Search results

This blueberry relative was an exciting find from a small mostly deforested limestone ridge in Vietnam. It was a small compact 12"-18" shrub growing both in the rocks and epiphytically with orchids on the few trees left. Evergreen with boss white tubular flowers and a red berry sheltered by 3 large red bracts. Edible. This will get larger with longer stems when growing in cushy cultivation.

Friends who bring you seeds are good friends, friends who bring you seeds from legendary South African seed supplier Silverhill are even better, luckily FRBC board member Cody Hinchliff falls into the latter. Very cool African butterfly bush with evergreen, glaucous silver-grey-green leaves and globules of fragrant purple flowers that are more rounded and bunched than their more commonly grown relatives. Rare in US cultivation but some have claimed suprising hardiness when given some protection to establish. An approachable way to check off another continent in your garden of the far reaches.

Our collection from Longshou in Sichuan where this was a small 3'-4' rounded shrub in full exposure eking out a living on a small rock face. This is a little different than what is in cultivation as the leaves appear to have a higher degree of fine dentition on the margins and the white flowers are bunched in tubular clusters. This will be a good tough and deer resistant plant.

Oregon White Oak. This variety of Q. garryana hugs the foothills of the western Sierra Nevada and southern Oregon. In its native poor, rocky soils this becomes a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree to 20 ft. Deciduous and drought tolerant. Another excellent Oak we're able to offer thanks to Ian Barclay of The Desert Northwest.

Variously reported to be a selection of both E. californicum and E. revolutum or perhaps some hybrid thereabouts, with origins tracing back to historical California nurserymen Carl Purdy and his collection of wild dug bulbs, Wild West indeed, one of those situations best chocked up to the ethos of a different era. Dappling of the leaves is subtler than many Erythroniums, akin to the play of light upon water. Reflexed lily-like flower with a delicate sunburst of soft yellow and streaks of dark red. A dapper woodland resident that would look equally at home in a swanky florist's shop. Moist, humusy soils preferred.

A subtly appealing Frit for the bulb enthusiast and one which does well in the garden (as opposed to fussing in containers or growing in bulb frames) This has up to 3 bell shaped flowers of a blend of olive-green and purplish-brown. Sun to half sun and decent drainage and increases quite well. Flowering size.

Yellow Avalanche Lily. Who doesn't love seeing this during a mountain hike in the Olympics or Cascades where these seem to leap out of the ground soon after the snow recedes? There is nothing like a hillside sheeted in thousands of these in bloom. This one you are holding could be the start of the same in your garden..

An extraordinary variant from Linda Cochran's (of course) old garden which she allowed us to salvage when moving. Distinctly mocha foliage in early spring, with various plant parts retaining dark tones. Notably, the flower stem is very dark as are the bracts enclosing the flower bud. The flowers are lovely, white and richly colored in dark maroon. These are bulbs from isolated, hand-pollinated seed. It will be 3-4 years before these flower but lengthy establishment will result in maximum size.

Fabulous Award of Garden Merit shrub that has lovely pinnate Pea-like foliage and scads of luscious pink Pea flowers for several weeks from early to mid-summer. Quite pest free and wanting only good sun and drainage. A little light pruning for shape once a year and you are set to enjoy.

Fantastic little gem from the high mountains of Taiwan collected by our friend Philip MacDougall. Our mama plant from him is several years old and is a compact dome 2' tall and wide. Early summer has this adorned in small heads of dark pink buds which open to dense heads of clustered flowers which have a pink throat with a corolla edge of pale pink to near white. Will gently self-seed but not overly so and who could begrudge a few extras.

Robust California native that has a very limited distribution in the wild. This seems like the cabbage of Erythroniums as it puts up very large succulent green leaves with pendulous flowers of a rich yellow intensity. These increase quite nicely by offsets leading to impressive clumps. Shade.

Poet's or Alexandrian Laurel. Panache oozes from the phylloclades of this haute shade shrub. Before you get nervous, phylloclades are leaf-like organs of modified stem tissue as this nonpareil evergreen is so far beyond the cutting edge that true leaves are just so yesterday. Small green flowers to delight a microscopist, showy red berries in fall. Imagine wearing this crown of laurel in ancient Greece after winning the marathon. I can visualize the wearing but am having a bit of difficulty focusing on the running part. Now if it was a weeding marathon, I would have to say, let's get it on! These aren't big plants that you will get by any means as they are slow to go but we have gotten the painfully slow beginning out of the way so it is all good from here. You can't go unless you start.

A rare relative of our local Salal (Gaultheria shallon) collected by Jeanette Kunnen in the mountains above Oaxaca in Mexico. We were given cuttings by the late Ericaceous collector Art Dome who grew this to perfection at his Seward Park garden in Seattle. Scrumptious new growth and lots of pink bells followed by blue-black berries. Art grew his against a terraced wall on a slope where it got morning sun and it was a happy camper.

Big pink flowers of substance on this densely clumping South African bulb. Hardy outside here given good drainage in winter (and mulch if a bad winter) and a choice candidate for the rock garden provided it gets ample water when in growth. Easy to grow in pots and overwinter in the garage.

Infrequently encountered species of Fairy Wand Flower, these are from wild collected seed from South Africa. Wide flares of bell-shaped flowers in rosy pink to lilac. I personally am hoping for lilac as we have the pink well represented. Either color is quite showy. Mulch if real cold.

This seemingly non-existent in cultivation species of Mexican holly was collected by FRBC board member Cody Hinchliff in Oaxaca. Glossy evergreen leaves one often expects from a holly, these emerge a rich wine red in these plants that's highly attractive followed by glossy red berries. Growing as a tight rounded shrub of only about 5 feet in a sub-alpine zone that stays fairly moist and under full sun (Though the herbarium sheets suggest it may get larger in different conditions). Hardiness likely somewhere around 7b or 8a, will likely thrive in the Southeast, we are hoping it fares well in the wet PNW winters as well.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

A very drought tolerant Manzanita and one of the best pink flowered densiflora types. This was selected out of a hybrid swarm for its sheer floriferousness if that is a word. Taller than wide and a fast grower. These have done fine in Portland and Seattle and the leaner the soil and the sharper the drainage, the better.

An Arizona collection of what seems to be the true plant of this rare-in-cultivation Southwestern Mock Orange which makes an excellent rock garden or low-water subject with its dense shrubby habit and extremely fragrant white flowers that smell like grape soda. The foliage holds its own as well with a mint-green softness provided by the minute pale hairs which coat each leaf that one could in this case call either peach fuzz or mock-orange fuzz, and which require no need of razoring. 

A shrub very rare in this country (we might be the first to introduce this) and one we are pretty excited about. This has some pretty good cold tolerance and will be an evergreen shrub to 2' high and wider. White flowers like a Leptospermum but long anthers so looks like a small bottlebrush. Good drainage, Zone 8-9 and might be worth trying in warmer parts of zone 7.