
One of the better selections of Aucuba and very rare in the nursery trade. This was brought to the US by the now defunct Asiatica Nursery and shared with us by Lance Reiners. Narrow leaves consistently freckled in gold presents as major pizzazz with unmistakable elegance. A tough evergreen tolerant of dry shade once established. Zones 7-9.
This petite Patagonian evergreen fern would make a lovely groundcover if planted in mass. Alternatively it plays nicely with crevices and can be a delight in a small easily seen location. Tightly spaced, glossy, pinnate sterile fronds grow to only about 5" and splay low to the ground while the more alien spore-bearing fertile fronds stand central and upright.
Alpine Water Fern. Found at higher elevations in Australia's New South Wales and Tasmania growing in grasslands, moist rock crevices and sphagnum bogs. A stalwart fern and go-to evergreen low groundcover because it looks great despite your prolonged attention lapses from Netflix binge-watching.
Nomenclature. Kew retains the genus Blechnum while others accept the newer Austroblechnum and at this point, we're not changing it back to Blechnum! This small form of the subspecies was shared with us by the Fern Madam, Judith Jones of Fancy Fronds Nursery. Excellent dense groundcover fern for moist spots. Can take full sun in cool sun areas if moist.
This a bigger version of the little B. penna-marina ssp. alpina commonly found in nurseries. We never see this offered which is just a shame since it is a great fern. Well, not such a shame since a little exclusivity never hurts. This makes a dense groundcover of evergreen foliage.
This is pretty much our default tree whenever anyone asks about a good small tree. This has zero bad habits that we know about it and is a rapid grower with small evergreen leaves and minute yellow flowers that smell heavenly of marzipan or something similarly decadent.
A collection by Shayne Chandler in Ecuador of this shrubby evergreen species as Baccharis buxifolia except its folia is not buxus-like in that the leaf margins are serrate and not smoothly entire. We've not flowered this and honestly, are quite pleased it is not buxifolia as that is a bit of a yawn ornamentally. The leaves of this look close to Baccharis arbutifolia which is much more ornamental with raspberry-colored flowers accented by white stamens which would be a Siren's song to a seed collector. Deer resistant.
A unique evergreen member of the Myrtaceae family native to moist, rocky
areas within alpine and subalpine regions of Australia. This forms a
dense mound with arching branches, 3ft by 4ft with early summer small white
flowers en masse.
Diminutive leaves become coppery in winter, smelling lovely
when crushed. Appreciates some summer water during dry spells.
Sunflowers are one of those iconic flowers that always seem to captivate and this Western US native bundles that bundle of symbology into a delightful little package of only about 2 ft tall that comes back every year. For those in the east this is like a Silphium in miniature. The all-edible composition also means that it was a useful food and medicine source for the local Salish peoples as well as other First Nations of the West Coast. It’s large range is evidence of its ease and adaptability so no need to be too fussy just pop this baby front and center and sit back to enjoy the sun.
Proteaceae is a family of plant royalty with a loyal following, and for good reason the flowers of the group are often some of the most spectacularly otherworldly and botanically intricate of any in the plant kingdom. Unfortunately we here in the PNW are limited to a few choice species in an even choicer few genera. Generally this isn't thought to include the radical "cone"-bearing Aussie group Banksia though if ever there was a species to be tried here this is the one. We have heard rumors of successful specimens in Seattle and some of the coastal-est climes of the region. For those in the Bay just buy it and revel in the stamen-loaded goodness while we weep with envy. A sheltered sunny spot with as much heat as you can muster, with decent drainage and no phosphorous will give you the best chances.
Golden False Indigo. Our introduction of this eye-catching Baptisa with golden yellow leaves and dusky midnight purple flowers. We've opted not to mass-produce this by the gazillions like other Baptisia but are propagating this ourselves in small numbers to keep this special and collectable. Doubtless we're better with plants than business! 'IndiGold' is a play on Indigo and that we are a small independent nursery. These are young plants and Baptisia of all sorts can take some time to reach flowering size but are long-lived and simply get better with each passing year. This has held its yellow color well during the summer in our garden.