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Dwarf Daphnes - if you can and aren't, then you must as soon as humanly possibly. The selections from the natural hybrid x hendersonii originally found in the Italian mountains are all excellent candidates and 'Ernst Hauser' is stellar with fragrance to boot. A 16" mound of goodness.

This deciduous and broadly distributed Asian fern boasts alternately pinnate fronds up to nearly 2' long that gives it a certain je ne sais quoi while not straying too far from the archetypical fern appearance. Pair that with its ease, tolerance for deep shade, reliability and you get a surprisingly well-rounded do-er considering its uncommon availability on the market.

Excellent selection from the former Heronswood nursery of this robust woodlander noted for the dark hued stems especially in the new growth. This is an exuberant grower sending up big dark chocolate asparagus spears of new growth in late spring which branch out as they get taller bearing small creamy-green bells followed by glistening small black fruit. The young leaves carry some of coloring of the new growth and the whole plant retains this color better if grown in sun in our mild sun climate. In our shade garden, the foliage matures to a very pleasing dark olive-green and seems like some impressive cousin to bamboo as it can each 5'-6' tall. We always mulch ours in winter as we don't want to freeze out the crown and the new growth can start early here in the PNW so this mulch protects it from getting frosted. An easy and stunning plant. This was and still is offered as a selection of Disporum cantoniense but we thank Bleddyn Wynn-Jones for correctly identifying this as to species.

A selection from Bressingham of this hardy terrestrial orchid chosen for its rapidity of multiplication. This does a lovely doubling at least each year when happy so a robust clump is not long in the offing. Good soil and moist but can take some late summer dry. Rare now and choice.

From manic hybridizer Darrell Probst comes this herbaceous Asian Hydrangea relative. Softer blue than D. caerulea but with leaves showing a distinct Camel Toe cleft attesting to D. bifida affinity. (Had a friend who was Wardrobe Mistress for PNW Ballet and Camel Toes were her bane) The fertile flowers on this are a study in intricacy and worth bending over for. I meant that the plant is short and not because it is 16 bucks! Sheesh. Can't believe you were thinking that. This likes some light shade a good soil that doesn't dry but drains.

An impressive Fairy Wand Flower or Angel's Fishing Rod. This is a good species with a narrow presentation and nice flowers of good rich pink held 4'-5' tall on wiry stems. This is not a big robust clumper but tends towards a narrower verticality quite in keeping with modern design trends. I think we have only seen one Dierama so far that has not floated our boat so some might say we are so biased that our opinions are worthless but we prefer to think that the genus is just chock-full of good garden plants with this being one of them. Evergreen except in cold winters. Mulch is good and Dierama do appreciate decent soil that doesn't dry although they tolerate some periods of dry.

Infrequently encountered species of Fairy Wand Flower, these are from wild collected seed from South Africa. Wide flares of bell-shaped flowers in rosy pink to lilac. I personally am hoping for lilac as we have the pink well represented. Either color is quite showy. Mulch if real cold.

We presume this is simply a good form of Dactylorhiza maculata as the leaves are broader and the purple-pink flowers held in fatter heads than many of the forms we see around. A good plant and one we have slowly increased by division and now have a scant few to offer. Leaves are nicely spotted.

From the cloud forests of Panama and South America where it grows on trees in accumulations of decomposed debris in crotches. Finally, an upside to crotch debris! Essentially a neotropical blueberry, this had been placed in Vaccinium a time or two. Small white to pinkish flowers with similar colored edible fruit. Frost sensitive, great plant where that is not concern. Otherwise, this will be a fantastic hanging basket that can be overwintered in sunroom or greenhouse.

A monotypic member of the Columelliaceae family from Chile. Now that we have our botanical parameters firmly in place, we find ourselves exactly where we started. As Obama would say, "Let me be perfectly clear. This is not a Holly." Evergreen and best in a mild garden with tubular red-orange flowers.

Light pink starry flowers grace this covetous form of this wee Japanese species. A gentle peregrinator spreading by short stolons and making a fine little clump which manages to evoke a warm fuzzy feeling in both the jaded collector as well as your average "dirt" gardener. We live in both worlds and we like it. A lot.

Exquisite woodlander from China that can reach 3' in height with well branched stems with dangling red flowers. This is far showier than the typical green flowered forms more commonly found. Not that they are all that common. Good rich humusy soil that retains moisture.

Uncommon species which has proven durable in containers and in the garden where it handled a nasty 12F winter with equanimity. Pink-backed white flowers followed by red fruit on stiffly upright stems. From Erlangshan in Sichuan growing with the rare Epimedium flavum on a slope with Cardiocrinum in the wet thicket behind.

Chinese version of our East Coast Diphylleia cymosa. If you are into herbaceous Berberidaceae, right - that is all of you so of course this is a must-have! White flowers and blue fruit on red pedicels about rounded scalloped foliage. Some have this merged into Podophyllum. We don't. Divisions from our own plants.

Mountain Avens. Rare Washington State native, this is circumpolar in tundra areas including alpine areas in the Cascades and Rockies. Good evergreen groundcover with tough textured leaves hugging the ground. 8 petaled white flowers showing it belongs in the rose family are followed by festive plumed seed heads.

This Spoon Yucca comes from a seed collection in Grant County, New Mexico at 6800'. This is a full sun, drought tolerant impressive piece of work when it is mature. The flower spike can reach 10'-15' with thousands of packed creamy florets arising from the center of the well-armored rosette of narrow, bluish, toothed leaves. Eventually these can develop a trunk to 4' or more but pragmatism suggests you find great and justified reward when these young plants grow to be a 3'-4' trunkless plant with lovely blood-letting foliage.

Uncommon evergreen Deutzia and we may be the only nursery in the US that carries it! This has glossy dark green leaves with a white underside. Early summer brings subtle clusters of small, star shaped white flowers with pronounced golden anthers. From a Peter Cox collection in the Cangshan.

Butterfly Iris. Described by Sarah in our mail order dept as "super precious" which is spot on. In the Iris family from Tasmania and New South Wales, this makes a substantive clump of thin evergreen leaves with tall wiry stems holding enchanting white flowers well above the leaves. Grown for decades in the Seattle garden of Jeanette Kunnen.

A variegated cultivar via Japanese nurserymen of this uncommon Disporum species. Pleated evergreen leaves marked by a yellow center lend the plant a continued interest even without the joyous, white, bell-shaped flowers. A nice source of contrast in the shade garden!

A collection from Sichuan by Riz Reyes which is quite exceptional. This is the largest of the clones we grow with bigger flowers, larger leaves and taller in height and is probably worthy of a clonal name. "Rizing Star" wouldn't be half bad acknowledging both one of the Northwest's fine young plantsmen but also the superior flowers in this clone which is a good thing in a Disporopsis! For purposes of garden design, this is essentially an evergreen Solomon Seal that will get 18"-28" tall with off-white flowers touched in very light yellow in the interior and heavily speckled in dark amber. These are young plants and really need to put on their spring flush of growth to visually look like they are mail order worthy but if you get yours early in 2014, just be aware that though they are sturdy, they won't look their best until April.