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Excellent form from the legendary Steve Doonan and one whose name has been lost in distant horticultural banter of years past. Despite its nameless status, we easily recognize it by its numerous robust (for its size) flower stems sporting large (again, for its size) creamy flowers.

If you know you know. Famed for their large variety of colors these diminutive Irises also come with the added benefit of being less thirsty than their cousins. Their light requirements vary depending on how far inland you are, further in more shade, and they don't love hot-hot summers. Whether you are starting your own hybridizing program or just want a fun little surprise to add in to your order these seedlings of various parentage and plumage can find a spot in any garden.

Proteaceae is a family of plant royalty with a loyal following, and for good reason the flowers of the group are often some of the most spectacularly otherworldly and botanically intricate of any in the plant kingdom. Unfortunately we here in the PNW are limited to a few choice species in an even choicer few genera. Generally this isn't thought to include the radical "cone"-bearing Aussie group Banksia though if ever there was a species to be tried here this is the one. We have heard rumors of successful specimens in Seattle and some of the coastal-est climes of the region. For those in the Bay just buy it and revel in the stamen-loaded goodness while we weep with envy. A sheltered sunny spot with as much heat as you can muster, with decent drainage and no phosphorous will give you the best chances.

What do an alpine Gesneriad and G.O.A.T tennis player Novak Djokovic? Well they are both national symbols of Serbia and also show a remarkable propensity to bounce back when they are all but counted out of continued life. In Ramonda's case this means it can be almost completely dehydrated and still recover to full vigor making it a great crevice or rock garden subject. We don't have much point of comparison to the claims of elephantine proportions on this particular clone we brought over from the UK but we do know that the ruffled leaves and bright purple flowers bring us outsize joy.

Even among the fern-enthused Dryopteris can sometimes have a bad reputation for same-iness. However if there is one stand-out member this is the one, looking totally unlike what you expect from the genus and rivalling even the tropical ferns of your dreams. Thick blue-green dactyloid fronds that will slowly spready but never truly become dense, making it a great accent plant to thread through your woodland stand-bys. Shockingly hardy down to Zone 6b and evergreen above 5F.

Sometimes even those of us with a lust for the Far Reaches can find much to love close at hand. This is one of those extra special U.S. natives that makes us put aside if only for a moment our unchecked wanderlust. A close relative of the lauded mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, this takes the same sort of unusual Ericaceous charisma and shrinks it down. This former denizen of the monotypic genus Leiophyllum grows across an exquisitely disjunct range of 3 botanical wonderlands, the Blue Ridge mountains, Carolina coastal plains, and Pine Barrens. Its habit and substrate vary widely, but generally expect a small dense shrub of 1-3" with box-like leaves and a host of rosy buds opening to starry white and pink flowers in profusion. As with its familial brethren likes a fairly moist, rich, and acidic spot.