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A collection by Shayne Chandler in Ecuador of this shrubby evergreen species as Baccharis buxifolia except its folia is not buxus-like in that the leaf margins are serrate and not smoothly entire.  We've not flowered this and honestly, are quite pleased it is not buxifolia as that is a bit of a yawn ornamentally.  The leaves of this look close to Baccharis arbutifolia which is much more ornamental with raspberry-colored flowers accented by white stamens which would be a Siren's song to a seed collector.  Deer resistant.

One of the stars in our shade garden is this Chinese Trillium relative. We find this eminently superior to the typical Paris polyphylla typically offered. These are seedlings from our garden plants which are marvels of vegetative increase. The 3 bulbs we originally planted 8 years ago have now increased to over 50 stems up to 40" tall with elegant flowers and showy orange fruit. Hope this kids have learned something from their folks. These might flower next spring as a few did flower this year and some of these young plants are already starting to differentiate into multiple growth buds.If you are ordering this as a dormant bare root bulb, it is fine to plant it outside now (assuming the ground isn't frozen etc) as these have been growing outside here at the nursery. Three inches deep should suffice and if you live in harsh winter climates, a good mulch will help. These come up late in the spring for us - later than other forms - so don't worry too much. They like an acid soil, moist yet draining, and we expect that if you can grow Trilliums successfully, you should succeed with this one. Zone 6 for sure and probably into zone 5 although we have no personal experience with it in those regions.

Annointed as the "Queen of the Umbels", this is what Queen Anne's Lace would look like after a top design team makeover. The refined supreme lacery of foliage and polished presentation of 8" white platters of flowers belies a certain innocent muscularity. The epitome of texture.

Our collection from the the summit of Guizhou Province's highest mountain in the southern Wumengshan. This was an area of severe deforestation and grazing but we secured 5 seeds of this very nice pink flowered species hiding at the edge of a boulder in the cropped turf and after propagation, can now offer this rare and possibly new to cultivation beauty. We have been thrilled with the performance of this in our garden where it grows at the foot of a large Baptisia where it wends it way through the stems to 3' tall and fronts the Baptisia with a skirt of pink flowers for going on three months. It is actually giving the Baptisia a bit of a complex because the Baptisia flowers for about a week and takes up a lot of space while meantime the Geranium is just a little energizer bunny.

This is a hybrid named by Sean Hogan which was found at the Ruth Bancroft gardens and is a suspected cross between the creeping Ficus pumila and the big edible fig, Ficus carica. It does seem to be perfectly intermediate. A rambler/scrambler for a sunny spot good for winding through shrubs. Zone 8, tiny figs.

A compact little guy carrying very nice white flowers which benefit from extra petals giving it a little more floral punch. If you can manage extra petals and no one complains, then why not? We all need an edge. Mulch in winter and decent drainage and feel free to plant it in a very sunny hot spot.

A Hinkley collection from Taiwan of this interesting Composite whose deeply dissected foliage carries the day and is especially effective in half sun. Not a genus that leaps to the fore when thinking of flowers, this is a great foliage plant and intriguing in first growth. Collected as S. intermedia, this is most likely the species subglabrata. We have yet to meet a Syneilesis that we don't think highly of - (well, there are the unstable variegated ones) - and when mature, these tough clumping perennials literally force you to stop and admire.

Papillion' possesses excellent foliage looking very clover-like with flattened tri-lobed leaflets in triplicate and is no great leap to imagine butterflies. These seedlings from the Ashwood nursery breeding program, have the characteristics of the parent and the flower color can be either white, pink or blue.

A collection from Guizhou of this species in the Sinarisaema section and which is likely part of the variable Arisaema consanguineum complex. This has up to 8 radially arranged leaflets with attractive green flowers with pale white stripes held beneath. The long, attenuated drip-tip of the spathe-limb is softly chocolate colored and adds considerably to the allure. This has been a durable plant in the garden.

This plant smells so good in flower that it should be illegal or barring that, taxable. This could help with budget shortfalls because it is frankly addictive. One sniff and the response is "Ooh! Do you have this for sale?" Southwest native remarkable hardy with grape koolaid fragrant white flowers in masses.

One of the truly elegant cultivars and one that will be the toast of the garden. This is one of 5 surviving C. xcrocosmoides bred by Max Leichtlin of Baden-Baden Germany before 1895 that is still in cultivation. A true heirloom cultivar. Tall stems with fingers of flowers held out like a ladies hand extended to be kissed. Refined orange tepals nicely spaced reflects its obvious confident sense of self and of place which speaks to its heritage of Teutonic thoroughness and simmering superiority.

Gorgeously reflexed Lily set atop hefty stems that can reach upwards of 5ft with wine-red centers drifting out into the pale yellow ochre of the petal tips which lend it its artistic variety name. Second generation seed from a Floden Wynn-Jones expedition to Vietnam. 

A Wynn-Jones collection from the Aso area of Honshu in Japan where there is a range of color variation in the species. We are wild about this genus and it combines beauty, rarity and growability in its appeal. Evergreen rosettes of flattened broadly lance-shaped leaves with spring whitish flowers accented by purple stamens. Zone 6.

A seedling strain from an especially robust population of this Southwestern US native Columbine. Big soft yellow flowers with characteristic extra-long spurs somehow manages to meld flash and whimsy. Easy and very nice in the garden. A Plant Select introduction out of Denver.

We've gotten this excellent small species over the years with various names attached such as 'Sky Blue' and 'Cobalt' and there is not a bit of difference between them. As a species, this is perfectly capable of standing on its own merits without the needless marketing ploy of a seductive name although there are differences in shades of blue but we have not had them. Small heads of dark violet blue flowers on 6" stems in June and July are held above dense clumps of fine grassy foliage. Easy and hardy clumper to zone 4 from China.

A cracking bicolored Lily of the Nile out of a breeding program in South Africa where this one seedling out of hundreds exhibited excellent white flowers with a blue base. These are held in 6"-8" umbels on stems to nearly 4' tall! Maybe the best thing is that is deciduous and hardy going to zone 7b with a good mulch.

Our introduction from 2012 of this new to cultivation species. This was found on a scramble up a shaded and damp ravine which would have been a small stream during rainstorms. Fortunately it was sunny. A tight groundcover with normally green leaves but this sport has frosty white flecks in the leaves most prominent in the spring. Small green flowers.in branched heads up to 6" above the leaves. We were hoping for yellow but this will make the green flower contingent happy. You would be surprised just how many of them are out there! This overwintered nicely in our garden winter of 2014 enduring two separate events of 3 nights of 15F each time.

This is an unusual Allium from a seed collection in China. We say unusual because the small drumstick heads of flowers are yellow which was not expected. This is a smaller species with thin grassy leaves and flower stems 5"-9" tall and requires summer water as it is not one of the bulbous types. This shows no sign of being a "damned weedy onion" and merits a special spot.

Gawen Bellflower. A fine choice for cottage gardens or your basic flower bed, this very hardy perennal will provide a refreshing and cooling display of large cup and saucer double white flowers in early to mid summer. This is a mat-forming plant so in a few years you will have an enviable stand of flower stems you can cut for dinner parties.

Andalusian Dutchman's Pipe. Native to Portugal, Spain and hopping across Gibraltar to North Africa, this curious vine with its heart-shaped leaves always gives pause with its small mahogany-purple flowers shaped like trippy little saxophones. We find it nigh unto impossible to walk by without stopping to admire the pixie quirkiness. Comparatively large seed pods follow the flowers.