Products

It is difficult not to like this plant and if you don't, then you may well have to wonder if you are a difficult person. I mean look at this! Tubular crimson flowers flaring to a yellow starry smile? Midwest to Southeastern native enticing hummingbirds and butterflies throughout it's range in late summer and fall.

This is one of our favorite little dwarf shrubs that totally rocks the rock garden. Especially in the rock garden. Slow, slow growth, densely twiggy, small heavily textured leaves and clusters of deep pink flowers in mid summer makes this a great choice for containers or that small special place. A 15 year old plant might be 16" tall but probably shorter.

Fantastic little gem from the high mountains of Taiwan collected by our friend Philip MacDougall. Our mama plant from him is several years old and is a compact dome 2' tall and wide. Early summer has this adorned in small heads of dark pink buds which open to dense heads of clustered flowers which have a pink throat with a corolla edge of pale pink to near white.

Little gem of a Stachys we brought back from Scotland in 2013 although we hate parting with any, to be honest. Super compact with tight rich green rugose leaves and short spikes of snow white flowers of a purity and innocence so unsullied that felt compelled to ask permission prior to dividing. Perfect rock garden plant.

Silver Feather Grass is one of the most graceful and curious of all perennial grasses. From a low clump, spectacular flower spikes rise to 30" unfurling curled streamers that jive in the breeze. These corkscrew feathers fly off carrying a single long, weighted seed which uses the wind to self-drill itself into the ground. Drought tolerant and kinetic.

Twisted Stalk. One of our favorite natives (the list spans several pages of small print) of our woodlands is this Solomon's Seal relative. These are seed-grown from a collection near Easton WA. Branched stems bear dangling white flowers followed by showy red-orange fruit.

Grass Trigger Plant. Gorgeous and fascinating perennial found in Tasmania and Australia. Tidy perfection of evergreen grassy foliage speaks to a refined distillation of Aloe and Agave and the unexpected flamboyant spike of multitudinous pink flowers is over the top. There are sticky hairs under the flowers which can trap gnats and absorb those tasty insect nutrients. The pollination mechanism is fiendish. The stamens are cocked behind the flower and when an insect attempts to feed on the nectar, it trips the trigger, whipping the stamens forward resulting in the pollen-loaded anthers delivering a sucker punch to the insect, showering it with pollen. Can tolerate dry conditions and happiest in good drainage.

Any and all Styrax appeal to us and this was a necessary collection as a result. A vigorous tree of good size widely distributed in southern China and into adjoining countries to the south. This will have a lot of small, white bells in spring followed by pale nutlets clasped by a somewhat swollen green calyx. A very few of these gallon-sized plants. We will have to flower this to ID it for sure as China alone has nearly 40 species. Hardiness unknown but from relatively low elevation. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.

Beautiful Styrax from southern China and a nice infusion of new genetics to go along with the forms already in cultivation. Vigorous grower of pleasing habit and not overly large at 20'-25' with profuse white flowers of good size for this species. Small nut-like fruit follow the flowers. A favorite genus of ours.

Superb small tree from an area not botanized by westerners. This will have showy panicles of white flowers in late spring - early summer and is notable for having slightly bronzy new growth which adds to the allure. It has done superbly in full exposure here for several years - mute testament to its tolerance of adversity!

A medium sized tree in the wild, this is from the same remote mountain which yielded the first introductions of Schefflera fengii and Rhododendron sinofalconeri some 25 years ago and has not been revisited since. Vigorous tree with copious white flowers we presume followed by nutlets. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

Stunning thin-leafed variant on the typical form of the species which usually sports leathery leaves perhaps 4X wider than this rare selection from the Witch Hazel Family. This does not seem as determinedly upright as the typical species so expect a multi-stemmed textural delight. Small yellowish flowers with reddish anthers in late winter won't stop traffic but are still darned welcome.

Our collection of this hardy evergreen, Asian Witch Hazel relative. This will become a small tree in time to 20'-30' and can be very useful as screening or a dark backdrop. Here, the Feb-March flowers forego any petal modesty and celebrate their sexual parts on full display. That brings back sadly distant memories. Undamaged by our winters in full exposure. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

First introduction to cultivation! Our collection of this rare species in a genus of excellent foliage perennials. Sue spotted this on an evening plant reccy while Kelly took to bed nursing a rib fracture incurred earlier while collecting fruit on a Photinia. A Photinia of all things! A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.

A Hinkley collection from Taiwan of this interesting Composite whose deeply dissected foliage carries the day and is especially effective in half sun. Not a genus that leaps to the fore when thinking of flowers, this is a great foliage plant and intriguing in first growth. Collected as S. intermedia, this is most likely the species subglabrata. We have yet to meet a Syneilesis that we don't think highly of - (well, there are the unstable variegated ones) - and when mature, these tough clumping perennials literally force you to stop and admire.

This is an Olympic Mountain endemic meaning it is found nowhere else. This sweet little alpine is found among the dark shale chips on the gravelly-sandy ridgetops and is one of the first alpines to flower coming into bloom with its fuzzy little pokers of blue-violet flowers as soon as the snow clears the exposed ridges. The dissected or pinnatifid silver-white leaves are felted in dense microscopic hairs giving rise to the varietal epithet of lanuginosa. The reflective color of the leaves helps cool the plant and allows it to cope with the full sun exposure while the plastered hairs trap moisture keeping the foliage from dessicating in the wind, sun and frost. Good in troughs or rock gardens in a gritty mix. This needs a winter and we can only imagine that it would dislike prolonged summer heat as well as warm humid nights. Seems pretty easy here although we might trade being able to grow this for sitting out on an August evening without having to put layers on.

Fringe-petal Kitten-tail. This is an uncommon native found in small areas of the Olympic Mts and in Oregon's Clatsop County. An early spring treat for the collector, this has rounded leaves with toothed margins and impressed veins that emerge a light olive-copper color. Small lilac flowers cluster on short stems and the petal margins are incised. A rare offering. Some treatments place this in the genus Veronica but we prefer Synthyris. Light shade or morning sun is good.

Second generation seedlings from a Hinkley collection in Sichuan of this fine Lilac which can be kept as a large shrub or trained up to be a small tree. Pendulous flowers white to pale pink inside with a lavender-pink reverse. Very attractive and trouble free.

A multi-stemmed large shrub having a small tree appearance as it is quite upright from our Asian collection in an area of extreme ecological devastation. This had fallen from a cliff edge making seed capsules accessible. Narrow flower heads of whitish flowers have a graceful quality that is found in the wild species. Proceeds from this offering go to support the mission of Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy. Previously offered as Syringa aff. yunnanensis.

AKA 'Beth Chatto'. This is going around in this country under the Beth's name when in fact it is simply one of her Desert Island plants - one that she simply can't be without. Finely cut as a feather silvery leaves on a low evergreen plant which thrives on dry and sun. Small yellow flowers.