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One of the tall verticillate species in China, this was growing among the branches of a striking shrubby Symplocos just below the mountain summit. The leaves on this species are arranged in whorls like the spokes of a tire. At the leaf base are clustered white and green flowers which turn into red fruit. We like it. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.

This is loving our crevice garden but might be better in our rock garden as the 20" mat of trailing stems clad in small rumpled leaves is a tad big for the crevice. A profusion a creamy, violet-striped erect flowers sporting a purple hooded upper petal. From the Himalaya & Everest National Park, to nearly 15000'.

A Tony Avent collection from Korea's Jeju (Cheju) island of this very floriferous form of this Solomon Seal species. Large green-tipped white bells walk down the aisle underneath the 2' arching stems making this one of the finest expressions of the species. Polygonatums are an integral part of the mix in the shade garden and are a great genus to collect as there are lots of species with new ones still being discovered in the wild.

A fine Chinese species which we have seen on several plant hunting trips to China from Guizhou Province to Hubei. So often we have seen the 24"-30" arching out provocatively from a slope alongside the trail with the yellow fall leaves scarcely sheltering the clusters of black fruit held beneath. Someday we will have to go in the spring to see the green-tipped white flowers. This is a species in some taxonomic flux at the moment so hard to say where this will eventually wind up but this is one of the Polygonatum cyrtoneuma found in cultivation.

Sea Kale. A prized vegetable of olden times, this still would be widely eaten if the leaves didn't bruise easily in transport. However, that is just a gastronomic aside because the ornamental qualities outweigh its tastiness. A seashore plant of Europe, this has ruffled blue-green leaves and white flowers.

We acquired this incredibly tough, tuberous, summer dormant Geranium in the 80's from East Lambrook in southern England which was home to Margery Fish and the original English Cottage Garden. Provenance alone is merit enough but good lavender blue flowers and drought tolerance carries the day.

Our selection of an exceptional seedling from a Vietnam collection. Typically green-leafed, this one has lustrous red new growth looking pretty amazing spring through fall and darned good in winter too since it is evergreen. We haven't flowered it yet but expect creamy yellow flowers in summer. Young plants, cutting propagated. A tip of the hat to our staff wit Yvonne for coming up with the perfect name.

It's difficult to talk eloquently let alone persuasively about a plant newly collected and how it will appear in the various seasons and how well it will perform in the garden. We don't know a lot about this November 2011 collection from a shrub at Lao Cai, Above Silver Waterfall, Vietnam at 2150 meters. We can say it won't grow in Des Moines, Iowa or Black Duck, Minnesota but it will likely be happy as a clam in Seattle. These are young but sturdy seedlings which will really need greenhouse overwintering this first winter.

At this young stage, they bear resemblance to Schefflera alpina and S. chapansis but since they were collected by Aaron Floden, we're smart enough to know that if he doesn't know than we don't know. It's kind of like that Donald Rumsfeld thing where there are known knowns and known unknowns and if we know we don't know than we know more than those who don't know but know they do. Generally I found little palatable about him but I did find myself defending him over this quote as it made perfect sense to me. Somehow seeing it in print makes it seem less defensible and my veracity more questionable.

A very good selection of Winter Iris - the species can start flowering in February here for us and at that time of the year, even the worst selection looks mighty fine but this one is truly worthy. Blue standards - the central upright petals - and blue falls - the large lower petals - that carry a broad white blotch with fine blue lines. Good drainage and moderate to less water in summer.

One of the best of the herbaceous Potentilla hands down, period. End of story. George Zimmer of Men's Wearhouse "I guarantee it". This is a "Quit talking, just do me, baby" Potentilla. Deep blood red flowers combined with the silver foliage are an exquisite pleasure verging on pain. Full sun.

Cascades Penstemon. Easy native Penstemon that grows from the subalpine to almost the coast from oregon to British Columbia and is one we find in our own Olympic Mts. This will grow in rocky areas but is often found in moist areas along streams and in meadows. 10"-30" tall with upright stems topped by blue-tinged purplish flowers.

Heart-leafed Globe Daisy. This is a pleasing little alpine from the mountains of southern Europe and over to Turkey. Low and slowly spreading domes like a small overturned pie with evergreen leaves and lavender-blue pom-pom flowers on short stems. Easy and tough enough for a beginner, sweet enough for the rock gardener who has grown it all. Give this a sunny spot in the rock garden or trough. Takes dry or a good bit of water if given really good drainage.

A white flowered form with purple stripes of of our native Grass Widow. Like all of our Olsynium selections, this has been a long process of a decade or so to get this to a size where division is possible and we feel like we can safely release a few. Early flowering in Feb-Mar and fully dormant by summer. Myriad variants can be found in flower shape, color, size, time of bloom etc. and it would be easy to go Galanthus on this species in terms of collecting mania. We speak from first-hand experience on our Olsynium descent into madness. Multiple shoots which may or may not flower as it is hard to tell when dormant during potting. This is a fall-winter-spring moist plant which goes dry in summer in the wild where it grows in fairly heavy soil.

Robust Salvia from a Hinkley collection at high elevation in Sichuan. This is a tough perennial which will increase in width with the large leaves acting as a weed suppressing shield. Rosy-purple flowers, at least as I remember them, are held nicely above the leaves in mid summer. Prefers light shade to a little sun.

We're smitten by gesneriads - the African Violet family - and especially those with some hardiness, which can be grown outside in our area with some consideration to siting and winter protection. This was shared with us by Peckerwood Gardens in Texas where it is very happy. White flowers red inside in the fall are bit of flora exotica. This Taiwan native can take dips into the teens especially with some mulch.

Rarely does a first glance at a plant so completely peel off the veneer of civility with such an instantaneous upwelling of lust, greed, larceny and deceit as this one: "OMG! I gotta have this - I need at least three - damn - only 2 left - I'll pinch one out of that person's box - who, me?" Black purple leaves and ruby pink flowers in August-October.

Excellent Irish selection formerly called 'Helen Dillon' but determined to be properly 'Irish Crimson' One of the most requested plants in our garden and forever associated with the amazing gardener Helen Dillon. Small upright leaves brilliantly colored in winter with vivid pink flowers. Very few from division. Best color in full sun.

The Wynn-Jones of Crug Farm collected this woodlander from Japan's Shikoku Island and represents a link to the shared flora we have here in the Northwest as there are native Mitella in our nearby woods. This is a low and evergreen species with foliage patterned in chocolate markings. The flowers are small pinkish-brown affairs with strongly recurved corolla lobes and held on stems 8"-15" above the leaves. This won't stop anyone in their tracks on its own but as part of the intricate plant tapestry that is required for an exquisite shade garden, this is an essential element. Plus if you are a tiny bit competitive, you can't disregard the fact that you will have something that is very unlikely anyone visiting your garden will have in their own garden. Zone 6 at least, likely lower and best in shade to part shade.

The best seedling from a cross Robin White made between Daphne acutiloba and Daphne sericea 'Collina' with acutiloba as the seed parent although the pollen parent dominates the characteristics. Robin authored a monograph on Daphne and is a genius breeder and nurseryman with impossibly high standards. Goodson is his mothers maiden name so quality is a given in the low, open domed plant with fragrant, dusky pink flowers.

First introduction to cultivation! Our collection of this rare species in a genus of excellent foliage perennials. Sue spotted this on an evening plant reccy while Kelly took to bed nursing a rib fracture incurred earlier while collecting fruit on a Photinia. A Photinia of all things! A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.