Long my favorite Bergenia with large upright broad paddles of leaves which turn the  best maroon in the winter of any in the genus.  Oh sure, the dark pink flowers are good in spring but this plant is one of the few reasons I look forward to winter.  Galanthus for contrast - oh my.

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.

This is indeed the king.  One of our most coveted plants, this is an especially fine form from our friend Philip MacDougall.  This beauty can reach 12' tall with subtle hooks on the leaf tips to help it hang onto neighboring plants.  The best thing is the ORANGE flowers in abundance in the leaf axils.  Swoon City.

Sweet little groundcover whose double white flowers resemble fluffy bits of white popcorn strewn on the leaves. Perfect underplanting for other shade plants to pop up through and great between stepping stones. Gently spreading and not hard to keep in bounds. Darnn near perfect.

Saxifraga cochlearis is native to the southeastern Alps and this form 'Major' is speculated to be a hybrid with S. callosa which would account for its extra vigor.  Not a bad thing at all!  This makes clustered rosettes of foliage encrusted in silvery deposits and has white flowers in spring.  Good in a trough or rock garden.

An interesting Asian Lysimachia which we have not yet identified.  These genus is widespread and varied in Asia with over 170 species and varieties in China alone.  It is so much easier to key out monotypic genera where there is but a single species.  This is from lower elevations and we have not trialed it outside yet but looks frost sensitive.

Very rare Libertia - which is a genus in the Iris family - from New Zealand which was thought to be extinct until a population of 30 individuals was discovered in 2006.  Closely allied to Libertia ixioides, this species is critically endangered in the wild but gardeners are helping with ex situ conservation through cultivation.  Evergreen olive-green leaves to 15"-18" on a clump forming plant with white flowers and persistent orange-ish seed pods.

A very hardy Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit Ceanothus.  If you are going to name something the Glory of Versailles then it had better be good!  A deciduous shrub to 6' or 7' high or more and 5' or so wide with soft powder blue panicles of scented flowers mid summer into fall.   C. americanus and the Mexican C. coeruleus are it's parents.

This a bigger version of the little B. penna-marina ssp. alpina commonly found in nurseries.  We never see this offered which is just a shame since it is a great fern.  Well, not such a shame since a little exclusivity never hurts.  This makes a dense groundcover of evergreen foliage.

From Wendy Perry of Bosvigo Plants in S. England comes this unfortunately scarce and choice Campanula.  Gently and very controllably spreading to make an impressive clump with spires of pure white flowers.  Pairs impeccably with Hosta 'Patriot'.

A hybrid seedling selection between Eucryphia glutinosa and E. cordifolia that showed up at Mount Usher Gardens in Ireland thanks to some discerning work done by the local pollinators.  The deciduous E. glutinosa brings good hardiness and the E. cordifolia adds excellent flower and evergreen foliage.  Uncommon in the trade.  Tall narrow habit.

This is a gleaming bit of sunshine carried into your shadowed shade garden and released.  The cupped leaves to just 5" high bring more light to their bit of turf than their size would suggest.  The small light lilac flowers are nice but incidental because with this Hosta it is all about the glow.

First US offering of this mind-melting mega must-have plant zombie drenched sheets fever lying about the price without a second thought to husband-wife-partner-mother forget to feed the dog dream Araliad.  BIG leaves and sprays of snowball flowers.  Go ahead, google it but don't say we didn't warn you. Young plants but will grow quickly.  Tender but when has that stopped you?

A rare introduction of this small alpine Allium that is scarcely represented in cultivation.  Small flattened leaves arch close to the ground and the short-stemmed blue flowers are quite pleasing.  The leaves distinguish it from the similar but with rounded leaves, Allium cyaneum, which it shares habitat.

Rare and choice goody that Jim Fox brought to us from England.  Surprisingly hardy with screaming hot bright fuchsia pink daisies in summer.  Don't plant it with Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' like we did - a memorable combo for its garish bad taste.  Winter dormant.

A choice Primula from the Italian Alps that is seldom offered for sale.  I know we hate to part with any.  These make bold clumps of distinctive foliage with short-stemmed clusters of dark lavender flowers.  This likes a moisture retentive well drained soil.

This clone came from a knowledgeable plantsman in Vietnam and no data as to whether it was from a wild collection or a cultivated plant originating from China. Evergreen Solomon Seal relative with white bells under upright and slightly arching stems clad in alternate green leaves.  Hardy in Kansas.

A rare Myrtle fromTierra del Fuego which is quite hardy here and just the sweetest thing with evergreen aromatic leaves and small white flowers in summer which are followed by pink/white pearly edible berries.  A perfect little plant.  Good moist soil in some shade.

We presume this is simply a good form of Dactylorhiza maculata as the leaves are broader and the purple-pink flowers held in fatter heads than many of the forms we see around.  A good plant and one we have slowly increased by division and now have a scant few to offer.  Leaves are nicely spotted.

A choice little woodland groundcover from our collection in a high elevation coniferous forest in Yunnan where it grew not far from Primula sonchifola and Megacodon stylophorus.  Slow carpeter with white flowers and small pale orange fruit nestled in the nicely textured leaves..  Choice and not invasive by a long shot.

A very good and stable selection from Japan of this little woodland creeper.  Dark green leaves are well-marked with feathered yellow tips and in spring this has pendant white starry flowers.  This will increase to create a definite bit of visual velcro in the garden because as your eye roams the plants, it will stop abruptly on this one.

This was one of those "Holy shit - lookit that fern!" moments when we first spotted this species growing at the base of soaring pinnacles of vertical peaks in Guizhou, China where it was not intimidated in the least and perfectly in scale.  Massive 4'-6' wide fronds 6'-8' tall in the wild and clumping.  Likely smaller in cultivation but still BIG!  Zone 7b-9.

Rich deep blue trumpets with exterior pale striping on this collection from a 10,000' alpine moist meadow where it mingled with too many Primula, dwarf Rhododendron and a Bistorta that unexpectedly threatened to steal the show. This requires rich, moist acid soil with afternoon shade in hot sun areas.

A proven species for the garden, this Primula from China is in the Cortusoides section of the genus as evidenced by the broad, soft hairy leaves reminiscent of Primula kisoana but without the groundcover proclivities.  A good display of pink to rose-pink flowers on 12"-16" stems in late spring with sumptuous leaves in attendance if given light shade and a moist, organic-rich soil.

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!

Blue-Eyed Grass.  A West Coast and Washington State native that grows in mid to higher elevations in moist locations. This is very easy in our lowland gardens and a nice addition to the native plant garden. Low tuffets of green grassy blades and small blue-lavender flowers.

Small scale evergreen Hebe and one of the hardier ones for the PNW.  This is attractive in flower or out as it has very tidy foliage and a pleasing mounding habit. The flowers are small and white and sometimes with a bit of a mauve tinge but anyone would say white.

We are quite pleased with ourselves for collecting seed of this desireable and scarce variant in the eastern Sino-Himalaya.  This hardy Ginger relative has large flowers with white dorsal petals and a broad white labellum liberally washed in violet.  Very plant-nerd worthy as well as being just a beautiful addition to the garden.

One of the better of the clear yellow hybrids with nicely presented flowers that while of good size are not so overly large that they bow down the stems.  We've come to like the clean yellows as they bring something refreshingly uncomplicated to the garden bed and the fewer issues in bed, the better.

A nice smaller selection from Great Dixter which distinguishes itself from the pack by a shorter habit and flower stems held rather laterally so the blaze of red-orange flowers are displayed on the horizontal making it perfect for viewing from above.  Plus it carries that Dixter mystique.