A unique evergreen member of the Myrtaceae family native to moist, rocky areas within alpine and subalpine regions of Australia. This forms a dense mound with arching branches, 3ft by 4ft with early summer small white flowers en masse. Diminutive leaves become coppery in winter, smelling lovely when crushed.

Mint Bush. We love the genus with the aromatic, deer-proof evergreen foliage and in this case, white flowers tinged lavender. A Welsh nuseryman describes it as "a cracking plant tolerant of heavy frost and sells on sight".

We have just a scant few of this dwarf form of the Tasman Mountain Pepper which we presume to be from an exposed high elevation site on Mt Wellington. This is ideally suited to rock gardens where it will make a slow and low ball of reddish stems bejeweled with white flowers and oh so peppery black fruit. We were given this plant by the late Michael Wickenden of Cally Gardens in Scotland. Possibly the first introduction to the US.  Small plants of this small rarity.

One of the hardiest of the Leptospermums which, in time and left alone, will achieve the appearance of a ruggedly handsome small tree. We say this in case you have control issues and mistake shearing for pruning in which case this will be a nice dense ball.  Or square.  Or blob.  Evergreen, nice white flowers, deer-proof, drought tolerant. Thanks to Leptophiliac Ian Barclay for sharing this..

Butterfly Iris.  Described by Sarah in our mail order dept as "super precious" which is spot on.  In the Iris family from Tasmania and New South Wales, this makes a substantive clump of thin evergreen leaves with tall wiry stems holding enchanting white flowers well above the leaves.

This is essentially a low evergreen groundcover - to 8" tall - and hails from a frost pocket in Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria.  Has profuse creamy flowers with an exuberance of stamens. Cuttings received from our friend Maurits in Holland who is obsessed with cold hardy Mediterranean style plantings. Rare, choice, and a first-time offering.

Grass Trigger Plant. Gorgeous and fascinating perennial found in Tasmania and Australia.  Tidy perfection of evergreen grassy foliage speaks to a refined distillation of Aloe and Agave and the unexpected flamboyant spike of multitudinous pink flowers is over the top. There are sticky hairs under the flowers which can trap gnats and absorb those tasty insect nutrients. The pollination mechanism is fiendish.

One of the hardiest Leptospermums, this creeping form is from the alpine areas of Tasmania and has grown for many years at the Arboretum in Seattle. Evergreen leaves with small white flowers, this would be a shame not to have it in the rock garden and a greater shame not to have it spilling over a wall.

Endemic to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, this dons prickly, Acanthus type leaves (hence the species name) and pinkish purple toothbrush type flowers. Evergreen and tough, this can tolerate more shade than other Grevilleas. The flowers are known for their sweet nectar and the birds will thank you for this one!

Exceptional form of the species we received from the Master Of Leptospermum, Ian Barclay of Desert Northwest. This fast-growing Tea Tree will become a fine large shrub to 15' in mild areas.  Silver-purplish needle-like leaves in summer turn darker purple in fall & winter.  The small white flowers are visual madness.

Perfect fine texture with a silver sheen all year long.  This is a gorgeous evergreen that further delights in the summer with small white flowers.  Pinch it if you want it bushy and don't treat it too nice - it prefers a leaner soil that drains well.  Tolerant of dry when established and likes full sun.

Evergreen alpine Aussie growing in the same habitat as Snow Gums.  This has billowy gray-green foliage and 1" white flowers borne on last year's wood.  With age the bark exfoliates and reveals a very shiny trunk which adds to the allure.  Sun, good drainage, dryish and phooey to the deer.

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 wild Medusal effect with a long bloom period on older plants.  Happy in nearly any soil and happiest with regular water.  Not deer fodder.

Bottlebrush.  Perhaps the hardiest clone enduring single digits with scarcely a whimper.  (It may be whimpering but my own wails of despair drown all else out).  Evergreen picking up russet tones in winter.  Summer fuzzy red flowers on the stems.  Deer Proof/drought tolerant.

Tasmanian Blueberry Vine.  Very cool evergreen vine from Tasmania with tubular greenish white flowers in May and June followed by very showy violet non-messy berries which depending on the weather, can persist through the winter.  One of the finest small vines.

Gorgeous groundcover whose oak-like leaves with burgundy-copper new growth are complemented by the red feathered combs of flowers in early to mid summer.  This is doing great at the Miller Garden in Seattle as well as the Barca garden on Whidbey Island where it is sited against the house gacing south in a raised gravel bed.  Can grow 4+ feet across.

Very hardy winter blooming shrub from Tasmania which Ciscoe proclaims as his favorite plant of all time or at least until he talks about the next plant.  We agree though - this plant totally rules.  No problems whatsoever but little or no fertilizer. Buff orange flowers.  Shorter selection.

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.

Carrington Falls Grevillea.  Of limited distribution in New South Wales, Australia where it is found along streambanks, this was not formally described until 1960.  To 6' tall and spreading, this has great foliage coupled with light pink flowers with long stamens.  Mr. Grevillea, Ian Barclay, rates this as good to 10F, but grow it lean and low to no phosphorous.

A graceful thin-leaved evergreen shrub from Australia which has not been even slightly damaged by our occasional winter lows to 10F.  Great texture and the profuse white clove-scented flowers in midsummer sends our various bee species into a frenzy of nectar and pollen gathering! Phosphorous sensitive so skip the fertilizer.

One of the hardiest Bottlebrushes to 10F with the added benefit of having red flowers. In growth, this this tends to have graceful arching branches which softens what can sometimes be a rigid look to Callistemon.  Not that that is a bad thing but this looks a bit more cuddly.  This grows on stream banks in Australia and can take quite wet spots but is also tolerant of dry.  Deer proof!

A collection from Mount Imlay in New South Wales of an expected hardier form of the species. Prickly needle-like leaves on a multi-stemmed shrub with white flowers although light pink flowers have been reported in that location. Ours is white so that takes the guesswork out. This should be fine in milder gardens here in the Puget Sound and can take poorly drained situations. Deer do not find this tasty.

Pencil Pine.  Very interesting conifer from the highlands of Tasmania where it is threatened due to fires and degradation of habitat from grazing and too many Eucalyptus.  The leaf scale are tightly appressed to the stem so the green branchlets do look very pencil-like.  A moderate grower with old-growth trees 30'-60' but you won't have to worry about it - it takes a while.

This clone of an already hardy bottlebrush species has been hardier than
the typical offering by a few degrees and personally, our most grievous
losses have been by a few degrees.  This is likely from a higher and
more exposed location in Tasmania as it is also more compact than
typical and has handled one winter where it went into single digits.

The Tree Lomatia from Australia.  As the name implies, this can get large - up to 20' or so.  Here in the PNW, this will likely be a large shrub, getting taller as you move down the west coast.  Bewildering array of leaf shapes within the species, this is but one form.  White, scented flowers in summer.

Narrow evergreen leaves and clusters of rusty yellow flowers suitable for hummingbirds on this zone 8 hardy Aussie shrub. In the family Proteaceae which for garden purposes could be Latin for "hates phosphorous" so no need to fertilize. perfect for the gravel garden in full sun.  Young plants, fast growing.

We wouldn't have guessed we could grow Acacia here in our cold pocket garden but we had a random seedling of this appear in our never-water Arctostaphylos/Garrya bed and it has not had a bit of damage from several winters down to 10F.  Poofs of yellow flowers among the evergreen leaves.  Lean soil, great drainage and dry.