The "Giant Form" we got in the UK and it is rather large. Quite. Ours are in full sun in lean infertile mineral soil and watered just three times since our last dab of rain on June 14.  It is now August 28.  Given this tough love, leaves up to 40" long and flower stems to 5' tall.  Likely bigger with kindness and bees love it.

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.

We got this from Maggie at Western Hills some years ago as an Alstroemeria x Bomarea hybrid called 'Fred Meyer'.   Thanks to Martin Grantham at UC Davis, we finally have the correct name.   This is a rare and surprisingly hardy species from Brazil which does great outside for us.  Pink corolla tube with green petals and yellow throat.  Not aggressive.

Fantastic little gem from the high mountains of Taiwan collected by our friend Philip MacDougall.  Our mama plant is several years old and is a compact dome just 9" high and maybe 12" across.  Early summer has this adorned in small dense heads of dark pink flowers edged in pale pink to white.

Very good selection that does it up right with well-displayed apricot-yellow flowers.  The flowers arise from calyces that are more deeply colored and the individual tepals or petals have rounded tips giving it a pleasantly full appearance.  If you haven't discovered Columbus yet, this might be just the right time.

A purported G. papilio hybrid, our mama plant when in bloom with its 5 foot stems of red-mauve flowers sporting dark eye patches, frequently caused plant geeks to start speaking in tongues and offer creative enticements in exchange for a wee bit.  We have had to say "No." until now.

Dwarf Scandanavian selection of Chives which is way more ornamental than usefully edible.  Lots of pinkish lavender flowers on a very compact plant.  Quite useful in the rock garden or detailed planting site such as edge of a stepping stone or against a rock.

Here is a little Japanese bulbous plant that will add some late summer glitz to the rock garden or special foreground planting niche.  Not shy about blooming, this will strut its stuff with round purplish flowerheads on 10" stems which sends our friends the Butterflies and Bees into quiet delirium.

These are seed-grown from our plant of 'Hakure' which is often seen as 'Hakuree'.  The parent plant was bred and selected by Hiroshi Hayakama in Japan in the early 90's who chose this for its floriferous display of white flowers just touched with fleeting lavender and sporting twisted tepals.  Our seed-grown progeny will vary from deep purple to white but all will be good. 18"-30" tall.

Alpine Water Fern. Found at higher elevations in Australia's New South Wales and Tasmania growing in grasslands, moist rock crevices and sphagnum bogs. A stalwart fern and go-to evergreen low groundcover because it looks great despite your prolonged attention lapses from pandemic Netflix binge-watching.

Our own hybrid introduction which we have trialed for 10 years before releasing a few.  A very long bloom period from mid summer into fall.  Narrow foliage supports 3'+ stems of rich burnt orange with the individual flowers glistening as if lacquered.  Attribution to everyone's favorite 1978 Captain Beefheart album Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller).

A large-flowered and very dark blue selection bred by Scotsman Ian McNaughton.  The October trumpets are so dark that a distinct wash of purple plays in the outer throat of the corolla as I look at it on this October 8.  This wee bairn of Ian's breeding meets his goals of bigger and more flowers - a bonny Gentian!

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.

So notoriously promiscuous as to make a rabbit blush, these evergreen bulbous Iris family members are all about the summer of love. Embracing any bee that taps on its window bringing pollen from any nearby floozy flower, this exhibits a Bacchanalian moral turpitude that is either damned or extolled.  These are young seed-grown plants from one of our darkest Dierama so at worst, this will still be pretty good.

This plant smells so good in flower that it should be illegal or barring that, taxable.  This could help with budget shortfalls because it is frankly addictive.  One sniff and the response is "Ooh!  Do you have this for sale?"  Southwest native remarkable hardy with grape koolaid fragrant white  flowers in masses.

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.  Grown for decades in the Seattle garden of Jeanette Kunnen.

A bushy hardy Fuchsia with arching branches and largish leaves which is good because they are one of the good things about this selection being richly colored in red if grown in ample sun.  The flowers are no slouch either and they have to bring it to keep up with the leaves and that they do with a red exterior and a double purple interior corolla.  Winter mulch.

Yellow Jacob's Ladder. A nice unexpected departure from the usual blue flowers of Polemonium as these are yellow with lacquered tomato. This little flowering powerhouse hails from the Southwest and northern Mexico and can put all it has to give into the many flowers so save seed and you can let it self-sow.

Little bulby plant from the Drakensberg Mts in South Africa.  This is a good rock garden subject in that it likes good drainage in the winter.  When growing, keep it watered reasonably and it will bloom its tail off with loads of small reddish flowers.  Mulch if bitter cold in winter.

A very rarely offered hardy terrestrial orchid from northern India that is an Asian counterpart to our own native Epipactis gigantea.  This has freakishly nice rosey-pink flowers as many as 15 per stem.  Easy in the garden and a good multiplier.  We've wanted to offer this one for a long time and the opening bell has finally rung.  Feel free to comparison shop on this baby.

This is one of our favorite little dwarf shrubs that totally rocks the rock garden.  Slow, slow growth, densely twiggy, small heavily textured leaves and small clusters of deep pink flowers in mid summer makes this a great choice for containers or that small special place.

The darkest foliage on any Angelica.  I googled it and got an interesting hit on an escort in London with ebony skin named Angelica.  The plant may actually be darker, costs quite a lot less and I'm sure easier to keep happy.  Biennial so plant the seeds that form after the lovely pink flowers.

Big cheerful yellow flowers which open widely on stems to nearly 30" tall are the reason for growing this selection.  This can help make some of the late season fiery colors seem even more intense by comparison or if asked to carry the floral load on its own, it is more than up to the task,.

It is always a real treat to see this come into flower in late spring and early summer with bright white buttons of double flowers held on thin wires of stems above the narrow green foliage.  This comes from the mountains of Europe and may likely be the closely related species pusilla based on its narrow leaves.  Great rock garden plant and zone 5 hardy.

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.

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.

A seedling selection named and introduced by us in recognition of the large flowers which when compared to other clones in terms of size, is not only beyond the pale ones but all others as well. Flowers of the palest pink as if infused by the cold sun hanging low in the Icelandic sky.  These will be ecstatic in rich, moist soil in a sunny position.  Used to be Schizostylis.

This is a lovely thing we received from Ellen Hornig at the late Seneca Hills Nursery in New York where she was able to grow this thanks to deep lake-effect snow cover.  Looking perfectly intermediate between Dierama and Crocosmia, this is the perfect choice if you are wanting a soft pink Crocosmia but can't find one.

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.

This is a choice little dwarf species from China of which we never have enough.  Perfect lavender-blue flowers just a few inches high over densly clumping short foliage.  This is one tough baby Iris as Sue brought this out from her garden in northern Vermont.  Deciduous.