Central Asia

Grown from seed given to us by xeric, steppe and rock garden guru, Panayoti Kelaidis of Denver Botanic Garden. Brilliant plantsman who, if you gave him an hour lead time, would be conversant in aquatic plants native to Lake Malawi and the nearby Great Rift Valley. This Central Asian species grows natively on rocky, sandy slopes and in the garden, is quite drought tolerant. Thrives in Denver, this will get 3'-4'+ with pink flowers in summer.

Young bulbs of this choice variable species from the Caucasus. Impressive displays of up to 24 scented creamy flowers whose reflexed tepals expose the soft yellow throat and fine maroon stippling in this form. This is a hardy early bloomer which is ideal for those cold northern gardens with short growing seasons.

A pretty cool introduction from Cistus Nursery from a batch of seedlings and this stood out with its silvery filigreed leaves. A surprisingly hardy Fig with intriguing foliage and small figs which we have heard rumors of being edible. Insert disclaimer here. We've seen the species growing quite happily in the Cistus display gardens near Portland which attests to its love of heat (they are hot in so many ways) which we don't get here in maritime Port Townsend but which it does have in its native Iran and Afghanistan. Plant this in a hot spot that gets on the dry side - it should love it.

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!

This used to be var. kolenatiana from the Caucasus but this widely distributed circumarboreal species has had the species equivalent of a taxonomic black hole occur with numerous varieties, subspecies and genera all ascribed to this one species being sucked into the vast maw of botany never to be seen again. White flowers on 7"-10" stems.

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 fruits in mid to late summer. Probably tolerant of more alkaline conditions as well. This does great in the Denver Botanic Garden.