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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.

Rare and elusive in commerce, this is a denizen of the New Jersey Pine Barrens and moist areas along the Eastern Seaboard. When in flower, it always strikes us as looking more extra-terrestrial than a product of our own earthly evolution. Bizarre pink cones of small packed flowers studded with blue anthers are just a giggle. Rich moist soil in some shade. This is Federally listed as endangered and threatened. Our plant was received many years ago from the Rhododendron Species Botanic Garden who grew it from seed and we have propagated it like mad here at the nursery so our conscience is clear.

Giant Himalayan Lily. Outrageous Lily family member which can reach 14' high in flower with huge 10" long Easter Lily white flowers flushed purple in the throat. This has an intoxicating fragrance which rides on the breeze throughout the garden especially in the evening. Large green heart-shaped leaves evocative of a Hosta ever increasing in size until it is old enough to bloom which is usually around 7 years of age. Once it is old enough, it sends up this amazing flower stalk in spring culminating in flowers in the latter part of June. This requires so much energy that the main bulb dies but it usually makes several offsets to carry on in subsequent years. As a bonus, the dried flower stalk with its decorative seed pods makes for an arresting bit of indoor decor. Considering the time involved, the sheer magnificence coupled with the poetic finality, flowering is an event that demands a party with plenty of sparkling wine. It's a great excuse for a little justifiable bragging. Plant shallow in rich and moist soil.

BARE ROOT PLANTS MUST BE SHIPPED BY MID-APRIL

A collection from Tibet by Daniel Winkler of this ornamental onion. This is one of the Asian rhizomatous types making a nice clump of broadly grassy foliage in this case with leaves some 12"-15" long. The flowers are in shades of pink and are open rounded umbels whose drooping florets look a bit like some of the fireworks seen in a Fourth of July evening sky. Altogether an attractive species whose flowers usually coincide with the 4th so perhaps this year we will compare flowers to pyrotechnics. Hardy to at least zone 6 and likely lower.

Tufty Southwest U.S. native that is every bit as drought tolerant as it looks. Thinner blades than other species lending it a grass-like texture that belies the architectural spires of white flowers that can double the size of the foliage for an impressive 6-7' display. A sleeper cell ready to deliver unexpected wham in your xeric landscape.

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. 

Gorgeous little gem out of Japan with a rich yellow center to the leaf surrounded by green with some nice feathering details. This will increase quickly but not aggressively and adds a nice splash of color in the shade garden. The white flowers go well with the whole package.

Have trouble picking between the albas and roseas of the woodland shade perennial world? Never fear 'Tomas' is here! This selection of wood anemone opens pure white and fades to pink as the season progresses. Plan your spring break wisely and you can pretend you got two plants for the price of one!

We are smitten by the hardy gingers which we can grow and flower in our cold pocket garden and Cautleya is a genus that does just that. This species is a graceful member of the genus and ranges from Bhutan to Thailand. This collections hails from Vietnam and is often found growing on rocks, trees or rotting logs. This has the classic presentation for the species with clear yellow flowers and red calyces. We suggest mulching for winter.

A U.S. native Iris that can compete with the Asian big dogs of the Iris pack. This boggy little beaut hails from the Southeast and grows alongside pitcher plants in partially sunny seeps that must be quite spectacular to behold. 2 foot foliage goes dormant in the winter but the memory of the elegantly slender flowers will carry on.

Pretty much an awesome plant for the rock garden or hell strip as this relishes good drainage and hot sun. We saw this at Lakewood Gardens in Denver summer of 2014 and had to have! A small subshrub covered in blazing red tubular flowers and allows no other plant to have any attention whatsoever. On the moderate to dryish side and lean. Did we mention deer don't like this? The current (now April 2017) issue of the North American Rock Garden Quarterly has Marian as the covergirl and it is well-deserved notoriety. BTW - if you are not a member of NARGS - that is a mistake fortunately easily corrected by going to their website and joining. Good publication, great plant people, exceptional conferences and tours and then there is the most awesome seed exchange list - some of our best bragging plants have their origins in that seed list.

Collected in northern India by the intrepid plant hunting duo of Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones, this species offers some midsummer exotica with yellow flowers emerging from soft red calyces on 2' stems. Yet another hardy-for-us species in the Zingiberaceae that we are enamored with.

Guitar Plant. Choice evergreen Tasmanian Proteaceae family member whose vaguely guitar shaped flower buds open to a wild riff of white flowers that will have you playing the air trowel. Hardy to a normal zero degrees and drought tolerant when established. Needs no fertilizer.

The single cousin of the more widely available double 'Eugen's Allerbester' both selections of Asiatic Gentian found and introduced by German plantsman Eugen Schleipfer and introduced to this country by Urs Baltensperger. Same stunning dark blue flowers which remain cheerily open during the late Summer season and into early fall.

European primrose species found in the wild growing in limestone mountains and favoring north-facing vertical crevices. Good luck growing this, right? Not so - it has been very easy and tolerant of, we're sorry to report, some surprising amount of neglect. Nice blue flowers over leaves edged in farina. This will make small 6" trunks in time. Zone 4-8.

Maybe the best of the variegated Lily of the Valley selections. This has prominent stripes that are quite even and show minimal reversion to green compared to other clones. Like all of the Lily of the Valley, this is tough as all get out and can take dry when established.

This has consistently been a head-turner here when it is in flower. A hybrid by Butterfield and registered in 1981, this fine selection is finally becoming available. Rich pink flowers of good size and a large fringed lip or slipper pouch which is decked out in orange-pink spots with the interior all orange ruffles and flourishes. A good increaser and best suited for pot culture where it can be brought in and left to go dormant in a cool spot over winter. Unless of course you garden in a very mild setting and then this is great outdoors where it can be tucked into a partially shaded rotting log or mossy rock outcrop. Pleione orchids require excellent drainage and we've seen them in China and Arunachal Pradesh growing on mossy cliffs or tree trunks.

Beautiful clumping species that may well be the queen of the genus. Or are we granting royalty because it is new on the scene? Maybe, but it is awfully good. This makes a stout small clump of evergreen, fern-like leaves from which emerge in spring the peculiarly Coptis greenish-yellow flowers. From China.

Pretty awesome new hybrid that came up at Suncrest Nurseries in CA thanks to some inspired work by the bees. This outshines its parents with gray-blue leaves and branched erect stems to 3' holding lots of lavender-blue flowers for many weeks. This can take drier conditions and the vermin deer don't like it.

A remarkable arborescent species endemic to the Sierra de la Laguna of Baja California where this grew on a shaded ridge in mixed oak-pine forest at 5800'. This can get over 20' tall with a 10' inflorescence with yellowish to white flowers but that height might be for your child's child's child's child to enjoy - it will take a while! But what a nice generational legacy and it will look perfectly amazing for you in not too many years. A rare seed collection by Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy botanist Dr. Cody Hinchliff. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering