Japan

Consistent seedlings from a fine selection from Japan, this fall flowering shade perennial has soft old rose flowers that are unusually rounded and though small, there are lots. . 'Mai-hime' or often 'Maihime', translates to "Dancing Girl'' which still seems perfectly appropriate even though these differ from the named form.

Lives up to it's common name of Felt Fern. Felty-soft, three to five-lobed fronds stay evergreen and have coppery undersides. Growing as an epiphyte in its native range, this prefers good drainage and a partly shady spot.  Spreads very slowly, but definitely worth the wait. What we are selling here is a predominantly 3-lobed form that is going around incorrectly as P. hastata.

A selection of this Japanese native from our friends at the wonderful Free Spirit nursery just across the border from us in British Columbia. The whole place is saturated with taste and sensibility which is tempered by whimsy. This has a salmon tinge to the new growth of incised maple-like leaves to 8"-10" tall. Yellow flowers in late summer on this mat-former.

A scarce selection from Japan with white feathering at the ends of the leaves. Typical habit for the species which is great because you will want a nice clump of this! White flowers as well at the tips of the 4"-6' stems and all in all, a sophisticated addition to the shade garden.

This is an indicator plant useful for delineating highly refined plant geeks. Perfection of scale and form with very narrow slightly curled leaves and delicate white flowers followed by improbably rich blue shiny fruit. Involuntary moaning is perfectly acceptable. Very slow clumper.

Asian terrestrial orchid shared with us years ago by Adam Black at Peckerwood Botanical Garden with caveats as to species ID. It could be sinense or ensiformis or a hybrid of the two. Does well in the Southeast but protect from extreme cold there. We have not flowered this clone.

This durable Japanese and Korean species has been long-lived in both the garden and in containers for us. Wish we could say the same for some of the other species which have delighted then departed. Broad, glossy trifoliate leaves wing out above the striped, green and white cowled flower, with a distinctive mahogany rim to the spathe tube lip. Shade to some sun. Our own propagations.

This tasteful perennial from Japan bides its time in the shade garden as the floral hoi polloi scrabble for attention during spring and summer. Once the fracas has died down, this takes center stage in September and October with its intricately constructed buds like little pieces of sculpture which open to fuzzy light lavender flowers. These are hefty plants.

A Wynn-Jones collection from the Aso area of Honshu in Japan where there is a range of color variation in the species. We are wild about this genus and it combines beauty, rarity and growability in its appeal. Evergreen rosettes of flattened broadly lance-shaped leaves with spring whitish flowers accented by purple stamens. Zone 6.

Easy there, steady yourself - remember to breathe……..you are reading this right - this is a double flowered Heloniopsis of the dark flowered persuasion. Dense heads of tightly packed double flowers of dark pink-lavender makes this very collectible for those who love rare aberrations, and isn't that true of most of us?

We are crackers over this group of Saxifrage and this species pleases us no end. Rosettes of rounded leaves with a an entrancing (we would be such ideal subjects for hypnosis) purplish coloration where the leaf blade joins the petiole and that dark color lines out through the leaf in the veins. Small white snowflake flowers typical of the Irregulares section are a perfect combo.

A superlative form of this Saxifrage which we got years ago from Wendy Perry at Bosvigo Plants in England who got it from Elizabeth Strangman at Washfield Nursery. Very compact with lots of short stems bearlng airy white flowers. A true connoisseur's plant for moist lightly shaded spots.

This variegated Japanese selection used to be in the genus Cacalia and has been recently placed in Parasenecio by the botanical powers that be. Broad foliage irregularly and finely streaked and spattered in cream like a monochromatic misting by Jackson Pollock on a green canvas. This will get to up to 30" with upright stems clad in this conversational foliage. Flowers are forgettable as is the case with most of these former Cacalians. We've grown this in light shade to good effect and hardy to zone 4.

An unusual Asian hydrangea relative that has quietly won us over by growing larger each year and consistently flowering under a regime which could only be generously described as one of benign neglect. This makes a small broadly rounded twiggy deciduous shrub to 2'-3' in the garden although older specimens in the wild are said to get to 5'. Narrow willow-like green leaves with small teeth along the margins combine well with the late summer-fall small white flowers. The 4-petaled fertile flowers have a prominent yellow button of stamens which the infertile flowers lack. We have seen accounts of this growing well in North Carolina and southern Indiana. This will be happiest in light shade or part eastern sun. Platycrater hails from southeastern China in provinces near to Shanghai and also from Shikoku in Japan. These two geographical populations are separated by some authorities based on hairs on the leaf underside and we are making a note to self to take the hand lens to a leaf as soon as we can. Why not now you ask? How can you leave us hanging in such suspense? It is winter as we type this and there are no leaves but we will get to it asap!

Oxalis griffithii is an uncommon woodland clumper from Japan with single white flowers typically. Rarely can you find the double white form which is quite choice. Scarcer than hen's teeth is the double flowered pink form which marks you as a collector of the highest caliber. This is one of those botanical treasures where feeling smug is justified.

Crazy piece of work but in the best possible way. This is a sport of this Japanese azalea species which would typically have the usual thumb-shaped leaves and wide flower petals but in this selection, the leaves and pink flower petals have become very long and thin like decorative sushi garnish. Nothing like it and a universal must-have.

Fabulous Toad Lily with long arching almost hanging stems which have large broadly tubular rich yellow flowers sprinkled with red spotting in the interior. Yea verily. Perfect in a semi-shaded moist situation where it can spill, arch, hang and enchant. Ideally you would plant this on a humusy shoulder on the NE aspect of your sloping moss-covered cliff where it approaches the lower end of the pool which was formed in the creek by the waterfall at the pool's head and where it can catch the occasional errant waft of mist swirled by the intermittent gentle breeze underneath the high canopy of mature Acer palmatum. Lacking these very basic amenities, a simple moisture retentive woodsy soil in the shade will do quite nicely.

A robust form of the species collected by Dr. Peter Zale. We have long been enamored by this genus and this fine form simply fans the flames of our ardor. Here in March, the exotic pink flowers stand proud over the evergreen rosettes of leaves. We view the recent merging into Helonias with skepticism.

Fragrant Princess False Holly or so the translation goes. You cannot help but like this diminutive version with its deep green miniature hollyesque leaves and its scented typical Osmanthus-sized white flowers. This grows ridiculously slow and should you live long enough, plan on having a garden party when your aged Fragrant Princess reaches 3 feet tall. On second thought, better plan on that party when she reaches 2 feet.

A simply stunning sport found in a patch of Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum' by plantsman and all-around good guy Roy Herold. Wide margins of cream and white on the green leaves bring some serious chutzpah to the shade garden and carry the show on long after the white flowers in late spring are but a memory.