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.

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.

Beautiful clumping species that may well be the queen of the genus.  Or are we granting royalty because it is new on the scene?  Maybe, but it is awfully good. This makes a stout small clump of evergreen fern-like leaves from which emerge in spring the peculiarly Coptis greenish-yellow flowers.  From China.

If you are into variegation, like woodland plants, want to make a statement, are a botanical Sinophile, a discerning or even indiscriminate plant collector or just plain driven by beauty in the garden then this is a must have.  White variegated leaves on stems to 4' with whitish flowers followed by black fruit.  Evergreen if mild.

A recent collection of this Zingiberaceae which we have not yet identified.  A graceful species with relatively narrow leaves and very pleasing melon colored flowers.  This is from fairly low elevation and growing both as a terrestrial and as an epiphyte.  In zone 8 gardens, we would mulch well to keep frost from reaching the rhizomes.

Chinese Bleeding Heart.  This is a departure from the ferny foliaged Dicentras we are used to by sporting broad leaflets looking more Astilbe than Dicentra.  Another departure is the cream to soft yellow flowers.  Vigorous in moist rich soil, this makes an impressive patch quickly.

This is indeed the king. This beauty can reach 12' tall with subtle hooks on the leaf tips to help it hang onto neighboring plants.  The best thing is the ORANGE flowers in abundance in the leaf axils.  Swoon City.

These are plants from a special deep purple form of this Candelabra Primrose from friends in Scotland who are enviable growers with an equally enviable discerning eye.  We have not flowered these yet so we will be surprised and delighted together.  This requires a moist to wet soil and can take full sun in cool sun areas.

Seed collected at 3200 meters in Sichuan in an open grazed small meadow area adjoining low scrub. Tightly clumping, deciduous and allied to Iris japonica but is something totally new. Small blue flowers are laddered down the stems in the leaf axils.  This has baffled some of the top authorities on Chinese Iris both here in the US and in the UK

A collection from Tibet by Daniel Winkler.  This is one of the Asian rhizomatous onions making a nice clump of broadly grassy foliage with leaves 12"-15" long.  The flowers are in shades of pink and are open rounded umbels whose drooping florets look a bit like some of the fireworks seen in a Fourth of July evening sky. Hardy to at least zone 6 and likely lower.

Our collection in Mogecuo, Sichuan found growing in thick moss atop a large boulder shaded by Rhododendron bureavioides.  Pretty sure on the genus and obviously floundering on the species.  The genus has undergone recent revision and names may not yet be finalized.  Hardy for us and decidous.

A superb smaller evergreen Solomon Seal from China which we have grown for many years and have come to regard as an indispensable part of the collection - one of the first plants we would grab when the greenhouse catches on fire, perish the thought!  Milder gardens, glossy leaves, clustered white flowers and bright ted fruit.  Often an epiphyte.

Crazy fern that takes away the need to fuss with growing this from spore as it makes a multitudinous panoply of ready-to-go plantlets on the leaves that will soon have you owning the corner in your 'hood dealing in fern babies.  Remember, if it's a kid, the first one is free.  Warmer gardens or indoors, mulch protect in zone 8 winters.

Steve Hootman, curator of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, often pats himself on the back for collecting this exceptional species in China and each spring as our plants flower, we murmur attaboys and give him virtual high fives.  Loves some shade, great foliage and spring pink flowers.

Choice species (as seen in our shade garden) collected by NW Plant Wunderkind Riz Reyes on Mt Emei in Sichuan.  This species is often confused with Corydalis elata in the trade.  This selection is quite vigorous with red highlighted new growth and spires of icy blue flowers.  Moist.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.  Collected as Tupistra in 1997 in the Cangshan above Dali at 10,000'. Narrow evergreen keeled leaves create a dense clump. Flowers a basal persistent cudgel of green buds which open to small strange green flowers turning to amber drops with age which delight the botanically inclined.

Pretty cool and needless to say, rare rhizomatous evergreen perennial taxonomically wandering among genera from Tupistra to Campylandra to currently Rohdea which we have written in pencil. This has proven nicely hardy here in the PNW making a statement with elegant narrow green leaves with a muted amber central stripe. Flowers curiously interesting.

Our China collection of this most remarkable species. Favoring rich, moist areas which is required to pump up the nearly 6' in length frond volume. These fronds extend out laxly horizontally which assists in their asexual reproduction from plantlets developing from the little furry balls - careful! - at frond's end. Mulch crown in cold winters.

Glossy green evergreen leaves on a small 4'-5' shrub in the wild, growing on a bright, mostly shaded slope in close company with its understory compatriots Mahonia, Metapanax, Lilium, Disporum, Lysionotus, and a host of ferns.  Single red fruit resting 1/3 of the way up on the leaf midrib.  Flowers small but curious.

RBG Kew and us are gonna have some words!  How dare they merge Rosa mulliganii into another species?  This was named to honor beloved Seattle icon, Brian Mulligan, who was Director of Washington Park Arboretum for 27 years.  Very vigorous beautiful rose with fragrant white flowers and blood-red hips.

This is a seedling from one of the best clones of Darrell Probst's Spiny Leaf forms. The mama plant has luscious large bronzed new foliage with nice teeth on the margins and large creamy yellow flowers on low arching stems. The seedlings vary in flower color from light yellow to purplish flowers but all have seriously good foliage. All credit is due to the bees - we are just a conduit.

This from an unforgettable visit to Aberconwy Nursery in Wales, exceptional alpine plant growers.  A tender African violet relative, this makes dense rosettes of spirally arranged rugose leaves - the perfect backing for the white flowers!   A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Introduction.

Our collection from Guangxi on a mountain area little explored by Westerners.  This Mondo Grass had leaves to 2' long and fairly lax.  Flower stems just 3" tall with surprisingly nice mauve flowers that give way to typical shiny Ophiopogon fruit in the fall.  Excellent textural evergreen for shade with a bonus of good flowers.

We collected this in 1997 on the Tibetan Plateau near Zhongdian in an area of Tibetan open range. The early October withered, deciduous leaves and dried seed pods shrieked Iris!  Eventual flowers confirmed the species, first described in 1995.  Thin leaves and basal gorgeous flowers. Young plants.

An Asian Sour Gum or Tupelo related to our own eastern Nyssa sylvatica. This deciduous tree does flower but not that you would notice although it does produce small bluish fruits in Fall. Fast-growing with largish leaves often carrying bronzy-purple tones when young.

Excellent little Asian Allium that is very nice with small heads of white flowers. Perfect for the rock garden or does great in regular garden beds as it does appreciate some moisture during the summer. Sun and decent drainage and thrives in one customers garden in Michigan. Tidy and of good disposition and certainly not a garden thug.

Our collection from near the 100 Li Rhododendron Area in Guizhou Province in China.  This is a fantastic fern and quietly imposing in the garden lending some tropicalissimo punch.  Long lowrider fronds lean low over the ground and can exceed 6' long.  Usually evergreen, mulch well in zone 7 or arctic blasts,  Likes it moist.

We love the Asiatic Gentians and want them all as they are easy, hardy and put on such a show in late summer/early fall.  We were thrilled toget this one from our friend Urs of Edelweiss Nursery who brought this in from a German gentian specialist.  Not your typical blue, this has white flowers with pale yellowish stripes.  Moist and sun.

Rich deep blue trumpets with exterior pale striping on this collection from a 10,000' alpine moist meadow where it mingled with too many Primula, dwarf Rhododendron and a Bistorta that unexpectedly threatened to steal the show. This requires rich, moist acid soil with afternoon shade in hot sun areas.

Pretty awesome evergreen fern because not only is it cool but it increases fast enough to make a statement in the garden before you are in your dotage and have forgotten why you bought this yet not in that rampaging acreage-eating Borg-assimilating manner that is sometimes described as "a good nursery plant".