New & Restocked

This is the hardiest of the Eucryphia species and it has gone through some seriously bad times here and bore all with affable equanimity. These are cutting-grown from a plant we salvaged from Leo Hitchcock's Seattle garden. A deciduous species with trifoliate green leaves and surprisingly large showy white flowers in latter summer. Very Choice.

I would probably doubt the desirability of mauve if I didn't have a friend who claims that apricots, of all things, are her favorite fruit. To that end I know for a fact someone is absolutely frothing at the mouth for this botanical monument to mauve. The fleshy-pinky-purple flowers of this hardy ginger relative defy characterization but they will certainly mauve you, whether to joy or uncertain regard however, is in the eye of the beholder. An introduction from the Roscoe-royalty at Hartside nursery in the UK.

We have long grown several species of New Zealand Libertia but now thanks to this wild collection by Cody Hinchliff we are excited to try out a Chilean one! In my own Chilean journey I saw this plant growing primarily on rocky bluffs by the ocean, not at all where I expected! Stiff, evergreen, iris-like leaves with the occasional orange hues that are quite tough and provide a great mid-size grass alternative with the added bonus of cheery white tripartite flowers. Happy in heavily wet situations but can also tolerate intermittent drought or drier conditions when established.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

This species is best known from the clone ‘Chocolate Stars’ which has been around for years and noted for its brownish foliage.  This is not that but does have leaves in shades of copper when first emerging that later morphs into various green realms as the season progresses.  Likewise, the flowers for us start out white in the early part of spring and later are softly lavender.  These are rare second-generation plants from our own wild collection for those plant collectors (Me! Me!) who appreciate seeing alternative expressions of a species.  Fast-growing in moist light shade with white to lavender tubular flowers followed by narrow reddish seed capsules.  This will self-sow so we just pull off the seed-bearing stems leaving the fresh new foliage to fill out the plant.  We leave a stem or two just so we can have a few seedlings to pot up.  Any unwanted seedlings are weakly rooted and a literal snap to remove.

Stephanie Bloom is a bit of a mythical figure, both the plant and the namesake have origins which could be said to be murky at best. What is known is that this is an excellent form of Roscoea humeana. So excellent in fact that it was awarded the RHS' Award of Garden merit, only obtained through rigorous trials or the vouching of industry experts, an especially impressive feat considering that it was earmarked "Subject to Availability", a rare exception to the usual criteria. Well we are doing our best to aid in ameliorating that asterisk. Large dark flowers of an open appearance set ol' Steph apart.

This one is for all my Risk enjoyers, for all those times your parents bemoaned the 3 hour timesink into an epic board game, because this little poppy hails from that all-important strategic chokepoint of geopolitics roleplaying—Kamchatka. Possessed of all the delicacy required in war-time negotiation with paper thin soft-pink flowers and lacily divided foliage, its as difficult to acquire as its home peninsula and can be as challenging to keep due to its Siberian origins. Wants near perfect drainage in a rock or pumice-laden mix and to be kept from strong heat and humidity.

Usually its the human doing the charming in the interspecific courtship with snakes but this poker has us undulating out from our woven basket docile as can be. The flute-song of its red-orange-white gradient lulls not only us into quiet bliss but a variety of pollinators as well. Tough and strong growing, a good old hybrid from Bressingham Blooms in England.

A richly purple selection of this usually pale yellow species, a color which is here maintained in the central eye. This is a favorite in our bed of 70+ Roscoeas for its early show of numerous flowers held among multitudinous vigorous crowns. Kudos to its originator Hartside Nursery across the pond and to Kelly and Sue for ferrying it across.

We are very excited to be offering one of the incredible New Zealand alpine daisies. If you aren't familiar you may want to leave now or you will be a lifelong thrall, with your fellow gardeners playing whip noises from their phone at every mention of another Celmisia you simply must have. If you're already in Asteraceae Anonymous then you are in good company hear with us. Broad felty leaves with a silver-furred underside belie the large classic daisy flowers, a simple recipe that produces untold deliciousness. Needs full sun, sharp drainage, and is maladapted to hot humid summers, though this species is among the more forgiving of these divas.

A unique Bergenia collected in Kashmir and later named by Beth Chatto after a close friend. It forms a neat rosette of highly unusual, bright green leaves that have a strongly tapered, or cuneate, base with a coarse ciliate margin, typical of B. stracheyi. In autumn, the leaves turn a brilliant shade of crimson, plum red. Heads of small white, drooping flowers appear in spring in tight clusters. An interesting foliage plant that may not be to everyone’s taste but is well worth growing for its winter colour and white flowers.

Thanks to our pal Scott Galloway curator of the best Bergenia collection around and creator of the incomparable info source the Bergenlist for the description and photos!

Have you also found yourself wondering if Tibetan monks eat strawberry rhubarb pie? When you discover the myriad amazing Rhubarb species that dot the Himalaya its a natural next query. If they do I wonder how they cope with the intricacies of high-elevation baking....Well one thing is for sure they aren't using this species, though it used as a highly valued medicinal for a range of ailments. So valued in fact that there may be cause for conservation concern. So do your part and grow this beauty in the back yard (and treat your bellyaches while you're at it?), huge ruffled dark green leaves form a clump that can get upwards of 5ft tall and wide. The plumes of white flowers aren't bad either. Not for those in the hot humidity of the deep South, unlike strawberry-rhubarb pie.

A clone of black crowberry we received from the late Captain Steele of Bayport Plant Farm in Nova Scotia. Unfortunately with the passing of Captain Steele we no longer have a way of ascertaining the finer points of this plant, nor the origins of its name. So if you know let us know! What we do know is that this low mounding Ericaceous shrub with its glossy black edible berries (requiring another clone) makes an excellent woodland or alpine groundcover!

A Cody Hinchliff wild collection of this long-blooming Arizonan salvia. The long wait to see what species this would be when it flowered was well rewarded with white centered indigo flowers ensconced by particularly dark calyces that received unanimous approval from the staff. Extremely hardy, to at least zone 6, and with all the usual benefits of sage, pollinator magnet, drought tolerant, deer resistant, fragrant foliage etc. 

We understand if you have written off Hypericum entirely as a genus, but try not to judge this fella by the sins of his forefathers he's really quite an interesting chap once you get to know him. Eschewing the promiscuity and vigorous advances that has given its family a bad name this species native to Spain's Balearic islands stays quite small and contained, it maintains the redemptive golden flowers you know but the leaves are transformed into minute, lustrously evergreen ones that are not dissimilar to a crinkle-cut fry in silhouette. The stems add to the textural feast of the leaves with their scaly texture. Wants sharp drainage and makes a good rock garden or sandy spot addition.

Long confused with Pyrrosia lingua or simply listed as Pyrrosia sp. there are a few collection of this species floating around the PNW, the key to distinguishing is the fluffy fuzzed rhizomes and the wide prominently veined fronds. It has proved quite vigorous here in pots growing quickly on long rhizomes and would make an excellent stumpery subject as I suspect it does the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. This particular collection hails from North Vietnam and while we haven't yet trialed it outside we expect it will prove hardy here.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

We have long sold the iconic Chilean fire tree but are delighted to finally offer some of wild origin, thanks Cody! The reasons for this are twofold, one we always prefer wild-origin material due to its usefulness to botany, science, and conservation but also because we have observed a fair bit of variation in the Embothrium we have seen in Chile. That same variation is rare or non-existent in cultivation so we hope to begin remedying that, with your help of course! This collection hails from near the town of Valdivia, which shares its name with the incredible Valdivian rainforest ecosystem, and is distinguished by being unusually narrow leaved.

Being in the Proteaceae, they don't enjoy phosphorous so be careful what you fertilize them with - it is the P in the NPK ratio to which they are allergic

We have long sold the iconic Chilean fire tree but are delighted to finally offer some of wild origin, thanks Cody! The reasons for this are twofold, one we always prefer wild-origin material due to its usefulness to botany, science, and conservation but also because we have observed a fair bit of variation in the Embothrium we have seen in Chile. That same variation is rare or non-existent in cultivation so we hope to begin remedying that, with your help of course! This collection hails from the banks of Lake Llanquihue and has wider leaves compared to its sister collection CEH 2442 but are relatively similar to the standard in cultivation.

Being in the Proteaceae, they don't enjoy phosphorous so be careful what you fertilize them with - it is the P in the NPK ratio to which they are allergic

We found this as a raggedy half-dormant plant in the midst of snow on Jinfoshan in 2010. It has taken us a long time since to both offer it and to appreciate its full-green growing season appearance. Staying quite small, only about 8 inches, and with adorably rounded leaves this isn't going to wow anybody but is an absolutely perfect negative space or filler plant carrying on the solomon's seal tradition of playing nice with everything while not taking up quite so much vertical room as the more traditional offerings.

A interesting oddity from the annals of the Far Reaches nursery catacombs. In yonder days we brought back on our jolly jaunt to the UK plants of Primula poissonii from our esteemed colleagues at Rumbling Bridge nursery, so enthralled were we with our species plant that we had the audacity to write (true) on the tag, inviting a curse of wanton succubus primulas which promptly assaulted our chaste new acquisitions. We have suspicions that the the lascivious demons to blame were somewhere in the spectrum of P. wilsonii but who's to say. Their sin-stricken offspring are more loosely held and a bit darker than poissonii. Romance novel fans, this one's for you.

Seedlings from our plant grown from wild collected seed so second generation plants from South Africa. Dieramas are a promiscuous lot so expect flowers in shades of pink to edging on lavender possibly. To 3' or more in full sun and mulch in Zone 7 if winters are cold.