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A rare offering of a rare species of this choice little bit of botanical collectable necessity. Found by Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones in Taipingshan, Taiwan, this is a beautiful representative of one of our favorite obscure genera. Evergreen rosettes and slowly forming companion rosettes, this has enchanting white flowers on 4"-7" stems which age to pink. Moist and shade, no harder to grow than most primroses. These are nice plants but are not yet flowering size. Next year they will be!

Interesting and showy Japanese species that makes tidy little evergreen clumps. This is a just too darned slow to ever make it a viable plant for mainstream nurseries but it so worth the wait. So of course we love it! Unusual lavender-pink flowers held well above the foliage. These will slowly increase to make one sweet little grouping. Good moist soil in shade. The whole clan appeals to us beyond reason - Helonias and Ypsilandra are stellar relatives. We have a few very chunky plants we've kept for propagation but now that we have enough in the pipeline, these stalwarts are expendable. It's tough love here at The Farm but we know you'll do right by them.

A robust form of the species collected by Dr. Peter Zale. We have long been enamored by this genus and this fine form simply fans the flames of our ardor. Here in March, the exotic pink flowers stand proud over the evergreen rosettes of leaves. We view the recent merging into Helonias with skepticism.

Easy there, steady yourself - remember to breathe……..you are reading this right - this is a double flowered Heloniopsis of the dark flowered persuasion. Dense heads of tightly packed double flowers of dark pink-lavender makes this very collectible for those who love rare aberrations, and isn't that true of most of us?

Heloniopsis is a genus we would be loathe to garden without and we are always ln acquisition mode for new ones. This is a Japanese selection which has flowers of a deeper pink-lavender versus the typical lavender-pink - a distinction apparent when grown side by side. We notice as well in our cool greenhouse, the foliage coloring in red tones in winter. A charming bit of exotica for the shade garden.

This is easily the best disappointing plant we have. This is one we imported from Japan - at some significant cost - as a Gold Leaf cultivar. The first year was magic with leaves like pure sunlight but never again. The best part is that it is an exceptionally good, vigorous clone with big flower heads and superb foliage.

Collected by the Wynn-Jones of Crug Farm from, as they describe it, "the moist well-drained forests on the steep sides of the Aso Crater on Kyushu, Japan." The tip of the flowering stem or scape is dark purple which then holds lavender-pink flowers with dark ovaries. For moist soil in light shade to part shade.

A Wynn-Jones collection from the Aso area of Honshu in Japan where there is a range of color variation in the species. We are wild about this genus and it combines beauty, rarity and growability in its appeal. Evergreen rosettes of flattened broadly lance-shaped leaves with spring whitish flowers accented by purple stamens. Zone 6.

A very robust selection in one of our favorite genera, this is one we brought in from Japan some while back and at last have some to offer. Wider and longer leaves than most of our other forms we grow, this by necessity makes larger evergreen rosettes. In early spring the central floral resting bud starts to awaken and March sees the elongation of the flowering stem to 10" and the appearance of a full head of creamy flowers aging to a clear white. This Snow White truly would make an insecure and wicked queen jealous!

Fantastic collection by arguably the preeminent plant hunters of our times, Bleddyn & Sue Wynn-Jones of Crug Farm in Wales. This is from a 1993 collection in the Odaesan Mts in cold NE Korea and departs from the norm of this little known genus by having blue flowers. We nearly wept when it flowered. Moist and shade.

Introduced from Taiwan by the plant hunting duo of Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones, this makes rosettes of narrow leaves with heads of white flowers infused with lavender-pink in spring.  A gem for the shade garden as are all the species, this will also take part sun given moist conditions. While some authorities have sunk the genus Heloniopsis into our monotypic eastern US genus Helonias, we shall continue to wave the Heloniopsis flag from the ramparts at Far Reaches as the next revision will surely reinstate the status quo.

Ok, here is a weird one. In the family Helwingiaceae there is but one genus, Helwingia which has 3 species. Helwingia has epiphyllus flowers which means they bloom from the midrib of the leaves. This male plant was collected by Hinkley in Sichuan and will be evergreen. Small light pink flowers.

A handsome clone from the late J.C. Raulston which we have propagated by cuttings. Broad and glossy green leaves 2" wide by nearly 4" long are most attractive in new growth being a fine plum color. This curious genus is notable for the fruit seemingly set on the midrib of the upper leaf surface which won't happen with this clone as it is male. The small insignificant flowers do little more than further damage the fragile male ego but if you are lucky enough to have a female clone nearby, then you can expect purplish black drupes to appear on the leaf blade. Fascinating and attractive evergreen shrub to 6'-8' and hardy to zone 6.

Antique hybrid nearly lost to cultivation but thanks to Jim Fox, we can keep this going. Jim visited Graham Stuart Thomas at his home in England and Graham handed Jim his spade and insisted he dig a piece. As if God himself spoke, Jim obeyed. This is the kind of provenance that makes the Keno brothers animated on Antiques Roadshow. Narrow elegant yellow flowers and fragrant in the evening, this is such a nice change from the huge modern hybrids as it retains a nice species look which we gravitate towards. It is important to keep these heirloom plants going as many of Perry's introduction are now lost to cultivation. Hybridized by Amos Perry who was one of England's first two Daylily breeders and he registered 'Thelma Perry' in 1925 as a hybrid with H. thunbergii as the pod parent and H. citrina as the pollen parent.

We know, we know, a daylily cultivar? But bear with us on this one as its been a long-term favorite of the across the pond garden hegemony since its introduction in 1960, and yet seemingly forever unavailable to our coarse yankee constituency. So rare and choice indeed in its way, even amongst the 60,000 some odd competitiors. Pleasant buttery yellow flowers on bright green stems, and well renowned for its lovely scent said to be among the best in the genus.

We're smitten by gesneriads - the African Violet family - and especially those with some hardiness, which can be grown outside in our area with some consideration to siting and winter protection. This was shared with us by Peckerwood Gardens in Texas where it is very happy. White flowers red inside in the fall are bit of flora exotica. This Taiwan native can take dips into the teens especially with some mulch.

This gesneriad comes from southern Jiangxi Province in China via an Atlanta Botanic Garden collection. Hemiboea defy what we know inherently to be true by being surprisingly hardy when they look very tender. Broad leaves with large foxglove-like white flowers spattered in red dots with a yellow throat. This should do fine down to zone 8b and probably lower especially with mulch - we've seen a different species of Hemiboea in Ann Arbor.

Midwestern native Hepatica whose name has been changed to Anemone acutiloba or some prefer Anemone nobilis var. acuta. We cling to Hepatica, kicking and screaming. These are from seed from the unparalleled collection at Ashwood Nurseries and are not wild collected plants. This has leaves with sharply pointed lopes and white flowers well-displayed on erect stems above the leaves. Good plant for the woodland garden where it plays well with the early Trilliums, Cardamines and various early spring ephemera.

An English selection of a North American species, shared with us by our dear friend and renowned Hepatica grower, breeder, and expert, John Massey of Ashwood Nurseries.  It is impossible to think of John without a liberal sprinkling of "exquisite" permeating the thought train and this includes reflections on Hepatica americana 'Ashwood Marble'.  The trilobed rounded leaves are exquisitely (see how that happens?) patterned with a base color of greenish pewter divided by muted chocolate-purple ragged peninsulas.  Delightfully small-scale, the petite soft lavender flowers with white anthers are profusely borne.  Great under deciduous trees and the species is also found on shaded rock outcrops in the wild.  John's book "My World of Hepaticas", is simply put, exquisite.

Rare and distinctive species endemic to the island of Ulleungdo off the coast of Korea evolving from the mainland species, H. asiatica - a great example of island species evolution. The biennial leaves are very large. Small white to palest pink flowers backed by a stylin' green involucre. A less-hardy species that does great in a cool greenhouse or alpine house and good in a zone 8-9 garden with good drainage.