Found in China by Gary Hammer and named for him by pop-faux rap afficionado Tony Avent who is rumored to secretly favor those baggy pants in the old MC Hammer video. this is one we received via the old Asiatica Nursery of Barry Yinger.  Nice cream speckling on evergreen leaves and maroon flowers set flush in the soil.

Very uncommon Japanese selection that came out of Asiatica Nursery at the end of its run.  This is a pretty stellar foliage plant whose new growth is richly colored in yellow which greens up as the leaves mature.  It is an unexpected and exciting eruption of color when growth commences and the muted colors of winter are in keeping with the season. Tough evergreen tolerant of dry shade but with water, it will grow faster.

A Dan Hinkley collection from Mt Emei and touted as being hardy to Z7 but only by those in serious zonal denial.  That said, a customer told his that he mulches his deeply and it has survived our worst winters.  An attractive plant with late season pink flowers and well worth trying in a sheltered spot.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.  Evergreen vine exceptionally rare to find for sale……..if there was only some nursery somewhere mental enough to invest the time and effort needed to acquire this and grow it for the sake of a few die-hard plant nerds……that would be so cool!  From cool rainforests in Australia, small pink flowers and red fruit.

Allegheny Brook Foam or Brook Saxifrage.  A never common species native streamsides and moist locations in woodlands from West Virginia down into Alabama and Georgia.  Reddish stems and attractive leaves with nice white flowers in late spring.  This adds to the necessary layer of complexity in the shade garden.

A plant of refinement to be sure.  One that is appreciated and admired by the higher echelons of gardening.  A collector's plant.  Different ways of saying that this is not a flamboyant show-stopper but a tasteful blend of delicate texture and airy soft pink flowers that helps make it all work.

Heal-All, Stone Root.  Tuberous form of this widespread East Coast species which we received from Aaron Floden.  Widely used ethnobotanically and homeopathically, this is an interesting shade ornamental in its own right.  Broad soft leaves and curious late season small creamy yellow flowers smelling of Lemon Pledge.

Lily of the Valley.  A good selection of this stalwart species with a yellow margin to the leaves and said leaves are larger than average as well.  Typical scented white flowers.  There are numerous spellings of the cultivar name but since this is an American introduction, we can only assume this is correct.  Sad.

Evergreen Solomon Seal relative from Taiwan via plantsman Ozzie Johnson. Loves moist shade in zones 7-9 where the rounded leaves on stems up to a foot shelter the hanging white bell flowers.  Combines well with all of those shade garden plants that any self respecting plant collector loves so rest assured that garden harmony will remain intact.

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".

This is a clone from a wild collection in China which came to us from a friend and we have finally a few to offer.  Evergreen leaves in our climate looking a lot like a Solomon Seal with similar white bells in spring.  The lavender fruits offer a subtle attraction in the shade garden later in the season.  We clip the old stems off in spring as the new starts to grow.

Evergreen Solomon's Seal.  This is a darn good plant from Sichuan China that really performs here in the Northwest.  This makes dense clumps of upright stems clad in glossy evergreen leaves below which dangle white bells in spring.   We typically cut back last years growth in spring.   Easy.

A collection from China by the folks at Quarry Hill Botanic Garden, home to one of the finest collections of Asian plants in North America.  A nice addition to the 3 or 4 forms of this species in cultivation with rounder, broader and glossy foliage with flowers a trifle showier being whiter.  Evergreen in mild winters.

An exciting introduction of this evergreen species from Gaolingongshan of NW Yunnan.    Why is this so good? Bright yellow flowers on 5'-6' stems on a 6"-8" floral cone.  Each bract on the floral cone contains 3-5 flowers as opposed to one typically, so each flowering spike can last a good 5 weeks. And a pleasant light scent to boot. It's best kept in a container and overwintered inside.

Interesting and showy Japanese species that makes tidy little evergreen clumps.  Our original plant came from the Portland iconic Bovees Nursery.  Unusual lavender-pink flowers held well above the foliage.  Makes nice patches by rooting at leaf tips.  Good moist soil.

Ok, here is a weird one.  In the family Helwingiaceae there is but one genus, Helwingia which has 3 species.  Helwingia has epiphyllus flowers which means they  bloom from the midrib of the leaves.  This male plant was collected by Hinkley in Sichuan and will be evergreen.  Small light pink flowers.

Fabulous big blue hosta as seen in our shade garden.  Grand white flowers.  Even though it is an old favorite, it still teaches the new upstarts a thing or two about beauty, durability and garden worthiness.

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.

Our cross between the "typical" Lilium mackliniae and the Saramati form which will be recognized as a distinct variety of the species.  The former has larger flowers and is more campanulate while the latter is a high elevation variant with smaller flowers and blooms earlier.  This hybrid is very uniform from seed, short, stout, earlier than typical

Lilium rosthornii is an uncommonly interesting lily from China.Three foot stems carry large, vivid orange flowers whose narrow petals are recurved into an impossible backbend. The exposed faces of the petals fairly bristle with polyp-like papillose projections while the revealed open throat displays a small dark green star.

Superb form collected by perhaps the preeminent current plant hunter, Jens Nilsen.  The list of 'firsts' in Jens' history of collections is astounding.  This collection is not a first but is notable for being an exceptional form.  Larger in all parts than previous introductions with gold flowers in midsummer.

A seedling from a cross between two fine Mahonia species done at the Bloedel Reserve and given to us by their Director of Horticulture, Andy Navage.  While we would love to grow these on and evaluate the differences, this would take time, space, money and well, we could go on but would rather deputize you to grow this on and report back.

False Solomon Seal. This Chinese species is one of our favorites in the shade garden and we delight in its ribbed leaves with elegantly understated small violet daubing at the base of each leaflet followed by the precise detail in the small greenish flowers. In the late summer into fall, it has strut-your-stuff full heads of bright orange fruit.

An interesting range of subtle shades of blue-green on these plants grown from South African seed.  Some are comparable, if not better than 'Antonow's Blue' and all are going to let the neighbors know you are a plant geek.  Great leaves, spikes of peculiar flowers and inflated seed pods.

An interesting range of subtle shades of blue-green on these plants grown from South African seed.  Some are comparable, if not better than 'Antonow's Blue' and all are going to let the neighbors know you are a plant geek.  Great leaves, spikes of peculiar flowers and inflated seed pods.

An interesting range of subtle shades of blue-green on these plants grown from South African seed.  Some are comparable, if not better than 'Antonow's Blue' and all are going to let the neighbors know you are a plant geek.  Great leaves, spikes of peculiar flowers and inflated seed pods.

An interesting range of subtle shades of blue-green on these plants grown from South African seed.  Some are comparable, if not better than 'Antonow's Blue' and all are going to let the neighbors know you are a plant geek.  Great leaves, spikes of peculiar flowers and inflated seed pods.

A plant we got from Michael Wickenden at Cally Gardens in Scotland who collected this in Chile.  The flowers on this form seem a bit larger than typical as if they need to get any better.  Wild orange-red dangling tubular pouches beckon man and hummingbird alike.  Can clamber up into trees or kept small and shrubby by a bit of clipping.

Chinese May Apple.  This is an impressive plant - truly one to give the shade garden some visual impact.  Big leaves get up to 18" across with bizarre clusters of red flowers held beneath which are followed by red "tomatoes" if you are lucky.  Rich moist soil in shade.