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Impish little species to a foot or so which looked unremarkable in the wild but blossomed - literally and figuratively - in the easy livin' at the nursery. Clusters of small white bells heavily marked in magenta dangle from long pedicels at the base of each leaf which is likewise fetchingly daubed in a small spot of bright maroon. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering. Graceful and attractive.

Bottlebrush. Fun and very hardy selection that has willowy and twisting branchlets sporting 2" light yellow flower brushes on the branch tips all pointing willy-nilly for a wild Medusal effect. Length of bloom is longer on older plants so it is true that some things get better with age. I feel that way about Sue and another month o the diet, she'll feel the same about me.. Happy in nearly any soil and happiest with regular water. Not deer fodder.

One of the most distinctly "What is that plant?" deciduous shrubs around is this tough little mutant redstem dogwood. Intensely columnar and slow with curled leaves held close to the vertical stems. These turn a most satisfying purple in the fall. As far as flowers go, forget about it. Slow growing, our 6 footer in the garden is pushing 40 years of age.

Our Asian collection of this seductively compelling woodland species. All parts in all stages have a synchronicity of poised loveliness that binds the gaze to that moment slowing time and pace allowing one to absorb beauty be it a nascent unfurling, ornament of purplish bells, refinement of green or understated black pearls.

A seriously good Buckwheat native to just three of the Channel Islands where it grows mainly on dry cliffs. It does great in cultivation however and probably finds it a relief to be able to relax a bit. Evergreen domes to a foot or more tall with flower stems up to a foot long bearing long lasting blooms of red to white.

Hart's Tongue Fern. Choice selection of this European native evergreen fern which has variable wavy and rumpled leaf margins. This doesn't mind a bit of lime in the soil and is very happy growing with bricks and will self-sow in the moss on shaded moist concrete or rock walls.

We like so totally rock. Did you ever expect a little nursery in Port Townsend to offer this choice Tigridia species from the State of Hidalgo in Mexico? The flowers are easily described as ashy gray, purplish black and burnished buff combined in a mind-twisting combo of fly-wing venation and reptilian reticulations. The flowers don't compare in size to the bigger more familiar Tigridia pavonia being at best a half dollar or less but the detailing and length of bloom makes it one of our all-time favorites. Each flower lasts but a day or two but this has numerous buds in a cluster and they open sequentially plus the flower scape is branched with the branches not as far developed as the main stem so they kick in flowering when the initial flowers are finished. It all makes for a long-lasting display. These have proven perfectly hardy here but just the same, mulch if winter turns cold.

From wild-collected seed in the Russian Far East which was distributed 20+ years ago by Dr. Berkutenko. This is a lovely form of a widespread species with fairly compact habit and attractive leaves and has long been a favorite of ours. Very good bloomer with lots of white flowers held beneath the leaves and followed by a good display of blue-black round fruit. Hardy nearly anywhere as you might guess from its origins.

First introduced to cultivation by Joseph Hooker, one of the preeminent botanists of the 19th century and buddies with Charles Darwin. Our fern and rhododendron greenhouse is named for him. This is a strong growing, fine-petaled yellow daisy whose flowers emerge from fuzzy buds so intricate they might befit some beautiful undersea reef creature.

Our collection from Yunnan in 1997 of this cream of the crop higher elevation Piptanthus. Imagine our excitement seeing just 3 plants growing in a rubble outflow at the base of a steep hill after hours of walking across the valley of the Gang Ho Ba. Great silvery silken trifoliate foliage and large yellow pea flowers. This makes a multistemmed rounded shrub to 6' tall in our border. Most folks mistake it for a shrubby Argyrocytisus (Cytisus) battandieri until it blooms with flowers evocative of Laburnum. We've grown and killed several collections of the green-leafed P. nepalensis but this variety (which we have offered in the past as P. aff. tomentosus and much earlier as P. forrestii) is far hardier having withstood early November 14F with strong winds despite not being hardened off as the previous week had been in the 60's. Thanks to Grahame Ware for sharing recent research in the genus and hopefully nailing down the correct name. With botany however, never say never.

Grown from seed we collected from plants growing on a sheer rock face in Colorado. This population is known for its color variations from the usual whitish theme and our young plants have yet to flower so we are twitchy with anticipation. We first saw this species growing among the ancient Bristlecone Pines in the White Mts - that day was magic! Grows in rock cracks/crevices or stony open ground in dry situations. Evergreen mat-former.

A Ron Ratko collection from 6500' in the San Gabriel Mts of Los Angeles County where it grew along shaded drainages under white alders in a mixed conifer forest. This variety has broader leaves than var. parryi but has the same large lemon-yellow trumpets that are strongly fragrant and held at eye level on mature bulbs. Everyone will have pollen on their noses!

Oxalis griffithii is an uncommon woodland clumper from Japan with single white flowers typically. Rarely can you find the double white form which is quite choice. Scarcer than hen's teeth is the double flowered pink form which marks you as a collector of the highest caliber. This is one of those botanical treasures where feeling smug is justified.

A superb form of this variable species obtained from the former Quarryhill Botanic Gardens. Green elliptical leaves pair nicely with the large flattened corymbs of white fertile flowers which are sporadically fringed in over-sized pure white sterile florets. This owns a spot in perpetuity on our personal list of faves.

Exceptional selection of the European Butcher's Broom which is an indispensable evergreen deer-proof shrub for shade. The ornamental feature on this are the large red berries which sit squarely on the middle of the "leaves". This is a self-fertile form so it will always bear fruit and it will get to 4' in 10 years.

An exceptional collection by Steve Hootman, Ken Cox and us of one of the finest Hedychium species for our area. We collected the same species in the same area on the same trip as part of the NAPE expedition and the collections were merged under this number. This is an early and consistent bloomer with rich tangerine-orange dense flower spikes in late summer and early fall. Rich moist soil and mulch if winter is severe to keep frost from the rhizomes.This is significantly different from the other densiflorum we offer, being much more robust and taller to 5'. It also blooms about 6 weeks later, with deeper orange flowers packed much more closely together. This is very happy in our shade garden. Similar to, and perhaps indistinguishable, from Frank Kingdon-Ward's collection called 'Assam Orange' as he beat us to this remote area by 70 years. Quite a gap between collections! These are big divisions.

A seldom-encountered Dianthus which hails from the mountains in South Africa where it is commonly known as the Drakensberg Carnation or if you are truly local, Hiokoa-La-Tsela. Apparently the local indigenous use this medicinally as well as in magic - we can't speak to the efficacy of the former but we can say we are transported briefly to another realm when this flowers. Nice pink flowers on slowly spreading mats which is best suited for the rock garden. Good drainage in full sun and hardy to zone 7 and possibly lower.

This is one had thought was Hedychium spicatum var. spicatum but are now thinking it is H. yunnanense. This is a much larger plant than any of our spicatum collections getting to over 5' tall and has a much larger and denser inflorescence packed with far more flowers - up to thirty. The flowers resemble spicatum in their shape and white and coral colors and the resultant orange-red fruit is also very similar.

Daggerpod. Love this plant but honestly, that doesn't narrow the field much. Eastern slope of the Cascades in WA, OR CA, to ID and NV growing in dry shrub-steppe slopes and open pine forests. Softly hairy gray-green to sea green leaves with wallflower-like flowers usually pink but rarely near violet or white. Rock gardens.

Large green leaves stippled in evenly spaced pale hairs and small flowers pink in bud and on the reverse, opening to nearly white with the gentlest of pink touching the face. A rhizomatous species that has been hardy in mild PNW gardens especially if mulched in winter with something airy yet insulating. A Hinkley collection from China.