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.

Formerly in the genus Cheilanthes, this dryland fern is found in Mexico, Central America and Argentina and just recently, one site in Brazil.  Evergraygreen fronds of fine texture are densely vertical on this smaller fern.  Perfect candidate for the rock garden or container for milder gardens - doing well at Berkeley Botanic Garden

Seed collected by FRBC botanist Dr. Cody Hinchliff in Arizona from a summer rainfall area. Don't panic - this will still be tolerant of dry but will be more amenable to summer water than others. Wider than tall as it spreads by underground stems, the narrowly tubular scarlet flowers are a late summer to fall delight.

Nice Sedum from 10000' in Mexico that has more cojones than you might think handling 10F here just fine. This has yellow flowers in late winter-spring from gray-blue rosettes on lax stems evocative of Echeveria on a stick.  Some compulsives cut back after blooming to tighten up rosettes but we go with the flow.

Small green leaves and light pink flowers combine with the expected good bark color and texture and trunks and branches.  This will be an open broad rounded shrub 6 or 7 feet tall and as wide in ten years depending on the gardener.  Drought tolerant, this requires little summer water in our dry summers and good drainage is key.

Among our thousands of plant accessions, tall bearded iris are represented by just a single plant - Iris 'Kent Pride'.  This outlier in our collections strategy is sited in one of the choicest spots in the dry garden because it is a stunner.  Rich chestnut-red standards with the same overlaid on yellow around a white blaze on the falls - so good!

Very choice species native to CA and growing on old stablized sand dunes where it can reach 3' high and twice as wide.  This could make a nice specimen plant, low hedge or large informal groundcover.  Drought and salt tolerant with early season white flowers and birds will eat the fruit.

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.

A very welcome addition to our rock garden thanks to our generous taxonomist, Cody Hinchliff.  This native to the mountains of South Africa forms an architectural mound to 3' or so with many stems clad in short, stiff and persistent green leaves.  Terminal clusters of small cheery and sweetly scented yellow flowers.

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.

Tender South American shrubby succulent making a 3'x4' mound of thin stems with small fleshy leaves  Flowers unknown and we are perfectly willing to accept that this might well be a different genus entirely!  Pairs well with cactus, bromeliads and xeric shrubs.  Let us know what it looks like when it flowers!

A seriously good Buckwheat native to just three of the Channel Islands where it grows mainly on dry cliffs.  It does great in cultivation however and probably finds it a relief to be able to relax a bit.  Evergreen domes to a foot or more tall with flower stems up to a foot long bearing long lasting blooms of red to white.

Shipping restrictions may applyA selection from the mountains of Orange County CA notable for its rose colored flowers.  This species has somewhat viscid green leaves that tend to drop in late summer but reappear with the rains of autumn and have handled temps to 15F here.  Late winter-early spring flowers in our area, these delight the overwintering Anna's hummingbirds.

Pretty awesome new hybrid that came up at Suncrest Nurseries in CA thanks to some inspired work by the bees.  This outshines its parents with gray-blue leaves and branched erect stems to 3' holding lots of lavender-blue flowers for many weeks.  This can take drier conditions and the vermin deer don't like it.

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!

A very good evergreen fern native to Taiwan, China and Japan which we imported from a specialist in the UK.  Tidy and attractive species reaching 30" wide with fronds to 20" tall, this requires shade to part shade.  And brace yourself - it is tolerant of dry shade!  Happier of course with some water,  Spore-grown by us.

A Darrell Probst introduction which is superior to the typical x rubrum.  This has dark rose-red flowers held above the foliage as well as below.  The evergreen leaves are larger and more rounded than typical and when young are accented with a thin red rim.  Drought tolerant.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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?

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.

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.

Arctostaphylos afficionados Paul and Greg at Xera Plants say this is their favorite Manzanita which made it a must-have for us.  Fits in the home garden and tolerant of garden conditions, this get just 2' high by 4' across in time.  Rocking reddish new growth turns to blue-green.  Pink flowers late winter.  Drought tolerant.

Guitar Plant.  Choice evergreen Tasmanian Proteaceae family member whose vaguely guitar shaped flower buds open to a wild riff of white flowers that will have you playing the air trowel.  Hardy to a normal zero degrees and drought tolerant when established.  Needs no fertilizer.

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.

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.

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.