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Long my favorite Bergenia with large upright broad paddles of leaves which turn the best maroon in the winter of any in the genus. Oh sure, the dark pink flowers are good in spring but this plant is one of the few reasons I look forward to winter. Galanthus for contrast - oh my.
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Let's be honest if you're growing Podophyllums for the flowers you're probably a misses the forest for the trees type, and don't be fooled the huge multi-pointed star leaves of these are still just as flashy as ever. That being said, we here at Far Reaches tend to be of the more is more, por que no los dos persuasion and the large paler-than-usual flowers of this selection are quite the added bonus. Thanks to Jacques Thompson for sharing this beauty with us!

Originally collected as Thymus drucei amidst the limestone barrens of County Clare, Ireland by Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy board member Cody Hinchliff. A hotspot of botanical diversity where unique climate and geology combine to create a pocket of delightful rarities often found in higher elevations. These are limited to far Western Europe more generally and have the usual fragrant rounded leaves of Thyme on creeping red stems. The flowers set them apart however being a good bit larger than the foliage and appearing in such quantities as to almost entirely obscure the latter. Forms a small mat or clambering clump. 

The Harvington name comes attached to excellent British cultivars of a variety of plants most notably Hellebores and refers to those plants developed in the village of Harvington by nurserymen Hugh Nunn. We got these via John Massey of Ashwood nurseries, another name of which there is little doubt when it comes to quality. All this to say this is an excellent Roscoea selection with deeply purple flowers centered by a white spot like a star in the night sky. Though you might be better off with a hand lens rather than a telescope for this sort of stargazing.

Imagine prizing open the rigid and unrelenting fingers of one Kelly Dodson and wresting from him prized jewels and precious heirlooms. A scenario not far from the one that has finally made this exquisite Central American bulb available to you, our beloved customers, for whom we endure much separation anxiety and grief. The flowers like little flames must be very akin to the will-o-the-wisps in their native cloud forest, luring unwary travelers to an endless curse of botanical lust. Desirous of moist, well draining mix and not amicable to deep frosts. Bulb at or near flowering size.

A truly fantastic mondo grass, and unlike Kelly you're gonna be very hard-pressed to make me say those words again. Umbraticola itself is easily among the supreme members of the genus with its glossy blue fruit, lacey foliage, and extremely compact form. This selection adds the eye-popping lemon lime combo of bright solid yellow and dark green streaking that's fairly stable and easily purified when it goes South. You could bottle this up, carbonate it and sell it under an ever changing assortment of test-audience approved brand names. Though you wouldn't make much money given the glacially slow pace by which it multiplies. Good thing we never were ones for mass marketing.

Our long-ago (1997) collection of this widespread in nature but poorly represented in cultivation Rhododendron species. This has little to do with its appearance as the petite indumented evergreen leaves and delicate blushing white flowers create quite a handsome overall appearance on a manageably sized plant to boot. Their quickness to bloom and adaptability to various light regimes only add to its garden-worthiness. Unfortunately the hardiness leaves something to be desired, may be doable in a low zone 8 but 8b and up to be safe.