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Seed-grown from a collection by Daniel Winkler near Chonye on the Tibetan Plateau. Widely distributed in Asia and throughout the various 'stans, this remains oddly rare in commerce and is not often cultivated. Thanks to Fran Hawk for flowering and identifying this collection before ours bloomed! Narrow pale lavender tinted falls with soft blue-ish standards.
A lesser-known cousin to the better-known Iris unguicularis. This is a Turkish species and while it blooms a bit later than it's famed cousin, is still early enough to be immensely gratifying plus it has hands down far more attractive evergreen foliage than I. unguicularis. We had a flower or two this past December but expect it to really kick in when March roll around. The flowers are held down in the foliage and often this foliage is cut pack prior to flowering so the blooms can be enjoyed unencumbered. We've never gotten around to do that and our enjoyment has not been diminished one whit Easy with drainage and will take some summer dry. We've found the foliage looks better in part shade and actually grow this in our shade garden.
Dark-flowered form from a wild collection in Turkey. The typical form cultivated in the Northwest is a soft blue lavender but this is a rich blue purple with falls marked at the base with prominent white feathers around a peninsula of yellow. Closely allied to Iris unguicularis, this has wider more substantial foliage and flowers later - usually in March here. Special indeed!
Seed collected at 3200 meters in Sichuan in an open grazed small meadow area adjoining low scrub. Tightly clumping, deciduous and allied to Iris japonica but is something totally new. Small blue flowers are laddered down the stems in the leaf axils. This has baffled some of the top authorities on Chinese Iris both here in the US and in the UK which quite honestly makes us very happy. Nothing like introducing a species nova to quicken the pulse! We expect this to be hardier than the zone 6 we are giving it but are being our usual conservative selves until we learn differently from those of you who will try this in colder zones.
Young plants from seed collected in Mendocino County by botanist Alex Wright. This species has the all the charms inherent to Pacific Coast Iris along with their legendary variability in color among populations. This was not seen in flower but we can pin it down for you. Blue, cream, white or yellow and shades between.
A Chris Chadwell collection from Nepal at 2500 meters of
this distinctive Iris in the Crested Iris section - Iris cristata and
Iris tectorum for example, are in that group. These are second generation seedlings from our plants grown from his original collection. This is a very distinctive iris with long stems - almost canes - which carry the fans of broad leaves and the flower stems to nearly 3 feet. The flowers are 2"-3" across of lavender blue with the falls taking on some white. This likes part shade in a moist situation and is best in zone 8 and above. Very architectural for an Iris with strong verticality. We had the opportunity to host Chris some time back while he was on a speaking tour - and arranged for a lecture in Port Townsend - and note that this year in 2015 he is offering to waive his lecture fees as a donation to the Nepal earthquake relief efforts. He has gone on many seed collecting trips to Nepal over the last 3 decades and has tremendous sympathy for the plight of the people and of the country.
If you know you know. Famed for their large variety of colors these diminutive Irises also come with the added benefit of being less thirsty than their cousins. Their light requirements vary depending on how far inland you are, further in more shade, and they don't love hot-hot summers. Whether you are starting your own hybridizing program or just want a fun little surprise to add in to your order these seedlings of various parentage and plumage can find a spot in any garden.
This is a choice little dwarf species from China of which we never have enough. Perfect lavender-blue flowers just a few inches high over densly clumping short foliage. This is one tough baby Iris as Sue brought this out from her garden in northern Vermont. Deciduous.
Rich purple flowers of a color more suited to the dreams of the Pope than the Devil, unless of course the Devil is dreaming of someday wearing those rich purple Pope-robes, in which case it is appropriately named. Just speculation. Great color anyway.
Roof Iris. These are seed-grown from our plant from an Eric Hammond collection in China. This species actually does grow on thatched roofs in Japan and China and is quite easily grown in the garden Large, 5-6 inch lilac-blue flowers are very nice on stems to perhaps 18" tall. Happy in zones 4-9, this is easy but watch for slugs on the new growth as these might attest.
A U.S. native Iris that can compete with the Asian big dogs of the Iris pack. This boggy little beaut hails from the Southeast and grows alongside pitcher plants in partially sunny seeps that must be quite spectacular to behold. 2 foot foliage goes dormant in the winter but the memory of the elegantly slender flowers will carry on.
Eyes that look like these would be a little more concerning than dazzling but on an iris they are well worth a futile staring contest. This selection of I. unguicularis has an extended area of white and purple striping at the base of the petals that provides a stunning contrast that is sure to draw the eye, or to the more imaginative among us conjure images of eyes you might see at a really wild music festival.
For those whom bigger is better but biggest is best comes this larger of the two "Bamboo Iris" species. The name refers to its habit of forming tall upright canes which hold the fans of foliage and flowers ever higher aloft. While bamboo might be a slight exaggeration in the case of I. confusa (only reaching 3ft or so) this species can reportedly top out at 6'+. I envy legendary plant breeder and Iridophile Darrell Probst who collected this species for what must have been a truly incredible encounter in the wild. Needs a fairly sheltered/mild spot to reach full potential.
Think of this as a woodland Salvia which blooms in the Fall. This Japanese jewel brings an unexpected and welcome shot of color to the shade garden in Fall with airy panicles to 3 or 4 feet holding zillions of small tubular blue-purple flowers. Something nice to look if you are overloaded on the reds-oranges-yellows classic colors. Our staff plant nerd Cindy reports that she loves this in her garden so there you have it for local testimonials.
This Lamiaceae species comes from woodlands in Japan such as Fukushima Prefecture. All summer you get to enjoy the subtly interesting leaf shape and texture, pondering what possessed you to grant this space in your overplanted garden. Once the riot of summer color is gone, the lavender spikes of this uncommon species brings clarity.
Our collection from Sichuan of this variant on the Jasminum humile theme. A scrambling, weaving and somewhat scandent shrublet with thin stems that infiltrates the marginal spaces among shrubs and can grow up through them for a little support. Bright yellow flowers which are unscented but cheery nonetheless. This form is doubtfully or at least very scarce in cultivation so good on us. Now for a bit of botanical esoterica. Enrico Banfi proposed in 2014 that the Alternifolia section of Jasminum to which this belongs, be moved to a new genus, Chrysojasminum and if this gets adopted, then we would have Chrysojasminum humile var. microphyllum. Do we know how to have fun or what?
This is a lovely deciduous scrambling twining and vining shrub from Nepal with scented narrow tubular yellow flowers in clusters followed in fall by black pea-like fruit. Quite a nice alternative for the small arbor or trellis on a wall. And we are pretty sure it is deer resistant as well! This has been perfectly fine in Seattle. These are nice big plants.
Hardy dwarf Jasmine from Himachal Pradesh in India. This is an ideal little rock garden candidate or if you are looking for a small shrub for that special nook, look no further. Small yellow flowers lightly scented are scattered among the evergreen leaves all summer. Tolerant of dry, deer aren't interested, no maintenance needed.
The perfection of presence so inherent to Japan oozes from the stomata of this Nipponese woodlander. Pinkish new growth with lavender tones to the rounded foliage is meant to pair with the simple light lavender flowers. Allied to our eastern Jeffersonia diphylla like a Lexus SUV to a F150 pickup, a comparison not meant to disparage or annoy champions of the lovely J. diphylla. These are from our own divisions.
We were gifted this little green "roller" from John Grimshaw, Director of the Yorkshire Arboretum at Castle Howard. As he handed us a nondescript pup, we wondered what magical thing attended this to earn a place in his exquisite collection. "This is from the garden of Carl Linnaeus" STFU! The Father of Binomial Nomenclature!?! Linnaeus & Grimshaw - now that's provenance! Plant geek manna from botanical heaven. This is possibly Jovibarba globifera subsp. allionii.