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Marvelous little Thrift that is the lazy gardener's cushion plant. The English alpine gardeners in particular pride themselves in growing these difficult plants that forms cushions or 'buns'. Well this makes a perfect tight round dome on its own with pink flowers right in the foliage. Easy.

Ruby Thrift. Great little tussock plant with low mounds of tight grassy ruby red foliage and stems bearing small pom-poms of deep pink flowers. A classic rockery or seashore plant. Tolerates drier conditions and thrives with average moisture in good drainage. Full sun.

Rarely offered little Wormwood which is troughable, which is a term we should trademark in order to capitalize on the 20 or so people who have both troughs and a penchant for dwarf Artemisia. We need a new business advisor or maybe we should listen to the current one. Few inches high and spreading. Yellowish flowers.

Cretan Arum. Aside from Crete, this is found in Turkey as well. A beautiful species that checks the boxes for drought/heat tolerance as this is a summer dormant bulb. The green leaves appear in fall and have been undamaged here in winter drops to 10F so guessing can go lower. Scented soft yellow spathes. Not flowering size, plant in well-drained soil 3" deep in sun and enjoy.

Our selection from the California Redwoods of a large-leafed and vigorous clone of Wild Ginger. This sports large glossy green leaves which mask the sizable brown starfish flowers hidden underneath. We always like surprises. A dense big groundcover in shaded rich moist soil.

Great foliage on this Wild Ginger from China which keys most closely to the species caudigerellum. A mist of white spray droplets on the leaves is especially vivid on the young foliage making this very desirable. Small tan to soft red flowers are a welcome addition. We have seen nice clumps of presumably this species in Vietnam looking fabulous on the forest floor among the bright buff trunks of Camellia trees.

European Wild Ginger. Rounded, heart-shaped most excellent evergreen leaves (evergreen in mild winters or our Z8 garden) hug the ground close and dense, hiding the small flowers and their lack of ornament We have a slightly paler leaf clone that is most apparently pale when planted next to this clone. We go the extra mile to ensure that you can have monochromatic integrity if you so desire!

European Wild Ginger. Rounded, heart-shaped most excellent evergreen leaves (evergreen in mild winters or our Z8 garden) hug the ground close and dense, hiding the small flowers and their lack of ornament We have a slightly darker leaf clone that is most apparently dark when planted next to this clone. We go the extra mile to ensure that you can have monochromatic integrity if you so desire!

A smaller Japanese Wild Ginger that eventually clumps quite densely. It looked good in our garden for many years but we dug it and potted it so we could share these and must plant some back. Small heart-shaped leaves with an irregular central green isthmus flanked on either side by a froth of silver. Small purple-brown flowers are not missed hiding under the fine leaves. This looks like the form from Mt Takao based solely on web photos from habitat. Wish we had our own photos from Mt Takao!

This has grown into one of our favorite plants. Much like an Eremurus or Foxtail Lily in effect with basal strappy leaves and a 4'-6' tall branched flower spikes in May and June with lots of pale peach tinted white flowers opening from reddish-striped buds. Longest-lived in sandy soils and late summer dormant.

White Asphodel. From Spain to North Africa and over to the Balkans, this has done very well for us in our garden. Narrow leaves in small clumps with flower stems 2'-3' tall and perhaps with greater maturity, to 4', and which bear showy starry white flowers. We also enjoy the darker round seed capsules which extends the interest. This will go summer dormant and isn't for the humid Southeast.

Pretty recently described species of Cast Iron plant from Jiangsu Province in China. Narrow evergreen leaves can hit 30" tall and makes a fine clump. Flowers will require some astute observation as they are odd purplish things open right at ground level - perfect for walkabout pollinators. Hardy down to Zone 7b and up to Zone 10 plus it makes a fine houseplant.

We received this from plantsman Lance Reiners via Barry Yinger who brought this in from Japan some years back and looks to be the same plant as Aspidistra zongbayi 'Yunnan Sunshine' which Barry named. 2ft evergreen lanceolate leaves with a light yellow to white central stripe. Tolerant of deep shade and a variety of soils, also happy containerized or as a houseplant.

For some reason the evocative cultivar name of this Aspidistra really sells it for me, eliciting extra joy in conjuring up visions of exotic night skies via it's lovely variegated patterning of white dots in varying sizes and distinctness across a canvas of dark green evergreen blades up to 2.5ft tall. As with other aspidistras its tolerant of deep shade and does well as a houseplant (Houseplant with an astrological name, can you get more trendy?). This species is particularly tolerant of cold temps without burning and is also extremely floriferous if you're a botanically minded flower enjoyer who doesn't mind a curious stoop to view them.

Despite it's translation this is not to be confused with what is often sold as Aspidistra 'Milky Way' instead the leaves of this supremely variegated cultivar are painted in broad strokes of cream and white, further accented with the more commonly seen white speckling, creating an effect well deserving of the more literal translation 'Heavenly River'. As with other cast iron plants this is highly tolerant of deep shade, plays nice indoors, stands up to roving bands of deer and offers foliage bliss all year long.

Hart's Tongue Fern. A distinctive fern whose undissected pale green leaves sets it apart from its allies. A tidy evergreen compact clumper to 16" tall by 20"+ across which is easy to please and goes so well with Trilliums and Arisaemas. This one doesn't mind some alkalinity and we have seen this self-sowing on damp brick walls where it enjoys the good drainage. And it is rabbit resistant which we appreciate.

A narrow leafed version of the classic Hart's Tongue fern from Europe. We've seen the typical species happily growing in English hedgerows and closer to home, naturalizing on a shaded mossy brick wall at June Sinclair's garden. This form is quite striking with it's stiff, evergreen lance-shaped leaves tightly rippled and crimped on the margins and would be well suited to an artist's garden.

Crested Hart's Tongue Fern. Crested ferns are always fun and this one does provide some amusement in the garden. Rather than the typical evergreen, entire sword-shaped leaves which taper to a point, these crested forms splay out at the end into a rounded and ruffled flourish which might mark this as a self-indulgent dandy were it not for its complete absence of ego. More than happy to play a necessary supporting role to those blooming Trilliums for example. Doesn't mind a bit of lime and will self-spore in mortared walls.

Hart's Tongue Fern. Choice selection of this European native evergreen fern which has variable wavy and rumpled leaf margins. This doesn't mind a bit of lime in the soil and is very happy growing with bricks and will self-sow in the moss on shaded moist concrete or rock walls.

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.