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Hardy species in the Gesneriaceae or African Violet family from Greece and Bulgaria where it favors shaded rocky outcrops. Our old mama plants fill a 3 gallon pot with a packed dome of evergreen leafy rosettes that give rise to 4"-5" stems with flowers of pale lavender faces and dark corolla base. Great starter plant for newbies to hardy gesneriads and it is so rewarding that even the long-time collectors have to confess to feeling that familiar thrill when it flowers. Good drainage, excellent in north-facing crevice of rock wall.

Rio Grande Rain Lily. This little bulb has the cheeriest yellow flowers with burnt orange streaking which appear without leaves in late summer to early fall with the onset of fall rains if grown in a sunny dry spot. These get 6" tall but are wicked cute and will self sow to make an enviably vibrant patch in time. Native to the Southeast and Mexico. Hardy to zone 7.

I have always been attracted to aureolas and this Aureola is one of the finest. One of the 10 best ornamental grasses and perhaps the best for light shade, this deciduous species from Japan forms a beautiful undulating surf of foliage when planted in drifts. It is simply a great plant.

We adore the Halimiums as they have proved to be amply hardy here at Far Reaches, the nearest thing to a Russian Steppe that western Washington offers. Low growing evergreen shrub clad in grayish foliage and not shy at all yellow flowers with precise carmine pyramids at the base of each petal. Good drainage.

Caterpillar Grass. This is a cool evergreen grass (semi-evergreen in our winters) from South Africa. The low grassy 15" mounds of leaves won't turn your head but the flowers will. Wiry stems bear seedheads looking like a Caterpillar on a stick with an amazing window where the yellow anthers dangle like little feet in motion. Seriously. It's serious fun.

Like lots of things we sell here, we searched near and far for the ideal Far Reaches Farm cap and this is it! Distressed 100% cotton in a variety of colors with a sweet antiqued brass buckle for a custom fit. We had it embroidered with our logo by a small shop in town to help support our little local economy. If you are mystified by the color names, here is a handy key: Khaki is a light olive tone, Maroon is a faded, dark red, Hunter is deep green, Charcoal is blue-grey, and Navy is dark blue.

Small-scale evergreen Hebe and one of the hardier ones for our area. This is attractive in flower or out as it has very tidy foliage and a pleasing mounding habit. The flowers are small and white and sometimes with a bit of a mauve tinge but anyone would say white.

Nice hardy Hebe for us here in the PNW as this hails from the alpine and subalpine areas of the drier mountains on New Zealand's South Island. A low creeper to just 8" high, the olive-green leaves are quite good but it really gets its groove on when it blooms as the white flowers contrast with the near-black stems.

Always vying for Top Hebe in our esteem, this compact grower sports narrow blue-gray leaves with months of white flowers. Our plant has weathered our worst winters with nary a whimper and is at this moment of writing on August 5, without fault, well into month two of blooming. We had the good fortune to have superstar UK garden photographer Andrea Jones visit the summer of 2013 and our 2'x3' plant of Hebe recurva, which was underplanted with Mertensia maritima, was looking smashing. The Mertensia had of its own accord draped a stem over the Hebe and was at its peak with its own even bluer leaves and its small sky-blue flowers. Andrea homed in on this like she was laser-guided and we only wished that we could take credit for the artistry. She was kind giving us credit for the combination while creating the space for serendipitous opportunity.

An extremely dwarf Ivy found in 2005 by Dutch nurseryman Cees van Ostaayen who noticed a miniature sport on Hedera helix 'Needle Point'. This one came to our attention in John Massey's private garden at Ashwood Nursery where it called to us from among the abundance of rarities and perfection. Should this little gem throw a shoot that is unnecessarily more vigorous in an attempt to revert, just nip it off. Lovely in a container.

This is one had thought was Hedychium spicatum var. spicatum but are now thinking it is H. yunnanense. This is a much larger plant than any of our spicatum collections getting to over 5' tall and has a much larger and denser inflorescence packed with far more flowers - up to thirty. The flowers resemble spicatum in their shape and white and coral colors and the resultant orange-red fruit is also very similar.

One of the most satisfying and reliable of the hardy Gingers. We've grown this Nepalese beauty for years now and it always blooms in mid to late summer with flowers of the most gentle orange. This is a good increaser in moist loose soil and looks marvelous in half sun or bright shade. This does not need a long warm Fall to flower but relishes our cool pseudosummers here in the Puget Sound. We mulch ours in the fall to keep frost for reaching the rhizome and basically other than that we just water and feed it. Very low care.

A distinct Hardy Ginger with leaves and flowers evoking Canna more so than any other in the genus. Gorgeous foliage and the flowers although few are quite large and a striking reddish orange. Likes a moist spot in the garden and can take full sun to part shade. Winter mulch.

A recent collection of this Zingiberaceae which we have not yet identified. A graceful species with relatively narrow leaves and very pleasing melon colored flowers. This is from fairly low elevation and growing both as a terrestrial and as an epiphyte. In zone 8 gardens, we would mulch well to keep frost from reaching the rhizomes. Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Collection

This is from a Floden-Mitchell-Wynn-Jones 2011 collection in northern Vietnam which they thought was H. tengchongense, but upon flowering proved to be H. spicatum which was not known to occur in Vietnam. While it would have been great to have the tengchongense, H. spicatum is a better garden performer here being reliably hardy. Unscented spidery white and coral flowers that turn into brilliant red seed pods that are arguably the showiest in the genus.

These are robust plants from seed collected by Chris Chadwell in northern India in 2012. Chris is extremely knowledgeable on the flora of Nepal, Kashmir and northwest India having done nearly 30 extensive botanical expeditions to those areas. This species is particularly interesting to us, as not only is it perfectly hardy for us in our gardens but it extends the geography in our accessions: it joins our shorter-stature 2003 collection from near eastern Bhutan, along with our 2006 collection from Sichuan. We like geeking out on a species and when we can observe the various expressions of morphology as influenced by the diversity of its range, it really doesn't get much better for us. Safe to say we get a "botanical flush". Anyway, this hardy true ginger relative is good down to zone 7b with enough mulch for short durations to single digits and happy in bright shade to mostly sun. This species blooms reliably for us every year outside and makes us very happy in October with its open spires of white crane fly flowers highlighted by salmon-pink working parts. Moist with drainage.

A hardy Ginger relative from our seed collection just a long days drive from the Tibetan border. Narrow petals of white and peach are floral whimsy and always manage to coax a smile out of us. The unscented flowers compensate for that lack by having one of the showiest seed displays in the genus. This collection seems to be distinctly shorter than other forms of spicatum we grow. Mulch in winter.

Small winter-flowering species collected by Kettle and Wynn-Jones on Mt Fansipan in northern Vietnam. This is nice little ginger given varietal status due to its larger flowers and much larger sagittate anthers. Sagittate anther envy - it happens even in the plant world. Stems to 28" with very nice spidery white lightly scented flowers with reddish bracts. One of the evergreen species and best suited to frost-free conditions but does great in containers and easy to bring in during cold snaps - we keep ours just above freezing in the winter during the cold dips. Collectable rarity and worth trying indoors if you don't live in the Bay Area.

From the Tian Shan Mts comes this tough little subshrub that is among the finest expressions of silver foliage to be found. Eversilver aromatic leaves on an 18" rounded plant with yellow button flowers in late summer. I bet the deer find it repugnant. Good drainage, some to little water.

Rare and elusive in commerce, this is a denizen of the New Jersey Pine Barrens and moist areas along the Eastern Seaboard. When in flower, it always strikes us as looking more extra-terrestrial than a product of our own earthly evolution. Bizarre pink cones of small packed flowers studded with blue anthers are just a giggle. Rich moist soil in some shade. This is Federally listed as endangered and threatened. Our plant was received many years ago from the Rhododendron Species Botanic Garden who grew it from seed and we have propagated it like mad here at the nursery so our conscience is clear.