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This is a surprisingly hardy terrestrial Orchid that is quite easy to grow given a couple of rules. Loose crumbly organic/gritty well-drained soil and fairly dry in the winter. Oh yeah, real cold is not the best either. We have friends who grow these easily in nearby Port Ludlow in rotting logs, stumps and deep moss on rocks with a tarp thrown over in winter to shed rain but that is in a mild maritime garden. Traditionally this is grown in containers and overwintered in a cool sunroom or coldframe. Were making this sound harder than it is and we don't mean to as it is worth the minimal fuss. Pink and white Cattleya-type flowers on such a little plant. This increases freely by small bulblets which is how we have come to offer these to you.

Rare plant found only in limited areas in central Honshu, Japan where it likes the forest fringes in the subalpine areas and is known as hiiragi-sou or holly tree-leafed weed. Hiiragi-sou sounds better than the translation. This selection has dark blue flowers and is a deciduous clumper to 16" tall - very nice!

Offering from division of this excellent selection by our friends at Crug Farm who collected this in Nepal while plant-hunting with Dan Hinkley and Jamaica Kincaid. The species is typically very robust and stout and this is no exception with green leaves and a red pseudostem. The white flowers with a light lavender wash are a nice departure from the norm. This does not like warm night-time temps and hot, muggy humidity - it's from the mountains after all.

A fern with a murky past, originating from a hybrid between the Southern Maidenhair and a rapscallion, vagrant, absentee, no-good, layabout jackanape second parent thought to be one of the tropical species. Fear not however, as this has all the makings of a classic bildungroman where the unsuspecting background of our title hero is overcome to great effect, with greater hardiness and vigor than it's parent(s) making it a excellent standby for that classic Adiantum look. Sterile though so it's lineage will die with it, setting up for an excellent sequel where it can play the role of aged wealthy benefactor of a talented orphan street urchin.

A rare Myrtle relative from Tierra del Fuego which is quite hardy here and is just the sweetest thing. Evergreen, aromatic leaves and small white flowers in summer which are followed by pink/white, pearly, edible berries that taste like some some exotic perfume. A perfect little plant. Good moist soil in some light shade although it will probably take sun nicely but we just happen to grow ours in shade where it has been a flawless performer.

Himalayan Maidenhair Fern. Evergreen to semi-evergreen creeping fern making the the most textural groundcover imaginable. Salmon pink new growth goes to light olive and finally green leaflets on black wiry stems just 8"-12" high. Likes a loose moist soil but will tolerate dry when established.

Redwood Ivy. This is a premier groundcover which is nothing like ivy. You will never find this choice species on a noxious weed list. Evergreen leaves forming a slow carpet with delicate white "inside-out" flowers suspended above like celestial motes of light. Drought tolerant!

This is a gleaming bit of sunshine carried into your shadowed shade garden and released. The cupped leaves to just 5" high bring more light to their bit of turf than their size would suggest. The small light lilac flowers are nice but incidental because with this Hosta it is all about the glow.

An ornamental Society Garlic that made its way here to the Far Reaches from England lo those many years ago.  Rather than continue to admire what had developed into a most attractive clump, we succumbed to the baser instincts of the merchant and divided away!  Fine grassy chive-ish leaves with stems bearing charming white/pink flowers, and while you might think this an onion or garlic relative, it is actually in the Amaryllis family.  Flowers and leaves are edible, should be deer/rabbit resistant and tolerant of some dry if need be but better with moderate water levels.

Kind of a rocking plant in that it really requires nothing from you. We have it in a drier spot in our shade garden and it just trucks along looking good and putting on nice white flowers for months on end. Horrible winter weather comes and it doesn't care - just stays evergreen. We've gotten rather attached to it and you will as well. One of Beth Chatto's 100 favorites.

Seedlings from a floriferous red-flowered selection from Russell Graham. Russell had one of the most beloved specialty nurseries in the Northwest and to say he knows a good plant is stating the obvious. The parent plant is a short, dense clumper with small red flowers that rule by their majority. This has pride of place in our garden, widely separated from our other Dierama, so hope is for similarity on these children.

A fine little European woodlander which can tolerate some sun as well. Spreading by twiggy rhizomes, this will make a good patch in time when happy, The semi-double white flowers adds extra petals to the mix, giving lie to the "less is more" maxim because don't we all know in our publicly inaccessible heart of hearts that "more is more"? Hilda, you work it, girl!

This is a fine plant and another of the Bressingham Gardens introductions. Good ripe tomato red flowers arrayed nicely on the stem and held out to maximize viewing. Very accommodating those Brits. The flowers are nicely ranked with some overlap on each side which creates a showy floral synergistic effect. This is a compact grower to just a couple feet tall and very useful where you need a shorter plant that can still pack a punch. No doubt a sister seedling to 'Bressingham Blaze' from the same cross of C. masoniorum x C. paniculata as both were introduced in 1970.

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.

Grown from seed given us by the originator, Dr. Keith Ferguson and named for his wife, Lorna. They have grown this spectacular, heavy flowering selection for over 40 years in their garden in the Cotswolds. From the Maritime Alps, this resembles our native Veratrum viride with similar bold pleated leaves and green pendulous flowers but this elevates that look to a ridiculous level with its sheer volume of flowers on stems that can reach 8 feet! We have been also gifted seed from the late Michael Wickenden of Cally Gardens and our friend, the redoubtable German plantsman Christoph Ruby. The fact that this trio holds this in valued esteem, should be ample endorsement. Long-lived, hardy as the bejabbers (been wanting to use that for years) and deer resistant. These are young plants not of flowering size but give them a rich moist soil and a bit of amply rewarded patience.

This variety of the charming European wood anemone graciously comes with slightly larger flowers reducing the need to reach for those reading glasses or get down on aching knees to appreciate their idyllic fairytale beauty. Or for those of a younger generation, your instagram photo will be in focus without the help of that $10 bootleg iphone macro lens -  $10 more to put towards more anemones perhaps...

A lesser-known cousin to the better-known Iris unguicularis. This is a Turkish species and while it blooms a bit later than it's famed cousin, is still early enough to be immensely gratifying plus it has hands down far more attractive evergreen foliage than I. unguicularis. We had a flower or two this past December but expect it to really kick in when March roll around. The flowers are held down in the foliage and often this foliage is cut pack prior to flowering so the blooms can be enjoyed unencumbered. We've never gotten around to do that and our enjoyment has not been diminished one whit Easy with drainage and will take some summer dry. We've found the foliage looks better in part shade and actually grow this in our shade garden.

Sweet little groundcover whose double white flowers resemble fluffy bits of white popcorn strewn on the leaves. Perfect underplanting for other shade plants to pop up through and great between stepping stones. Gently spreading and not hard to keep in bounds. Darn near perfect.

Sea Holly. One of the best of the lot with great marbled foliage and blue thistlely flowers which are great for drying. Likes a sunny poor soil and is known for laughing disdainfully at Port Townsend deer, the modern rats of the new Millenium. Let this self-sow for best results.

A new name for this West Coast native that hangs out in moist shaded places especially loving mossy cliffs in the cooling mist of a nearby waterfall yet very easy in the garden. Nice black stems holding the fronds. The stems were flattened and used for imbrication in basketry by coastal tribes. Adiantum pedatum is now the East Coast version.