Central Asia

An Allium of allure, an Onion objet d' art, indeed, a bulb most buxom. This are not epithets tossed around lightly as I for one, look askance upon horticultural banter. Broad sculptural leaves subtend a golf ball flower of pale lilac to silvery white. Exceptionally meritorious in rock gardens and containers and will take summer dry.

Miniature Joint Fir. Choice species from the bleak areas of the "stans" - Afghan, Uzbek, Kazak, Krygh, Paki and Tajikistan. This primitive Conifer relative likes it rough - just good drainage and a hot, sunny dry spot are it's simple wants although it does enjoy the good life and wouldn't turn down a wee drink and a bit to eat. It has been quite adaptable to our regular irrigation in the nursery. In the garden this will slowly creep with more leafless thin green stems which look like a miniature Equisetum until they become bejeweled with red fruit-like cones in mid to late summer. Probably tolerant of more alkaline conditions as well. This does great in the Denver Botanic Garden.

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.

Exceedingly showy blue flowered selection of the Drumstick Primula. This gets big rounded flower heads as the name might imply. These get to be imposing foliage plants as well if given rich moist soil in light shade and are a presence even out of flower.

Fun newish selection of the recently moved to Bistorta from Persicaria with softly golden foliage which is a great backdrop for the 24"-36" flower stems bearing spikes of flowers the same color as Dorothy's ruby slippers. Easy, hardy, bright shade and gangbusters in rich moist soil.

Excellent member of the Crassulaceae which means it is a succulent basically, but one that eschews the arid sunny spot in favor of lusher environs like our shade garden with dairy manure mulch. Makes a thick clump of fleshy green leaves with taller stems of pendulous strings of bead-like yellow flowers that are nothing less than captivating. This is one of those plants we have had for a long time but one that surprises us each year when it blooms because we don't expect something so familiar to float our boat quite so high. Very easy to please and a plant people want when they see it in flower.

From Wendy Perry of Bosvigo Plants in S. England comes this unfortunately scarce and choice Campanula. Gently and very controllably spreading to make an impressive clump with spires of pure white flowers. Pairs impeccably with Hosta 'Patriot'.

These are divisions with a minimum of two growth buds of this very rarely offered, hardy terrestrial orchid from the western Himalaya and Pamirs, and which is a central Asian counterpart to our own native Epipactis gigantea. This has freakishly nice rose-pink flowers with as many as 15 per stem. Easy in the garden and a good multiplier with underground rhizomes forming a small colony of 18" stems.

Jim' Pride' is the selection of this sedum relative from the Caucasus Mts which is notable for the showy variegation. This is not as vigorous as the typical green form and the nodding strands of bead-like flowers are creamy rather than yellow as well. Easy evergreen.

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!

Uncommon species which has an understated wowness, a gently modulated shout-out, a decorous fist-pump, a nomination for Best Supporting Perennial. While this Pea is no Peacock, it nonetheless garners ample attention with its clusters of copper-orange Pea flowers in mid to late spring which are set off nicely by the dense light green leaves. Long-lived and to our minds, choice perennial.

Seed-grown plants of the dwarf red pussytoes which we presume will come true to form.  Short stems with clusters of red flowers over small mats of dense small leaves  Tough small-scale carpeter for a sunny area and can take drier conditions when established.  Perfect for the rock garden or hell strip where it can cope with some foot traffic. Native to Alaska and Eurasia.

Little gray-foliaged low small cushiony clumper. Pinky lavender flowers on stems of a few inches in length. Easy and quite hardy.

Double Flowered Solomon's Seal. Hard to come by and desirable double form of this excellent garden plant. The extra petals looks like a little green rose when you lift one of the dangling white bells and peer inside. It is one of those little surprises that makes the garden so fun.

Choice rock garden species from rare wild collected seed from the Tien Shan Mts where they extend into NW China. This makes nice dense clumps of close set sivery-green foliage and typical Potentilla golden yellow flowers. Easy care and tolerant of our abuse.

A European Trillium relative that forms small colonies in time by creeping rhizomes. Four-parted leaves and greenish flowers that look like an artistic, sculptural rendition influenced by recreational doses of psilocybin. These later give way to a black knob of seeds which are attractive in their own right. Our patch in our shade garden has increased to about 4' across and once it hits 10', we will feel like we have enough.

This uncommon Daphne calls the Caucasus Mountains home and we find even its glossy green leaves an ornamental asset but really, one grows Daphne for the flowers. This has terminal clusters of narrow yellow flowers which are very pleasant and the fun continues after blooming with good display of showy red fruit. Which is where these came from. Best in part sun and does great at woodland edge.

Giant Pincushion Flower. We saw this used to great effect in numerous cottage gardens in northern England during our coast to coast walk in June-July 2012. Impressive zone 3 perennial whose open, branched stems can exceed 6' tall and bear creamy yellow flowers. Perfect for mixing with lower bushy plant.

This native Afghani is unrivalled among Thalictrum for textural achievement and presentation of foliage. A diaphanous haze of small gray-green leaflets makes this well worth growing despite the insignificant flowers. Normally we insist on nice flowers but this foliage woos one and all, lasting long after any bloom.

Not one you will easily find, this tough rarity hails from China's Xinjiang Province and neighboring Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan. High moist meadows are home sweet home for this blue-lavender drumstick Primula dusted in farina. Sue brought this west from VT over 20 years ago. Said it was tough!