New Zealand

These are from seed from the good hardy form at the UW Arboretum. This makes an impressive multistemmed shrub to 10 or 12 feet fine textured in foliage but what a knockout in bloom. Loads of heavy textured hanging yellow flowers like Kirengeshoma followed by ornate knobbly long bean pods.

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.

This sweet little New Zealand groundcover is perhaps best known by its former name of Parahebe olsenii. Soft lavender flowers with a yellow eye rimmed in cerise feathering are held just above the small rounded evergreen leaves that have tones of green olive. Tidy is a word that comes to mind.

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.

Mountain Toatoa. Middle-earth mind-bender of a conifer in the Podocarpaceae from the mountains of New Zealand. At first glance and even after a period of unhurried contemplation, this defies easy categorization. Small flattened phylloclades take up the photosynthetic reins from the vestigial leaves and the narrow pyramidal shrub has no comparatives in the garden. Sl-o-o-o-w growing.

An unusual member of this New Zealand endemic genus, shrubby evergreen with extremely fine needle-like foliage that varies in color from dark green to russet tones of gold and brown. The fascinating fruit are sheeny, translucent, pale purple to dark blue berries. Can grow to a dense and yet airily architectural mass of 5ft. Fairly hardy as it hails from sub-alpine zones, should manage alright in Zone 8 and up.

Odd Fuchsia hybrid which we got as cuttings from an old Heronswood employee. Actually she's not very old but we were referring to the original Heronswood. It appears to be a procumbens x excorticata cross with small reddish leaves on a low mounding plant. The narrow flowers are a metallic red and while not especially showy, gets credit for being structurally interesting. The foliage alone makes this very worthy of growing. This came with the name of 'Ruby Wedding' but that seems to be already in use with another Fuchsia cultivar so who knows. Probably someone in New Zealand.