Europe

Willow Gentian. One of the truly excellent late summer/early fall blooming plants which jazzes up the shade garden with lots of stems in a circular arching vase shape with ranks of blue to lavender blue to sky blue flowers ranked along the stems. Just what you need when you are sick of Hostas. *These are seedlings and flower color will vary*

An intriguing curiosity that combines beauty with novelty. In this selection, the flower petals have become lacy green petaloid structures that are perfectly arranged to create amusing and intricate green flowers. A fun addition to the shade garden.

A choice woodland creeper to 6"-8" tall for the shade or partly shaded garden where it behaves like Anemone nemorosa - making a mat of ferny foliage but in this case, it has vibrant yellow flowers. A patch of this is to be coveted and the twiggy rhizomes can be easily divided or broken in winter to spread about. Very hardy and goes mid to late summer dormant.

Named for British plantsman E.A. Bowles, this variety of wood anemone sports attractive lavender to purple flowers. For the true purple lovers, the foliage is an added bonus emerging with a purple tinge or margin that nicely delineates the prettily dissected leaves and provides a purple haze that would make Jimi proud.

Choice selection of the Wood Anemone with flowers densely packed with numerous small white petals which appear all white at first but as the flowers mature or awaken, a central blue eye is revealed which is quite delightful. I go through a similar slow process every morning and tell myself that it is the same delightful end result.

This excellent hardy orchid is one we received many years ago from our late Plant Guru, Jerry John Flintoff as Dactylorhiza incarnata subsp. africana. Well, that has been merged into D. elata and it looks right to us but we are not orchid botanists. Vigorous, with green leaves and richly colored flowers. Native to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in north Africa, dallying on some islands in the Med (smart orchid!) and jumping to France, Spain and Portugal up to Belgium and the Netherlands.

A nice small flowered light pink form of this necessary Anemone species which followed us home from the UK a few years back. What is a necessary Anemone, you ask? One which is indispensable in your shade or woodland garden and whose absence would not only be noted but commented upon and repeated, a gardening gaffe going viral.

Choice selection with ruffled heavily marbled leaves and light pink flowers. You normally grow Hepatica for the early spring flowers and any foliar enhancement is pure gravy but with Cremar, flowers bow their heads to the majesty of the leaves. Quite a choice plant and does well in light shade with decent drainage.

Have trouble picking between the albas and roseas of the woodland shade perennial world? Never fear 'Tomas' is here! This selection of wood anemone opens pure white and fades to pink as the season progresses. Plan your spring break wisely and you can pretend you got two plants for the price of one!

This excellent clone of the Wood Anemone has larger than usual white flowers held nicely above the foliage with better than usual substance and poise. Hard to describe precisely but like some things that are elusive in definition, you know it when you see it.

Soft Shield Fern. These ferns are excellent textural additions to the shade garden as they make broad mounds of dense, fine evergreen foliage. Even though they become substantial plants with an obvious visual weight, it retains a daintiness of appearance. Tough and easy to please.

A lovely form we brought home from Scotland a few years back. This varies from the norm of mid-blue flowers by embracing the blending nature of Impressionist pastels with its goes-with-anything non-confrontational light lavender-blue flowers in April and May. Not surprisingly, this form is a Libra.

Unnamed or lost name selection of Wood Anemone we received from plantsman non pareil John Flintoff some years back. This is distinct from others we grow as the white flowers have a reddish pink reverse to the petals which is particularly effective as these nod a bit and you get to enjoy the nice backside. "Baby got back" - Sir Mix-a-Lot

Soft pale blue flowers on this clone which we brought in from the UK a few years ago. This species seems a necessary part of the spring woodland garden and the twiggy rhizomes will in time form a dense floriferous carpet with flowers backed by deeply segmented green leaves.

Lily of the Valley. A good selection of this stalwart species with a yellow margin to the leaves and said leaves are larger than average as well. Typical scented white flowers. There are numerous spellings of the cultivar name but since this is an American introduction, we can only assume this is correct.

A fine little European woodlander which can tolerate some sun as well. Spreading by twiggy rhizomes, this will make a good patch in time when happy, The semi-double white flowers adds extra petals to the mix, giving lie to the "less is more" maxim because don't we all know in our publicly inaccessible heart of hearts that "more is more"? Hilda, you work it, girl!

This variety of the charming European wood anemone graciously comes with slightly larger flowers reducing the need to reach for those reading glasses or get down on aching knees to appreciate their idyllic fairytale beauty. Or for those of a younger generation, your instagram photo will be in focus without the help of that $10 bootleg iphone macro lens -  $10 more to put towards more anemones perhaps...

Soldanellas completely bewitch us wih their dual charms of excellent evergreen foliage and incredibly cute flowers. When these little guys flower, we just smile because this is such a little overachiever with its lavender fringed flowers in April. Reddish leaf petioles and leaf undersides are subtle allure.

A less commonly encountered species which calls the Rhodopi and Pirin Mts of Bulgaria home. This lavender-blue flowers finely fringed in very narrow petals on a flower that is more widely open than related species. Small rounded evergreen leaves are a pleasure all year but it’s the flowers that makes your toes tingle in spring.

Grown from seed given us by the originator, Dr. Keith Ferguson and named for his wife, Lorna. They have grown this spectacular, heavy flowering selection for over 40 years in their garden in the Cotswolds. From the Maritime Alps, this resembles our native Veratrum viride with similar bold pleated leaves and green pendulous flowers but this elevates that look to a ridiculous level with its sheer volume of flowers on stems that can reach 8 feet! We have been also gifted seed from the late Michael Wickenden of Cally Gardens and our friend, the redoubtable German plantsman Christoph Ruby. The fact that this trio holds this in valued esteem, should be ample endorsement. Long-lived, hardy as the bejabbers (been wanting to use that for years) and deer resistant. These are young plants not of flowering size but give them a rich moist soil and a bit of amply rewarded patience.