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Box Huckleberry. This now rare in the wild blueberry relative is a choice little shrub that is notable on multiple counts. Compact habit to a foot or more tall and slowly spreading by rhizomes, this has good glossy evergreen leaves turning bronzy in winter with small whitish urn-shaped flowers giving way to edible blue berries. This is being marketed under the trademark name 'Berried Treasure' which might give the impression that it is a superior selection of an already outstanding species but it is the typical species with a more pronounceable marketing name. Marketing hype will be the death of horticulture.

Beautiful variegated form of this new Zealand Griselinia. As the species name suggests, this favors coastal conditions and can take the wind. We saw the typical form growing happily at Robin's Hood Bay in England as we finished the Coast to Coast walk. Think a much more refined laurel and you are in the ballpark. Easy to prune, gets to 12', zones 8b-9 or warm 8a. Flowers insignificant.

A decidedly unBaby's Breath Baby's Breath. This is a delightful deciduous creeper that absolutely covers itself in lavender tinged white flowers with darker pencilings. Very nice in the rock garden or rockery. Appreciates good drainage but some moisture in the soil.

Pink Willow Gentian. Thanks to Claire Cockroft for sharing these with us so we can pass them along to you. Choice and scarce pink form of one of the classic fall blooming gentians, this develops into a robust plant with many arching stems ranked with pink flowers. An easy wow.

A classy selection we brought in from the UK as the pure white clone 'Serenity,' but turns out to be a dead-ringer for this Scottish selection with alternate petals dusted in light turquoise. Full sun in cool sun areas, or part sun in hot sun. Moist acidic soil please.

Very rare groundcover species from Southland and Stewart Island, New Zealand where this is restricted to just 4 small coastal populations comprised of just 6 individual plants. The plants form flattened brown-gray rosettes - and spread by stolons in moist dune hollows. Our plants have green leaves which may refer to our soils or geography and weathered our 12F winter with a bit of mulch. Quite uncommon in cultivation and usually found in botanic gardens and a very few, ahem, exceptional specialty nurseries.

A white flowered variant of this familiar Geranium whose flowers are backed by a green calyx rather than pink which adds to its overall indispensable lightness of being. The paler than normal green leaves accentuate this and makes this valuable for brightening a somber corner or tempering hotter colors. This was found on Mt Olympus in Greece on a Ness Botanic Garden Expedition and introduced by the same. We should have thought more about our name - 'White-Far' 'Far White' 'White Reach' 'Reach White' just doesn't get it - those Brits one-up us on plants again - buggers! This will handle dry shade to mostly sun and is nearly a mythic plant for those tough places and somehow thrives under the regime of absentee gardening.

Absolute rock hardy jewel from Lebanon and Syria. Well. it's rock hardy here anyway - we know that means something entirely different in Minot. This is perfect for our area as it is winter growing and summer dormant so our Mediterranean dry summers feels a lot like home to it. Surprisingly, it has been very tolerant of being watered all the time while dormant so it is more cosmopolitan than one might guess its geography. Blooms in late spring with lots of lavender-blue flowers on stems up to 18" and after flowering it disappears until Fall. Not often available and we have the inimitable John Flintoff to thank for sharing this with us.

Fine South American evergreen shrub to 20" or more when grown richly or half that grown rock garden lean. Wiry red stems bristle with small stiff leaves that pair well to the plentiful small white bells and reddish fruit later. From Simon Bond in England who had some obscure treasures when we visited his Thuja Alpine Nursery.

Riveting species from mountainous regions in South Africa where it grows on moist cliffs and near waterfalls. Vivid cardinal-red flowers on slender stems with white blazes on the lower 3 petals makes this nearly imperative to own. This is hardy in the PNW thankfully especially if mulched in the event of severe winter cold.

One of the classic alpines for rock gardens and one that should be on the "Easy Alpines for Beginners" list if it isn't already. Low tight mats of small evergreen leaves topped by fuzzy spherical violet-blue flowers in early summer, this looks good all the time. This particular one is from a Hinkley collection in Turkey.

Endemic to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, this dons prickly, Acanthus type leaves (hence the species name) and pinkish purple toothbrush type flowers. Evergreen and tough, this can tolerate more shade than other Grevilleas. The flowers are known for their sweet nectar and the birds will thank you for this one!

A fine and vigorous form of Galanthus plicatus with inner segments bearing a distinct and delineated green mark. This older selection was found in a garden in the village of Warham and has proved itself as a durable garden plant. Thanks to galanthophile Carole Jennings for sharing her collection with us awhile back.

James Roof' is a man among boys when you are talking West Coast Silktassels. This male cultivar is gloriously well-hung with flowering catkins that dangle nearly a foot in length resulting in catkin-envy among other Garrya cultivars and the occasional insecure gardener. Or so we are told. Tough evergreen doing it's thing in early spring.

Chinese Bald Cypress. Another one of those monotypic genera we love! This deciduous conifer is the only species in the genus and highly threatened by habitat loss in the wild. This will get to be a big tree which your yet unborn child's children can sit under. In their boat. Fairly slow - ours is in our bog garden pond.

We saw this at the O'Byrne's in Eugene and Plant Lust caused our pollen to shed and our stigma's got a bit sticky. It is so embarassing but Ernie and Marietta are used to it. Completely hardy here and clothed in small white crinkled fragrant flowers in Apr-May. Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Yes!
(photo thanks peganum Wikipedia Commons)

A choice Snowdrop with very large single flowers and one of the earliest to bloom. This was found in the garden of John Gray in England and is a hard one to come by. Increases moderately well and seems to be a survivor with a good constitution as it is going strong here while more effete selections have dwindled.

Variegated version of the Broadleaf Griselinia. This New Zealander is an evergreen shrub with laurel-like green apple leaves whose margins are painted in cream as if from a palsied brush. Insignificant flowers bear little mention which is saying something coming from us, Champions of the Botanically Interesting. The foliage is of first-class stand-alone merit and why chance the potential clashing distraction which flowers might bring to a broad-leaf evergreen of this caliber? Excellent shrub responding well to pruning or hedging and suited for mild gardens such as near the water or in urban heat sinks here in the Puget Sound metro area. Try it as a south or west wall plant in areas frustratingly on the periphery of its hardiness range. The straight green-leafed species has been a stalwart at Washington Park Arboretum for decades in Seattle and this version will be no different.

The single cousin of the more widely available double 'Eugen's Allerbester' both selections of Asiatic Gentian found and introduced by German plantsman Eugen Schleipfer and introduced to this country by Urs Baltensperger. Same stunning dark blue flowers which remain cheerily open during the late Summer season and into early fall.

An indispensable Port Townsend plant. This rugged South African is sun, wind and drought tolerant and absolutely hardy here. One of the most admired plants in our border for its profuse display of large yellow to orange daisies on low stems. Good drainage.