This is the Japanese version of our native False Hellebore. Wonderful broad pleated leaves and when old enough, nice spikes of white starry flowers to 3' or more. This likes a rich moist soil, emerges early in spring and goes dormant by mid to late summer. Deer resistant and very hardy.  Young plants.

An extraordinary variant from Linda Cochran's (of course) old garden which she allowed us to salvage when moving.  Distinctly mocha foliage in early spring, with various plant parts retaining dark tones.  Notably, the flower stem is very dark as are the bracts enclosing the flower bud.  The flowers are lovely, white and richly colored in dark maroon.  These are bulbs from isolated, hand-pollinated seed.

An extraordinary variant from Linda Cochran's (of course) old garden which she allowed us to salvage when moving.  Distinctly mocha foliage in early spring, with various plant parts retaining dark tones.  Notably, the flower stem is very dark as are the bracts enclosing the flower bud.  The flowers are lovely, white and richly colored in dark maroon.  These are bulbs from isolated, hand-pollinated seed.

A choice woodland creeper for the shade or partly shaded garden where it behaves like Anemone nemorosa - making a mat of ferny foliage but in this case, it has vibrant yellow flowers.  A patch of this is to be coveted.  Very hardy and goes mid to late summer dormant.

An eyecatcher as evidenced by our friend Brian, with exquisite taste in all things beautiful, when he made the hopeful inquiry "These probably aren't ready to sell yet"  From a Malaysian botanic garden, this has sumptuous burnished metal leaves on the uppers with rich red undersides.  White/pink flowers are not needed.

An intriguing curiosity that combines beauty with novelty.  In this selection, the flower petals have become lacy green petaloid structures that are perfectly arranged to create amusing and intricate green flowers.  A fun addition to the shade garden.

Hardy species in the Gesneriaceae or African Violet family from Greece and Bulgaria where it favors shaded rocky outcrops.  Our old mama plants fill a 3 gallon pot with a packed dome of evergreen leafy rosettes that give rise to 4"-5" stems with flowers of pale lavender faces and dark corolla base.

European Wild Ginger. Rounded, heart-shaped most excellent evergreen leaves (evergreen in mild winters or our Z8 garden) hug the ground close and dense, hiding the small flowers and their lack of ornament We have a slightly paler leaf clone that is most apparently pale when planted next to this clone.

One of the better selections of Aucuba and very rare in the nursery trade (actually can't find anyone offering this via Google). This was brought to the US by the now defunct Asiatica Nursery and shared with us by Lance Reiners. Narrow leaves consistently freckled in gold presents as major pizzazz with unmistakable elegance.  A tough evergreen tolerant of dry shade once established.  Zones 7-9.

Redwood ivy.  Vigorous carpeter in optimal conditions with evergreen foliage  which bronzes up in winter.  The tiny white flower motes benefit from profusion and the fact that they are the smallest in the genus is offset by this species having the best foliage which is what you have 95% of the year.  Our collection from California

A collection by the Wynn-Jones from Crug Farm of this prized Asian culinary species from the Korean island of Jejudo, formerly Cheju island. This is a culinary ginger but it is the deep yellow flower buds that are eaten which open to lilac-pink flowers held at ground level. The deciduous corn-like leaves get about 3' tall

There ain't nuthin' like this.  Early spring yellow stars followed by leathery lobed green leaves in a dense low mound.  It is the early yellow flowers that steal the show in part because they have so little competition and in part because they are so unique.

Gorgeous little gem out of Japan with a rich yellow center to the leaf  surrounded by green with some nice feathering details.  This will increase quickly but not aggressively and adds a nice splash of color in the shade garden.  The white flowers go well with the whole package.

Steve Hootman, curator of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, often pats himself on the back for collecting this exceptional species in China and each spring as our plants flower, we murmur attaboys and give him virtual high fives.  Loves some shade, great foliage and spring pink flowers.

Beautiful clumping species that may well be the queen of the genus.  Or are we granting royalty because it is new on the scene?  Maybe, but it is awfully good. This makes a stout small clump of evergreen fern-like leaves from which emerge in spring the peculiarly Coptis greenish-yellow flowers.  From China.

A rare wild-origin offering of this hardy-for-us species.  This develops stout vertical stems which hold palm-like leaves consisting of 8 narrow green leaflets.  The late-season pink flowers ignite the pleasure centers which had been happily simmering all summer from the foliar architecture.  Nice to introduce some new genetics

The correctly named true species as what is generally seen in gardens are forms of Cardiocrinum giganteum.  The only deviation from the key of 3-5 flowers are some with up to 9 flowers which we attribute to easy living in our garden and variation within the species. This is most closely allied to C. cordatum

Crazy fern that takes away the need to fuss with growing this from spore as it makes a multitudinous panoply of ready-to-go plantlets on the leaves that will soon have you owning the corner in your 'hood dealing in fern babies.  Remember, if it's a kid, the first one is free.  Warmer gardens or indoors, mulch protect in zone 8 winters.

One of the larger flowered varieties of Wood Anemone, this has excellent white flowers which are more than enough to stand alone or perfect in a supporting understory role to larger shrubs and perennials.

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 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.

This is easily the best disappointing plant we have.  This is one we imported from Japan - at some significant coast - as a Gold Leaf cultivar.  The first year was magic with leaves like pure sunlight but never again.  The best part is that it is an exceptionally good, vigorous clone with big flower heads and superb foliage.

Safe to say this is rare.  From the higher elevations in Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet comes this collector's primrose.  This has proven very easy in our shade garden where the rounded sort of palmate leaves form a very dense canopy over the short creeping rhizomes.  Purple rose flowers are just what we wanted to see.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.  Collected as Tupistra in 1997 in the Cangshan above Dali at 10,000'. Narrow evergreen keeled leaves create a dense clump. Flowers a basal persistent cudgel of green buds which open to small strange green flowers turning to amber drops with age which delight the botanically inclined.

This evergreen Solomon Seal lookalike represents a rare introduction from Taiwan by our friends at Crug Farm.  Originally described as the new species, taiwanensis in 1989, this was sunk into the Chinese species pernyi by Govaerts in 2000.  We could live with that if it was pernyi var. taiwanensis to indicate its unique geographical provenance.  Pretty cool either way.

An undescribed species from a recent Hinkley collection in eastern Arunachal Pradesh.  A staggeringly good foliage plant fully clad in large deeply divided leaves and sporting yellow flowers - such a nice departure from pink!  These admittedly mingle within the foliage and teasingly tantalize in their allure.

This is a surprisingly hardy terrestrial Orchid that is quite easy to grow given a couple of rules.  Loose crumbly organic/gritty well-drained soil and fairly dry in the winter.  We've friends who grow these easily in Port Ludlow unprotected in rotting logs, stumps and deep moss on rocks.

Serious business here on the Ligularia front. We have just a few of this Crug Farm collection from Jeju (Cheju) Island, Korea, to offer from our 2018 Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy UK trip. This makes a dense ground cover of weed-suppressive, overlapping large leaves and tall spikes of yellow flowers. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering.

This is indeed the king. 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.

From Peter Korn in Sweden to Ed Bowen in Rhode Island to us in Port Townsend - an interesting study in anthro-assisted ornamental plant dispersal. Beautiful blue flowers with white throats opening from amethyst buds. This is much slower to increase than the flexuosa/elata group.