U

A nice find in the woods of North Carolina, this variegated Perfoliate Bellwort is a choice addition to the shade garden. Creamy, feathered markings adorn the margins of the perfoliate leaves which pair nicely with the creamy white flowers. Perfoliate means the leaf surrounds the stem so it looks like the stem runs through the leaf. Slow to increase, we don't have many.

Excellent member of the Crassulaceae which means it is a succulent basically, but one that eschews the arid sunny spot in favor of lusher environs like our shade garden with dairy manure mulch. Makes a thick clump of fleshy green leaves with taller stems of pendulous strings of bead-like yellow flowers that are nothing less than captivating. This is one of those plants we have had for a long time but one that surprises us each year when it blooms because we don't expect something so familiar to float our boat quite so high. Very easy to please and a plant people want when they see it in flower.

This is a hardier and somewhat smaller-leaved form of the Chilean Guava that was recently introduced by Paul Barney from Pucon, Chile and which Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy brought into the US from the UK. An excellent evergreen ornamental small shrub to 5' or 6' with scented white flowers and deep burnished red fruit in the fall which were said to be Queen Victoria's favorite fruit. We expect this to handle at least a half zone colder.

Perfoliate Bellwort. So named for the perfoliate leaves in which the stem seems to pierce the leaf and bellwort for the pendant pale yellow (in this form) to greenish flowers. This is a collection from Hamblen County Tennessee shared with us by botanist Aaron Floden. A delight in the shade garden contrasting well with dark Podophyllums and ferns.

Merry Bells. One of our favorite of the Midwest and Eastern woodland wildflowers. Rich gold pendant flowers dangling like earrings on a woman of some serious substance. Combines beautifully with upper crust plants such as Cardiocrinums and Arisaemas yet hangs comfortably with box store Hostas. These are divisions from our stock plants.

Jim' Pride' is the selection of this sedum relative from the Caucasus Mts which is notable for the showy variegation. This is not as vigorous as the typical green form and the nodding strands of bead-like flowers are creamy rather than yellow as well. Easy evergreen.

The Japanese name 'Seiju' translates to "master" in English. This showy dwarf Chinese Elm has mastered textural structure with especially corky bark as it ages. The small leaves don't obscure this corkiness and have a brief Autumnal dalliance with yellow. A go-to specimen for Bonsai and provides a larger element in the rock garden.

One of the little gems of the woodland is this scarcely encountered selection which we have planted under our Disporum 'Night Heron' in our shade garden where it contrasts with the almost black new growth of the Disporum. Pretty sweet. A gentle infiltrator wending amongst plants of stouter stature, this carries a joyous light in its white edged leaves and pale bell flowers. Naturally small rhizomes.

We are so close to being able to grow this outside that we literally can see the 2 miles to downtown PT where this would thrive but no, we're the nursery on the hill in the cold pocket. Yes, a little touchy about it. Flashy variegated leaves in pinks-creams-yellows-whites and greens go with the pink flowers and tasty fruit on this Chilean Guava. Gorgeous evergreen for gardens above 15F which are annoyingly prevalent in our area.

Little creeping woodlander from the East Coast newly placed in the Colchicaceae which alters our world view. Socially inept biochemists will soon lump all life into a single family derived from a virus, blue-green algae or a bacteria. Bah! Delicate creamy bells in spring. Quite tough.

For those sick freaks who want to be cold year round, this is one blizzard that sticks around during the summer and makes way for the real thing in Winter. Darrell Probst selection of this delightful Eastern woodland native dusted with variegation from light green to white like a miniature chlorophyll snow storm. Slowly spreading and with small yellow flowers in Spring. 

There are many bigger and more impressive Uvularias and even more similar enough to pass the same tests. BUT. If I was a fairy, or a gnome, there are none that would match this one for planting priority. The perfect diminutive but not tiny size, drowsily nodding habit, and large cream yellow bells, all capped off with a painted margin of white just make this so incredibly charming in a children's book sort of way. Wood make for a truly idyllic groundcover in a woodland garden where all your local fae-folk friends live their merry or naughty lives outside the gaze of the plodding 'Big People', oh to live in such a world. 

Chilean Guava. Our mama plant is loaded with fruit in the greenhouse right now and after eating some, we're questioning why we are selling any instead of keeping them to lavish ourselves in personal extravagance. If we were just two miles down the road by the shore we would grow these outside but here in the relative Siberia of the Quimper Peninsula Steppe, we dasn't take the chance. One of the perfect evergreen shrubs for mild climates, this has shiny aromatic leaves giving olfactory testimony to its inclusion in the Myrtle family. Nice white flowers followed by ruby flavorful fruit the size of average Blueberries and all on a broadly columnar plant to 8' tall. If this was hardier, it would be ubiquitous. As it is, it is worth coddling in cooler climes and personally we are going to throw down some Chilean Guava on our foodie friends come Christmas. The best thing about bringing an Ugni dish to Christmas dinner? It'll be the best Ugni anyone has ever had. Neo in The Matrix, not in black but in Chef white, holding a plate of Ugni a la Far Reaches in one hand and reaching out, beckoning "Bring it, foodies" with the other. Oh yeah, so doing the Ugni.

A wunderbar find by plantsman Darrell Probst. This delicate woodlander creeps about sporting a hanging creamy bell-shaped flower in spring. The glory of this selection is the yellow margined foliage putting this way high up on the plant collector's "gotta have" list.