China

This is a beloved shrub to small tree species notable for flowering young with nodding white flowers which are best viewed when you can look up into them such as ours on a raised bed. Original introductions likely from Japan have red stamens but this collection of ours differs with yellow stamens. We generally get a good rebloom in September following the main late spring-early summer flowering. Second-generation seed-grown young plants from our trees from our original collection with no chance of hybridity. The species honors German plant collector Philipp Franz von Siebold for his botanical work in the mid 1800's. These are best protected first winter.

Second generation plants from our collection from along our way up the mountain to Tianchi Lake in Yunnan. We found this Lily relative (which has been called N. forrestii) growing in a wooded copse with Sorbus reducta. Likes a good moist soil and can have 7-10 flowers per stem in our experience when it gets some age. Pretty much awesome. These are young bulbs which should flower next year (although we can't guarantee that) and a must-have for cool northern woodland gardens. If you garden in Kansas, Texas or most of the Southeast for example, it is probably better to just enjoy the photo. These survived the brutal 2013-14 winter in Wisconsin at a customer's garden as newly planted bulbs in the fall which is impressive considering the ground froze 5' deep. Hardy to zone 5 if not zone 4.

Pretty cool and needless to say, rare rhizomatous evergreen perennial taxonomically wandering among genera from Tupistra to Campylandra to currently Rohdea which we have written in pencil. This has proven nicely hardy here in the PNW making a statement with elegant narrow green leaves with a muted amber central stripe. Flowers curiously interesting. Sure, this could be damning by faint praise using classic nursery merchandising deflection and obfuscation but the flowers are curious. And interesting. This is from a Quarry Hill Botanic Garden collection which they shared with us. We saw this species growing among bamboo and mixed shrubs on the slopes of Luoji Shan in Sichuan and it was like unexpectedly running into a friend, a brohdea, so to speak.

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A very attractive introduction by us from Yunnan if we do say so. Broad lightly hairy leaves in a dense clump with lots of large soft lavender daisy flowers fringed heavily in very fine petals surround a prominent dark "cone". This steals the show in mid to late July here in our gardens. Karen, a friend of ours who has exceptional taste was strolling the gardens last night (July 20), saw this Aster blooming and said "I want that plant!". And she had barely touched her glass of wine so it was a completely valid assessment. When shipped in the fall, we'll need to cut this plant back.

Superb form collected in NE Yunnan at 1900 metes by perhaps the preeminent modern plant hunter, Jens Nilsen. The list of 'firsts' in Jens' history of collections is astounding. This collection is not a first but is notable for being an exceptional form. Larger in all parts than previous introductions with gold flowers in midsummer.

This was one of those "Holy shit - lookit that fern!" moments when we first spotted this species growing in a moist stable and vegetated scree at the base of a soaring vertical cliff face fronting this mountainous outcrop of improbable pinnacles in Guizhou, China, The fern was perfect in scale and not intimidated in the slightest with 5'-6' wide leaves on a clumping plant 6'-8' tall. We were dismayed not to collect spore but happy to get a small plant of this species from fernologist Sue Olsen a few years back. This grows to be a pretty hefty clump but does not run. Hardy to zone 8 and mulch crown if it gets serious in winter.

We received this extraordinary selection from and equally extraordinary plantsman, David Mason of the vaunted former Hedgerows Nursery. Few members of the genus approach this for impact which is only heightened by flowering before other large-flowered forms. The emerging spring growth is enclosed in soft salmon sheaths and the hot damn lavender-pink flowers stand proud before the leaves develop. This is a cool climate genus.

We remain a bit confused on this one and maybe we can blame it on overwork but mostly there is still no universal consensus on taxonomy in the genus. We originally offered this as P. versipelle subsp. boreale and then Aaron Floden told us that Julian Shaw's recent work had reclassified this into P. mairiei, so we dutifully changed the name. Eventually Darrell Probst saw this and wondered what we were doing, as he collected the original seed from the type locality for versipelle subsp. boreale. These botanical dust-ups, while fun to observe, can be frustrating in getting a broadly accepted name so we're going back with our buddy Darrell on the name.

These are from a superb collection by Darrell Probst from China, which is notable for having over 20 small maroon-mahogany flowers clustered just under the leaf blade. If you have a choice, more flowers makes it easy! This is a striking addition to the shade garden and a moist rich soil will make this very happy, which has a direct positive influence on you. We're pretty sure you won't find this too many other places. We always liked it but now we like it even more!

The correctly named true species as what is generally seen in gardens are forms of Cardiocrinum giganteum. The only deviation from the key of 3-5 flowers are some with up to 9 flowers which we attribute to easy living in our garden and variation within the species. This is most closely allied to C. cordatum from Japan, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands and has similarities in height at 4'-7' tall along with the distinctive grouping of leaves in the middle part of the flowering stem. New growth in spring is a brilliant copper-red and non-flowering bulbs go dormant quite early in June. White tepals are greenish-white at base with interior first touched in soft yellow-green and then deep within, purple. And fragrant late in the day. These are small bulbs perhaps 3 years from flowering. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering,

Eye-catching species from China with palmate leaves spritzed with white on top and a bright maroon underneath. The pink flowers are just another layer of adornment which always come as a bit of a surprise to us as we are always completely satisfied with the leaves alone. Another surprise is the hardiness which is zone 8. If winter is going to push the lower limits of that zone for any length of time, be a bud and take care of your homie with a little mulch. This is slow to go in the spring, waiting until June but it catches right up.

We originally received this as seed from a serious collector and grower in Scotland. While we much prefer to grow plants from documented wild provenance, this is sometimes nearly impossible to do and this is such a case. Nomocharis, like so many other genera, is enjoying some taxonomic dynamics with new species being introduced from the wild as well as species being added from the genus Lilium. The genus steadfastly remains one of the most coveted in the Liliaceae in our opinion and the thrill of seeing these in flower each year is felt as keenly as if it was the first time. We've had good reports from customers with Nomocharis in zone 5.

Safe to say this is rare. From the higher elevations in Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet comes this collector's primrose. This has proven very easy in our shade garden where the rounded sort of palmate leaves form a very dense canopy over the short creeping rhizomes. Purple rose flowers are just what we wanted to see.

These are plants from a special deep purple form of this Candelabra Primrose from friends in Scotland who are enviable growers with an equally enviable discerning eye. We have not flowered these yet so we will be surprised and delighted together. This requires a moist to wet soil and can take full sun in cool sun areas.

One of the fabled Blue Poppies whose sky blue flowers in late spring hold people in thrall. This was known for years as the species betonicifolia but was reclassified in 2009. This perennial species is one of the easiest to grow, A good fertile moist soil that drains in bright to dappled to part shade is perfect while avoiding hot sun and dry. Likes acidic soils, cool summers and coldish winters. Cannot be grown anywhere it gets hot and/or humid in the summer. Maybe the best choice among the blue poppies if you are a little warmer and drier than optimum for these divas.

False Solomon Seal. This Chinese species is one of our favorites in the shade garden and we delight in its ribbed leaves with elegantly understated small violet daubing at the base of each leaflet followed by the precise detail in the small greenish flowers. In the late summer into fall, it has strut-your-stuff full heads of bright orange fruit that just makes us shake our heads in amazement. We've paired this with our collection of Hedychium densiflorum from the eastern Himalaya which has late season spikes of similar orange flowers but at 60" rather than the 30" of the Maianthemum. It's nice when a speculative pairing actually works.

Collected by Daniel Winkler from Tibet, we previously erroneously listed this primitive Columbine as Semiaquilegia adoxoides - thanks to Bob Nold for keeping us honest! This spurless Columbine has dainty downturned pink-cupped flowers in late spring and early summer. Widespread in China.

A Toad Lily collected in China by our friend Bill McNamara of Quarry Hill Botanic Garden which is a superior foliage plant with bold black mottled leaves which are especially vivid when in new growth. In bright shade to part sun, this has strong and stiff vertical stems which have mid to late summer buff to amber-brown speckled flowers. Pretty cool and the first of the Tricyrtis to bloom for us and we find the vertical seed capsules which carry through into fall to have a supporting if subtle role in the garden. We saw what we think is the same species growing in a lightly shaded ravine on Leigongshan in China in 2010. Tricyrtis are undergoing a good bit of name revisions recently and Bleddyn Wynn-Jones thought this might be a different species when he visited here in August of 2013 but we saw the same collection at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh later in the fall labeled as T. latifolia so there obviously is some taxonomic dust still to settle.

This genus is undergoing a lot of taxonomic revision causing our brains to difforme trying to come to grips. Rectangular leaves reddish abaxially (underside) and adaxially (topside) a satiny olive-green. Small dark violet flowers held below the leaves. Rare thing suitable for the garden theme of mind-bending plants.

This vining monkshood is from our seed collection of this herbaceous vine which was growing in a large shrub hanging out over a stream in a cold rain. The potential for becoming even wetter was pretty good and fortunately, such a risk proved well worth it as this has large blue flowers with a pale white lip. This has been a star in our shade garden flowering in late August into September. Small tuber capable of growing 10' or more this year given good conditions and something to twine on. Deer resistant.