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235 products
235 products
They say everything in Australia is out to kill you, and the fern enthusiast may just die without this beast in their collection. Jurassic-looking fronds up to 4' of a lustrous dark green, finely lined and so thick and rough as to almost seem plastic. It's difficult to imagine a fern more tall, dark, and handsome. Which I guess means now is a good time to talk about the fertile fronds, think a taller slimmer version of the gorgeous sterile fronds painted with the dark sori underneath. Perfect for a rich, wet corner of your private fernery, where you spend sweet life-giving time with your precious Pteridophytes.
Higher elevation Chinese species favoring a moist and rich with compost spot in part sun. This has long been a favorite species of ours with its pendant rose-purple flowers held on long pedicels heavily coated in white mealy farina and carried aloft on tall stems up to 2 to 3 feet. Sue grew this in northern VT.
Alpine Bush Mint. This high elevation Aussie handled our 2010-11 Winter of Horror with scarcely a whimper. Dense shrublet with rounded packed leaves minty when crushed and white flowers with red-yellow-purple in the throat from spring and sporadically until fall. Excellent plant.
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.
An uncommon and variable species, this form can get stoutly immense to over 6' with broad paired leaves and fine white (no surprise there) bell-shaped flowers. This was shared with us as a large bare root division in full bloom with the single stem taller than us which prompted much hilarity. Contrary to intuition, this is the best time to divide Polygonatum. These are not divisions as they wouldn't fit in a shippable pot but younger plants grown from seed. Enjoy!
Our collection from a compact population near the summit of Leigongshan in 2010. These were exceptionally handsome rounded evergreen shrubs with clusters of small white flowers in June and umbels of red berries in the fall. This will become a familiar plant in the landscape in years to come. A subsequent collection from the same population has been given the name 'Thunder's Dwarf'
A well toothed and lilac-flowered cultivar of this primula that has coped well with less-than-perfect conditions and is considered easily open-grown or placed in a rock/alpine garden. Keep from too much wet to fully enjoy the farinose dusting of the foliage. These were said to originate from the trenches of the Napoleonic wars, echoing a time-honored symbology of regrowth after war-time.
A candelabra type which we found growing in a high boggy meadow in Sichuan in October 2012 where it mingled with other Primula species, Gentiana sino-ornata in bloom and hummocks of dwarf Rhododendron. This had small seed capsules with short pedicels closely set in whorls on the scape reminiscent of Primula wilsonii. We have now flowered here at the nursery and see that it is a good form of Primula poissonii with large magenta flowers in tiers on the tall stems. We had previously offered this as a candelabra Primula species. Fairly sun tolerant if given ample moisture or tolerant of what passes for sun here in the maritime Northwest.
Large flowers with appropriate heart-shaped petals that are light pink on the backside and pale white-pink on the front. This is a comfortable plant with no surprises and you will have a sense of easy familiarity each spring when this flowers. No drama, no challenging colors, just a solid beauty of the sort that if it could smooch, it would.
Star light star bright, First primrose I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have this primrose I wish tonight. Nothing subliminal here. The five petals are shaped like a heart and are love-pink on the reverse while the face of the flower is white feathering to pink on the edges. Good, big flowers in quantity on each stem puts on a show.
A rarely encountered species from China as you might have guessed from its specific epithet. This is from a wild collection by a plant hunting friend of ours and has proven to be a very good grower. A smaller plant with stems to a foot or less tall with rounded leaves and green-tipped white flowers. This increases fairly quickly becoming a worthy collectible addition in the garden.
Seedlings of this Drumstick Primrose from a red or "Rubin" flowered selection which will undoubtedly be all over the map in flower color as long as that map runs from point blue to point red since we cleverly have this growing near a blue denticulata. The older we get, the more we know and the less able to act on it apparently! Pedigree aside, these bastard children will easily become accepted members of the garden's upper crust through sheer perseverance and irrefutable beauty.. If yours turns out red, feel free to call it 'Rubin Selection'.
Our collection from Asia of this Solomon Seal where it grew at 5500' in a mixed old growth forest of broadleaf evergreen and deciduous trees along with massive Rhododendrons. This was handsome in fruit with black fruit hanging under the leaves on the 18" tall arching stems. Two to six small white flowers in the leaf axils.
Chinese May Apple. This is an impressive plant - truly one to give the shade garden some visual impact. Big leaves get up to 18" across with bizarre clusters of red flowers held beneath which are followed by bunches of green cherry tomato-like fruit ripening soft yellow.. Rich moist soil in shade to bits of sun.
Robust Japanese selection of this revered Primrose species with sumptuous pale-faced flowers breezed with the lightest smoke of lavender-pink. The backsides of the flowers are more intensely colored borrowing perhaps on the evolutionary success of flamboyant backsides across a wide range of species. Whenever we watch Nature on PBS and there are male Mandrills in full display, Kelly feels cheated, inadequate and frustrated being a monochromatic species until Sue says "Honey, it was your inner Mandrill that I fell in love with". Hardy zone 4 to 8b.
Our collection of this verticillate (leaves in a spoke or whorled arrangement on stem) species from a chilly mountain summit at almost 11000'. Even at this elevation, there was still active grazing by domestic animals and tasty morsels like this were to be found only in the embrace of woody and unappealing shrubs like Berberis. Wreathed in gloomy and mysterious hill fog, the red fruit on this Polygonatum shone like baubles most desirous. A smaller species, upright 16"-24" tall and fairly sun tolerant if that is your only choice rather than the preferred part to light shade. Fresh divisions of healthy rhizomes.
One of those dramatic ferns which cannot help itself from stealing the spotlight. This spreading Chilean relative to our Deer Fern loves a rich, moist spot where it makes a colony displaying its awesome-by-anyone's-definition leaves. Leaves, which in the endless buffet of nutrient-laden compost and with ample water, can reach 4'-5' tall. Evergreen except in hard winters.
Very cool Candelabra type Primrose with whorls of rich black cherry flowers. Very distinctive and definitely eue-catching. Loves a moist rich soil where it will gently self sow and frankly boogie until dawn.
Tough as all get out circumpolar herbaceous species of the subarctic which is found in Alaska and the Yukon and skips along the mountain tops as far south as Wyoming. This is a tap-rooted species and will not run but settles for making a nice low clump of soft as a mouse-ear silver haired leaves which are great with the sizable yellow flowers. It does great here at sea level in Port Townsend and our plants are descended from our dear departed friend Steve Doonan of Grande Ridge Nursery.
Choice rock garden species from rare wild collected seed from the Tien Shan Mts where they extend into NW China. This makes nice dense clumps of close set sivery-green foliage and typical Potentilla golden yellow flowers. Easy care and tolerant of our abuse.