Shop All

Fairy Wings Epimedium or Bishop's Cap. This is one of the most elegant of the numerous species and cultivars of Epimedium with long blade-like leaflets nicely colored when young and white flowers like drifting parachutes in a Lilliputian fantasy. Hails from China and a necessary addition to the shade garden.

Hart's Tongue Fern. A distinctive fern whose undissected pale green leaves sets it apart from its allies. A tidy evergreen compact clumper to 16" tall by 20"+ across which is easy to please and goes so well with Trilliums and Arisaemas. This one doesn't mind some alkalinity and we have seen this self-sowing on damp brick walls where it enjoys the good drainage. And it is rabbit resistant which we appreciate.

Our collection of this triumphant Asian species which occurs in the Sino-Himalaya and is such a delight in the garden. This collection is from an adjacent area to the CGG14112 collection also listed and we expect these to be of similar high caliber when they reach flowering size. Rich, moist soil and plant shallow.

A Hinkley collection from Taiwan of this surprisingly tough broad-leafed evergreen shrub. We have planted it out in full exposure here in our heinous windy maritime steppe and it survives far better than it should having taken 10F. We should really be brought up on charges. We can imagine if being glorious in a more sheltered position where it can grow 10'-15' tall with rounded clusters of fragrant small yellow flowers.

Western Shooting Star. A pleasing western wildflower California to Alaska that one can't help but enjoy with its showy pinkish flowers with its strongly backswept petals. Likes it moist in spring and goes summer dormant when it gets drier. The taxonomic move of Dodecatheon to Primula nearly made us give up on plants and take up studying something stable and predictable like Constitutional checks and balances. These from a Ron Ratko collection.

2nd generation from Turkey of this usually perennial Foxglove. The flowers, while not huge, more than compensate with a stellar performance - essentially the same credo I have lived to generally good effect. The small hairy-lipped pale yellow flowers densely pack the stems, blurring the line between plant and art.

A Roy Lancaster introduction of the variety chinensis from Yunnan, China (which in of itself, is reason enough to have this plant in the collection but then Roy is a hero to us so we're biased but not without reason) of an invaluable winter blooming shrub tolerant of deep shade with white fragrant flowers from late fall into early winter. Superb shade evergreen shrub.

Choice small tree-like shrub to 10' with large clusters of pearl pink flowers in winter. Lightly furry blue-gray leaves combined with twisted smooth bark of a rich chestnut brown makes this one of the finest cultivars. Full sun and good drainage and happy with no summer water when established.

Extremely rare tree in the Rosaceae from the Andes. John Grimshaw and Ross Bayton authored a fantastic book in 2010 "New Trees: Recent Introductions to Cultivation" in which the genus Polylepis was described sparingly as only one species, P. australis is grown and that to a very limited extent. The text discussed how more species need to be trialed as they have fantastic bark like the best Acer griseum and some species come from very high elevation and may have potential for hardiness in areas such as the West Coast and surely milder parts of the UK. Shortly after reading this we learned of a seed collecting expedition to the Andes and asked that they look for Polylepis for us and here is one of the results.

These are cutting-grown and will need to be protected from cold their first winter for sure. Excellent foliage which has been evergreen for us with superb sinuous trunk and branching structure which are thickly papered in sheets of exfoliating bark. Flowers are nothing - little colorless bits of dangling insignificance. We sound a little bitter because we have not quite gotten over our disappointment at the first flowering of our parent trees thinking that Rose Family would equate to a flower of some merit, but we had failed to closely read the botanical description referring to the "apetalous flowers" which means no petals. But really, flowers on a tree of this extraordinary character would be like putting whipped cream on your ice cream in which two excellent individual components are diminished in synergy. We think Zone 8 for this and careful siting in colder portions of this zone.

Crazy species which we coveted at Windcliff and Duane West dug us up a nice chunk - with permission from Dan of course. Weird brown flowers are scented. Differs from the related K. typhoides by having strongly keeled leaves in a non-distichous arrangement. Cool in a nerdy way.

Spotted Mandarin. This former Disporum is found from Michigan down into Georgia and has been a nice addition to our shade garden montage. The flowers are worth a close look and beg for macro photography as they are finely spotted to which the specific epithet maculata refers.

Classic spring epehemeral of the eastern woodlands with ferny foliage in early spring and white flowers in March. This will go dormant by late spring and is an excellent little plant to grow on top of later growing shade loving lily species or Arisaemas so that you get double duty out of the same planting spot.

One of those plants that turns you to jelly when you see it blooming. We saw this grown to perfection at the Charlton-Sale garden in North Vancouver BC where it had grown over a stump in the woodland and crept over to the fissured bark of a nearby Douglas fir and was creeping up the furrows with over-sized red-pink trumpets of flowers which left us stricken dumb in the wilderness. Fortunately it was right on the path and we could see the house and Charlie was nearby, so we were able to stumble along muttering "Asteranthera - must have Asteranthera" in relative safety until our wits returned. Now we are haunted by what other treasures we might have missed along the way while we were blinded by beauty. This Chilean and Argentinian gesneriad demands a cool, humid, acidic, moist, somewhat shaded and relatively mild situation to thrive. If you have these conditions, then this an automatic add to cart. A small-leafed evergreen groundcover which will climb tightly appressed over or up boulders or logs. Given time and proper conditions, it will climb up tree trunks or shaded brick walls to 10' or bit more and leave you steeped in wonder when it flowers..

Collected by Hinkley from Emeishan as the species cavalieri, this Borage family member has riveting evergreen foliage washed in a gleaming silvery metallic overlay that is more than reason enough to grow this but OMG it has lovely flowers too which are white but touched in the palest blue. Gentle runners that makes a quiet patch. Ultra choice & rare, this has thrived in North Seattle for some years. Thanks to the generous and gifted Jeanette Kunnen for sharing. Full disclosure has some of these with minor slug nibbles on the leaves but we did not observe this happening in the garden - don't be dissuaded but we didn't want you surprised!

For most of us, this is a good container plant to lug in for the winter but if you have that garden which only gets light frosts or that microclimate we would kill for, then this is a goody. Native to Chile, this is in the Solanaceae and will become a 4'-6' evergreen shrub with drooping and narrowly tubular yellow flowers with long exserted stamens. The foliage is a bit unpleasant when crushed - and only then - which makes us think it will be deer proof. Good for a sunny position and was given the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Arctostaphylos afficionados Paul and Greg at Xera Plants say this is their favorite Manzanita which made it a must-have for us. Fits in the home garden and tolerant of garden conditions, this get just 2' high by 4' across in time. Rocking reddish new growth turns to blue-green. Pink flowers late winter. Drought tolerant.

Dainty yet durable species collected by Sue on Mt Saramati which straddles the border of Myanmar and Nagaland. The only lily capsule found on the trip and it proved to be a distinct variant likely to merit subspecific status. Small white flowers. Sue is now a footnote in botanical history.

Rare Chinese Solomon's Seal that is on our admittiedly long list of favorites. Nice little increaser making a loose clump of wiry stems with lavender imbued green leaves and I'm secure enough in my masculinity to say absolutely darling flowers. A little sun to shade in decent soil.

Young bulbs of this choice variable species from the Caucasus. Impressive displays of up to 24 scented creamy flowers whose reflexed tepals expose the soft yellow throat and fine maroon stippling in this form. This is a hardy early bloomer which is ideal for those cold northern gardens with short growing seasons.

From a 2012 collection in China by Goteborg Botanic Garden's three Henrik's including Henrik Zetterlund and his sense of humor is all over the expedition acronym. This is Polemonium chinense var. chinense based on the glabrous stems. Violet flowers, rarely white in late spring and early summer. We keep waiting for a white one.