Originally introduced by Cistus Nursery from a seed collection at 8000' in La Siberica, Mexico, this very desirable plant has become hard to find of late but our two plants finally flowered with impressive spikes that was one male and one predominately female so we had seed! These have been undamaged in brief nighttime drops to 10F and have formed new crowns after flowering so the show will continue. It is mandatory to have a series of parties when these bloom, btw.

Pinecone Thistle.  Pretty cool 6"-12" tall plant from dry pine woods and wastelands in southern Europe and northern Africa.  The spineless gray-green, thistle-like leaves, are felted gray-white underneath and are a perfect accompaniment to the art project flowers.  Tufts of filamentous purplish flowers erupt from hefty cones of overlapping, feathered brown scales.

A perennial (usually anyway) thistle relative from South Africa which makes a multicrowned clump of softly spiny leaves which by themselves merit nothing more than a good hosing of Roundup but the large purplish flowers are the swan emerging from the ugly duckling.

A serious bit of yellow on this rock garden gem.  The dome of small silver leaves is completely obscured by the mass of yellow flowers in May and June here.  We let ours go to seed so we can enjoy more seedlings.  This is visually nearly identical to three other distantly related species in the Mediterranean and may reflect parallel evolution from similar habitats.

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.

Quite an uncommon evergreen species in cultivation from Shaanxi and Sichuan possessing an impish charm to which few others in the genus can lay claim. A smaller species to 12" with cute rounded leaflets which subtend stems bearing rounded simple spurless flowers which are a soft yellow.  Good drought tolerance on this winsome cutey,

Leadplant.  A native to the upland plains of the Midwest, this leguminous shrub has  excellent textural foliage of small gray-green pea leaflets and quite nice terminal "antlers" of purplish flower spikes.  The flowers are tiny but are clustered in multitudes.  Good drainage, drought tolerant.

A seldom-encountered Dianthus from the mountains in South Africa.  Apparently the local indigenous use this in magic - we can attest we are transported briefly to another realm when this flowers.  Nice pink flowers on slowly spreading mats which is best suited for the rock garden.  Good drainage in full sun and hardy to zone 7 and possibly lower.

Butcher's Broom.  Stiff branches of these were gathered into brooms for the serious sweeping required in European shops.  This is the choice metrosexual form not needing a partner to set red marble fruit right on the "leaf" surface.  Slow growing, evergreen, drought tolerant.  Medicinal.

This rugged South African is sun, wind and drought tolerant and absolutely hardy in the PNW.  One of the most admired plants in our border for its profuse display of large yellow to orange daisies on low stems.  Good drainage.

Fragrant Dwarf False Indigo.  An excellent plant for the xeric garden although not the best in sandy soils since it hails from good prairie soil in  the midwest from central Canada down to Texas.  Nice small woody shrub with erect small spikes of clustered small tubular flowes of violet blue petals and red stamens - whoa!

We acquired this incredibly tough, tuberous, summer dormant Geranium in the 80's from East Lambrook in southern England which was home to Margery Fish and the original English Cottage Garden.  Provenance alone is merit enough but good lavender blue flowers and drought tolerance carries the day.

Rock Fleabane.  A mighty mite in the Asteraceae family, this rock crevice dweller was not discovered until 1978 in the Chiricahua Mts in Arizona and later was found 200 miles east in the Black Range of New Mexico.  It has been very easy and rock hardy for us and although drought tolerant, adapts to frequent irrigation.  Small white flowers.

Fabulous hybrid ornamental Origano (O. rotundifolium x O. scabrum) which is both heat and drought tolerant and a perfect choice for the sunny rock garden or top edge of rockery wall.  This really does need sharp drainage to perform its best.  In the Midwest, it is used as an annual in window boxes.  Light pink flowers all summer long.

Heart-leafed Globe Daisy. Pleasing little alpine from the mountains of southern Europe and Turkey. Low and slowly spreading domes like a small overturned pie with evergreen leaves and lavender-blue pom-pom flowers on short stems. Easy and tough enough for a beginner, sweet enough for the rock gardener who has grown it all.

A very dwarf selection of our native red huckleberry found in the garden at St. Andrews in Scotland.  This is extremely dwarf to just a few inches high but spreading to 3' across in time.  That would be a long time.  Brilliant red and orange new growth.  Perfect little rock garden shrub.

A nice silver-foliaged selection of the California Fuchsia.  This loves a well-drained soil in a hot sunny spot where it has lots of tubular bright orange hummingbird magnet flowers in late summer.  Disappears in winter but comes up from the spreading underground rhizomes.  Cut back in spring.

A sure-to-be favorite is this hybrid from Denver's Kelly Grummons who crossed or perhaps found a bee seedling between Salvia darcyi and S. microphylla. This 2015 Plant Select introduction wowed us when we saw it in Denver in 2014. Blood-red flowers on 3'-4' stems from late June to October and hardy to zone 5. Grummons - you rule, dude!

Officially Xeric Awesome Perennial. Seeds we got from Panayoti Kelaidis' home garden in Denver. This has rosettes of foliage which erupt in early summer to 2'-3' branched displays of orange to yellow poppy flowers. Nifty seed pods too. This really wants good drainage and hot sun and you will be smitten by the Horned Poppy.

Quirky little evergreen vine from the Mediterranean that brings delight far out of proportion to the size of its flowers. Small curved pipe-like flowers are a subtle burnished pale flesh on the outside accented by thin reddish lines.  The flared pipe bowl is a perky yellow with faint lines in the back of the throat and a rim of umber, delicately whiskered.

Exceptional selection of this cross between Garrya elliptica and G. fremontii from Glasnevin in Ireland.  What is notable about this is the long late winter catkins have conspicuous wine-colored bands.  We're talking Pinot Noir here not Pinot Grigio.  As a bonus, the stems are dark colored as well.  Winter interest, anyone?

Grown from seed given to us by xeric, steppe and rock garden guru, Panayoti Kelaidis of Denver Botanic Garden.  Brilliant plantsman who, if you gave him an hour lead time, would be conversant in aquatic plants native to Lake Malawi and the nearby Great Rift Valley.  This Central Asian species grows natively on rocky, sandy slopes and in the garden, is quite drought tolerant.  Thrives in Denver, this will get 3'-4'+ with pink flowers in summer.

We were gifted this little green "roller" from John Grimshaw, Director of the Yorkshire Arboretum at Castle Howard. As he handed us a nondescript pup, we wondered what magical thing attended this to earn a place in his exquisite collection. "This is from the garden of Carl Linnaeus" STFU! The Father of Binomial Nomenclature!?! Linnaeus & Grimshaw - now that's provenance!

Mountain Coyote Mint. A Washington State native whose range extends from BC to CA and east to UT, inhabiting drier slopes in mid-elevation montane settings to subalpine settings. Very variable in flower color, this one has pincushion heads of pink-purple flowers.  The flowers and the powerfully aromatic foliage, has been used historically in a decoction for flatulence.

Rio Grande Rain Lily.  This has the cheeriest yellow flowers with burnt orange streaking which appear without leaves in late summer to early fall with the onset of fall rains if grown in a sunny dry spot.  These get 6" tall but are wicked cute and will self sow to make an enviably vibrant patch in time.  Native to the Southeast and Mexico.  Zone 7.

Pretty much an awesome plant for the rock garden or hell strip as this relishes good drainage and hot sun.  We saw this at Lakewood Gardens in Denver summer of 2014 and had to have!  A small subshrub covered in blazing red tubular flowers and allows no other plant to have any attention whatsoever.  On the moderate to dryish side and lean.