Here we are at last breaking through the corrugated
cardboard ceiling with a headlong plunge into mail order. Welcome to our online presence and hope you
find many of the rarities offered as fun as we do. We’ve been collecting, growing and learning
about plants all our lives and the excitement has simply grown with time and we
look forward to sharing our phytomaniacal obsession with you. There are worse things to be afflicted with
than gardening.
You can start shopping now using the categories on the left, or read our Ordering Instructions first.
We will be adding new plants frequently so do check back. Please note that some of these will be newly potted divisions from this fall and winter and will not be showing much or any root development for early spring shipping but they will grow roots and be good plants.
What’s Growing On...
January 22 and we went live with our new mail order website yesterday. We've got more work to do on it including adding more plants but it is up and working and we are feeling pretty celebratory. Plus we're getting orders and we haven't told anyone yet! Our friend Urs has the distinction of being order No. 1 just minutes after we turned on the web site.
We're glad you stopped by to view what's new. Come back soon! —Kelly & Sue
Quart Pot The choice variegated form given to us by Duane West with instructions to make more of them so he can buy them for his garden clients. Duane speaks and we propagate. He was over last year and we were all looking closely at the business parts of the small flowers - we know how to have a good time - when Duane blurted " Oh my god - 'Suzette' is a boy!" Choice evergreen for sun to part shade.
Gallon Pot This is a difficult species to overlook in the garden. It's big with some serious heft. Dense clumps of tall leaves (3'-4') with tall stems bearing fat heads of dark orange to reddish orange buds which open to greenish white in late fall. It's a spectacle. This came from a collection by Paul de Jaeger via our friend June Sinclair whose amazing Rhododendron species garden is fortunately ill-suited for growing Kniphofia. Best in areas that don't frost early in fall. These are chunky plants that get root-bound about 10 minutes after potting so take a screwdriver and tease out the roots.
4" Pot This has grown in Portland Oregon for 7 years where it has handled the winters. Small creamy yellow flowers clothe the heather-like branches in late spring. A most unusual evergreen shrub and the hardiest of the Melaleucas. Full sun and good drainage. Portland gets more summer heat than we do which ripens the wood making it more hardy. We're lucky to crack 75F here.
Quart Pot From the venerable plant at the UW Arboretum comes these promising youngsters. The plant at the UW has weathered every fluke weather event in the last 20 years and emerged unscathed. Narrowly yet densely upright with pale yellow-white bottle brush flowers and evergreen needlish leaves.
Tubers Vigorous vine with tubular orange flowers flaring yellow in late fall. If you frost early then plant against a wall or just grow it to eat but it blooms well in Seattle. Tasty flowers and edible tubers which are eaten like potatoes by folks in the Andes and increasingly here. This differs from the other tuberosum we offer by having flowers with more of a flared shape and the tuber color is different. Mulch inwinter if very cold. We came by this variety by purchasing it as 'Ken Aslet'. "Ken Aslet' flowers in midsummer while the rest of the tuberosum types bloom in late fall. If you buy a 'Ken Aslet' around here anyway, this is what you'll get most likely. Fortunately we have the true one finally thanks to rare plant geek Bob Barca so that will be available in the future.
Quart Pot Autumn Fern. There's common names for you. Don't expect fireworks in the fall from this one because you get them all spring and summer with the new fronds unfurling a pinky coppery red before they age to the expected green. Very showy and an excellent evergreen to semi evergreen fern.
4" Pot Pineapple Lily. The Burgundy Standard for Eucomis. Deep purple foliage and gorgeous similarly colored flowers, which if you can bring yourself to do it, makes excellent cut flowers. (We have inadvertently broken some off and know this to be true) Easy. Mulch if cold winter.
4" Pot A rare Myrtle relative fromTierra del Fuego which is quite hardy here and is just the sweetest thing with evergreen aromatic leaves and small white flowers in summer which are followed by pink/white pearly edible berries that taste like some some exotic perfume. A perfect little plant. Good moist soil in some light shade although it will probably take sun nicely but we just happen to grow ours in shade where it has been a flawless performer.
with a headlong plunge into mail order. Welcome to our online presence and hope you
find many of the rarities offered as fun as we do. We’ve been collecting, growing and learning
about plants all our lives and the excitement has simply grown with time and we
look forward to sharing our phytomaniacal obsession with you. There are worse things to be afflicted with
than gardening.
