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An evergreen Lily-of-the-Valley relative, this is our collection from Yunnan, China from our 1997 trip. This is distinctly different than the Reineckia carnea of Japan as well as other collections from China yet DNA by Aaron Floden puts it right in the species. Scented pink flowers at the base of the leaves.

Small but rapidly clumping bulb from South Africa with dense grassy leaves and small white flowers, produced with some say reckless abandon during summer. Named after Ruth McConnell who was one of the foremost growers and hybridizers of the genus in the UK. These have been easy in the garden here.

Rosa sericea subsp. omeiensis f. pteracantha was the name when we collected this stunning form of the Winged Rose in 1997 in Yunnan.  Perhaps the best form of this variable species  (horticulturally, we like the useful distinctions of physiology such as f. pteracantha denoting the larger prickles, botany-speak for rose thorns) which has very large blood-red prickles - sometimes literally blood red if admirers are too closely ardent. These glow like stained glass when backlit and are much larger than the form commonly circulated in cultivation. Other differences are the single white flowers are larger and the narrowly flask-shaped orange hips are shaped different as well.  This is very robust and a 15 year old plant is 10'x 15'+ in our hedgerow bed.  The thorns turn shades of gray-brown with age and when the wind blows, they chatter against each other like the teeth of unseen creatures at night when you are lost somewhere you shouldn't be.  We liked it so much we gave it the name 'Red Menace'.  These are seedlings so technically we can't call it Red Menace but they come true and they don't root or graft well so Red Menace it is!  If the size is intimidating, many gardeners coppice the species, cutting large plants back hard in early spring to force a thicket of vigorous new growth sporting flamboyant prickles.

We received this plant as the cultivar 'Gigantea' which doesn't appear to be an accepted name hence our double quotes. Disclaimer aside, it is a big mother, stout of stem, leaf and flower and very grudging with seed and divisions. Large late summer light purple flowers. Muy Gigante!

Bringing the rare stuff out! This is a very newly described species from the Cangshan in Yunnan and collected by those intrepid folks at Crug Farm in Wales. This one requires room as it is stoloniferous which to our knowledge, is unique in the genus. If you want a tidy clump, we have a lots of other options but if you have space to fill and want something no one else has then feel free to do as we did and pick one up! Bright purplish smaller flowers on this rare species.

Our own F2 hand-pollinated seedlings from this superb big leaf species which has shown more hardiness than the Kingdon-Ward collections from 70 years ago. This collection has handled 10F here in our garden with aplomb. Early spring trusses of big yellow flowers although interestingly, one of the original wild seedlings flowered white. Best in a sheltered position out of the wind and sun where the foliage can hit its max potential. These are sturdy youngsters. An amazing experience to see this species in the wild.

Collected as Tupistra in 1997 in the Cangshan above Dali at 10,000'. This was in a slump of debris on the road from the cliff above and located just past the 1981 SBEC collection of Rhododendron edgeworthii which was recognizable from expedition photos as the same plant growing on top of the same massive boulder. Narrow evergreen keeled leaves create a dense clump. Flowers a basal persistent cudgel of green buds which open to small strange green flowers turning to amber drops with age which delight the botanically inclined. This was fairly recently moved from Tupistra to Campylandra and in 2003 into Rohdea for those of you keeping taxonomic scorecards. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.

An impressive member of the witch hazel family with showy red flowers in the latter half of summer. We had our world-view of Rhodoleia shaken like a snow globe when we saw an imposing old growth tree of this species in southern Yunnan with a straight clean trunk going on and on. Evergreen leaves usually glaucous beneath. Wish it was hardier.

This is a little charmer from a Diana Reeck collection in Yunnan which is quite short to just a few 6" tall but with very lovely pinkish and white flowers. When we see this bloom it takes us back to those same woods where saw this same species a year after Diana collected its seed in 1996, This is a sturdy little fellow increasing each year by offsets and reseeding a bit. We're terribly fond of this one.

Easy and hardy little bulbous plant from South Africa and a good pink in this selection. This makes dense tuffets of grassy foliage in spring and summer and covers itself in May/June with pink flowers. Increases well but never a problem making an easy to divide clump when dormant.

The rarest species in cultivation having only first been collected by Tony Schilling in 1966 from a small colony found in the Dudh Kosi Valley in Nepal. This has handsome pinnate leaves and impressive light white flowers on stems to 3' or more. This species just has a subtle different feeling about it than the other Asian species. Very collectable.

A seldom encountered Buttercup from the Pyrenees. This is so well mannered that one has a tendency to think of it as a Trollius rather than a Ranunculus. Thick short rhizomes create a dense crown with rich green leaves and deep yellow flowers of good substance. Nice.

This is a collection by Wynn-Jones in 2000 from near Baoxing Sichuan who thought at the time it was an unusual form, but it is well within the gradient for typical Reineckea carnea. This is a must for the shade garden along with every other one Reineckea you can lay your hands on! Good to zone 6 and likely 5.

Exceptional selection of the European Butcher's Broom which is an indispensable evergreen deer-proof shrub for shade. The ornamental feature on this are the large red berries which sit squarely on the middle of the "leaves". This is a self-fertile form so it will always bear fruit and it will get to 4' in 10 years.

A cute little cousin to the hardy Gingers, this Zingiberaceae member has tuberous roots from which low wide short strap leaves appear and in the center are nested small pink orchid-like flowers. This one has its origin in a Roy Lancaster collection in China.

Devil's Elder. This is a hardy large evergreen shrub to 15'-20' tree from Chile and Argentina where it grows in shaded situations along streams or bogs. It does well in our shade garden without being a tippler where it has handled nicely brief dips to 10F. The flowers are loose panicles of interesting wee green things which give way to purplish brown fruit.

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.

Cannot ship to DE, MA, ME, NH, RI, WV. This was collected by Dan Hinkley on the summit of Emeishan in Sichuan in 1996. In his 2000 catalog he says with some embarrassment that he collected it as a scandent Hydrangea but that that it is Ribes henryi. Delving into Flora of China, everything about Ribes henryi is bristly and glandular so it is definitely not that species. (This muddle of plant identification is all too familiar. Pity the poor nurseryman trying to find time and focus to properly research a plant for what appears to be a seemingly orderly and bucolic nursery is really an out of control daycare on the verge of a cacophonous rebellion.) What it does key to is Ribes davidii var. davidii. This will be a low - 18"-30" tall - spreading evergreen shrub with greenish yellow flowers and favoring a moist, lightly shaded position. We've seen this species often in China and it favors growing on mossy rocks or outcrops in higher rainfall areas. Cannot ship to DE, MA, ME, NH, RI, WV.

Our collection from the Gang Ho Ba in Yunnan at around 10000' back in '97 during our first plant hunting trip to China. This was growing in open woodland up against a massive rock the size of a dump truck with Arisaema consanguineum, Paeonia delavayi, Primula forrestii and Dipelta yunnanensis as companions. The big pinnate leaves were impossible not to notice. This has tall stems 36"- 44" with nice layers of white flowers.

One of the alpine New Zealand Scabweeds and which we think is an accurate if unmarketable description. Reminds me of some of the nicknames my mom had for me growing up. I'm sure they were meant with the most loving intention as I'm equally sure the Kiwis mean the same referring to these wonderful Raoulias. This is a species we have seen growing in the fabulous rock garden at Denver Botanic and one we have long admired. What is not to like when confronted with a flat hard pancake of tiny leaves tightly adpressed to the ground and dotted in midsummer with a dusting of minute creamy flowers? With age or upon meeting rocks, this will hummock up and over making an undulate dome like some internal organ exposed or something previously of the oceans but now of the land. It's better than it sounds and a fine addition to the rock garden or trough.