One of the great evergreen hardy fern species from our collection in Hubei in this wondrous narrow valley cleaved by a stream.  Wondrous because of the flora which included Acer griseum among a host of choice species.  Tough fern which looks good pretty much all the time with very few exceptions.

This is a beloved shrub to small tree species notable for flowering young with nodding white flowers which are best viewed when you can look up into them such as ours on a raised bed. Original introductions likely from Japan have red stamens but this collection of ours differs with yellow stamens.

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.

This was an interesting Mountain Ash with entire leaves which we found in the Dayaoshan in Guizhou. We knew it was not Sorbus meliosmifolia we had found elsewhere. This had a smoother surface to the leaves without impressed veins and a broader and more open habit. The fruit was green going to russet. Surely good to zone 6 at least.

Riverine Tea Tree.  This uncommon to cultivation Tasmania endemic is often found along stream banks in its native setting so can take moister conditions than some other species.  White flowers on an evergreen shrub with good flaking bark and getting to 8'-10'.  Deer proof as well.

Mountain Ash.  Our collection from Dragon's Elbow Mt in Sichuan from 4300 meters where this was a graceful small tree to 25' with pendulous clusters of small pink-flushed fruit.  The bipinnate leaves are dainty in appearance with each leaflet quite small and taking on good scarlet-red coloration in fall.  Clustered small white flowers in late spring.

Ok, this is delightful!  A small evergreen subshrub which has these shiny little leaves on mahogany stems with sprays of lavender-blue with a distinctive magenta ring enclosing a white eye.  This happily flowers from June until frost and shearing off the spent flowers encourages continued bloom. This makes a 10"x24" billow of foliage and flower in sun to part sun.

Interior Live Oak. Broadly distributed throughout California, from the coast to the foothills of the Sierras, this species is highly adapted to dry conditions. Evergreen, with leathery, rich green and shallowly toothed leaves.  Thanks to xeric plant guru Ian Barclay of The Desert Northwest for sharing his acorn collections.

A seldom-seen species of Sweet Pepperbush from our seed collection in the wild where it was leafless branches and a multiplicity of small finger-like panicles bedecked with small seed capsules.  This has proven itself in the garden here with a profusion of summer white flowers literally alive with pollinators.

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.

This is the rarest US Magnolia species occurring in just 6 counties in the Florida panhandle. Fantastic species with huge leaves up to 2' or more long and nearly a foot across. On plants young as 3-4 years old, white scented flowers to 10" wide appear in May avoiding frost damage . Dramatic large shrub to small tree.

Seed-grown from the clone 'Soft Caress' which is good parentage to say the least.  This will be similar and expressing to varying degrees the qualities of its parent which are good non-spiny foliage with upright yellow candles of flowers on a narrowly vertical evergreen shrub.  It will be good and also a unique one of a kind.

Oregon White Oak. This variety of Q. garryana hugs the foothills of the western Sierra Nevada and southern Oregon. In its native poor, rocky soils this becomes a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree to 20 ft. Deciduous and drought tolerant. Another excellent Oak we're able to offer thanks to Ian Barclay of The Desert Northwest.

Second-generation plants from our original collection of this large shrub to small tree in southern China.  Glossy evergreen leaves and large fried egg flowers - white petals with a yolk of yellow stamens - in October-November.  A gorgeous plant for mild gardens where frost won't turn the white blooms Camellia brown.

An evergreen Lily-of-the-Valley relative, this is our collection from Yunnan, China from our 1997 trip.  This is distinctly different than the Reineckia carnea of Japan as well as other collections from China yet DNA by Aaron Floden puts it right in the species.  Scented pink flowers at the base of the leaves.

This is pretty much our default tree whenever anyone asks about a good small tree. This has zero bad habits that we know about it and is a rapid grower with small evergreen leaves and minute yellow flowers that smell heavenly of marzipan or something similarly decadent.

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.

Epling's Oak. Hybrid of Quercus douglasii and Q. garryana, known from only a very few locations in California. This forms a deciduous, multi-stemmed large shrub to small tree, 20 or 30ft tall with time. Beautiful blue-green leaves color in fall. Deciduous. Grown from acorns collected by Ian Barclay of The Desert Northwest.

Uncommon evergreen Deutzia with glossy, dark green leaves with a white underside. Early summer brings subtle clusters of small, star shaped white flowers with pronounced golden anthers. From a Peter Cox collection in the Cangshan.

Extraordinary yellow-flowered evergreen species from northern Vietnam on this collection. The trees in the wild were all small second-growth trees with mature examples nowhere in evidence. That night we slept in a nearby farmer's house with our sleeping bags on wide flooring planks of magnolia wood - mystery solved where the big trees went. Best in a sheltered spot from freezing winds.

Collected by Riz Reyes in Sichuan in 2005, this is a superb form of the species with the largest flowers of any of the clones we grow.  Admittedly, Disporopsis in flower will never make the cover of glossy magazine but this is good.  Whitish flowers with yellowish tones in the interior.  Evergreen to 24".

Incredibly exciting rare ornamental Araliad from Taiwan where it can reach 30 feet tall.  Don't be scared by that as it will likely not attain those dimensions in your garden at least while you are the gardener!  Broadly orbicular leaves with 3-5 shallow lobes on stout branches makes this a riveting centerpiece.  These are seed-grown and best in mild gardens.

Blue Oak. Deciduous, shallowly lobed, bluish-green foliage with fall colors of rosy-pink, orange, and yellow.  Iconic California endemic from the foothills of the Central Valley.  In typical oak fashion, very slow to 30ft or more with enough time. Homegrown from acorns collected by Ian Barclay of The Desert Northwest.

Leather Oak. Aptly named, with leathery, evergreen, almost holly-like leaves on this is serpentine endemic shrub oak native to chaparral regions of the California Coast Ranges as well as the foothills of the Sierra and San Gabriel Mountains. A FRF shout-out to the collection work of Ian Barclay of The Desert Northwest.

Snowbell Tree.  Very beautiful Styrax from southern China and a nice infusion of new genetics to go along with the forms already in cultivation.  Vigorous grower of pleasing habit and not overly large at 20'-25' with profuse white flowers of good size for this species.  Small nut-like fruit follow the flowers.  A favorite genus of ours.

This blueberry relative was an exciting find from a small mostly deforested limestone ridge in Vietnam. It was a small compact 12"-18" shrub growing both in the rocks and epiphytically with orchids on the few trees left.  Evergreen with boss white tubular flowers and a red berry sheltered by 3 large red bracts.

This was quite a pleasing sight as we slogged up the muddy trail of an obscure mountain in Guizhou with the rain coming down when we saw looming out of the mist, branches of this fine Malus laden with small cheery lemon-yellow crab apples each bejeweled in glittering raindrops. Small trees to 15' with broad, irregular crowns and likely white flowers.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.  Our collection from Asia of what is likely the first introduction of this exceptional form of this equally exceptionally rare variety. Attractive leaves that are terminally cleft into bilateral lobes. The white flowers are the finest in the genus holding their own among the best of flowering trees.

Extremely rare offering of this NW Argentina-SE Bolivia version of the Chilean Crinodendron patagua.  This large shrub to small 20'-30' multi-trunked tree has evergreen leaves and small white bell flowers.  Quite fast growing and is one of the primary species in the Podocarpus parlatorei forests.

Young plants of this extremely rare species which we speculate will have only light frost tolerance so perhaps good for zones 9-10.  Evergreen bold leaves bringing to mind an unholy union between a laurel and a rhododendron.  Insignificant flowers at a relatively young age.