Disporum cantoniense CDHM 14604
Our collection from Guizhou in 2010 of this mouth-watering shade perennial. Branched stems to nearly 3' with large reddish-purple pendulous flowers followed by shiny black fruit. We like this one so much we went back to the same mountain in 2012 and collected more seed! Gonna rock the shade garden.
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Eryngium agavifolium - Giant Form
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.
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Bistorta amplexicaulis 'Golden Arrow' syn. Persicaria
Fun newish selection of the recently moved to Bistort from Persicaria with softly golden foliage which is a great backdrop for the 24"-36" flower stems bearing spikes of flowers the same color as Dorothy's ruby slippers. Easy, hardy, bright shade and gangbusters in rich moist soil.
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Pleione formosana
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.
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Iris barbatula ex Yunnan
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.
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Coptis omeiensis
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.
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Spiraea morrisonicola PMD
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.
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Anemone nemorosa 'Wilks' White'
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.
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Arisaema consanguineum
Neat species from China and into the Himalayas of Northern India, this has some stout stems that can reach 4' on old large bulbs with many leaflets arrayed like the spokes of an umbrella with long filamentous drip tips at the ends of the leaflets. Large greenish to purple or white striped flowers.
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Aucuba himalaica var. dolichophylla
Distinctive Chinese species with this variety being especially so with its narrow evergreen leaves well-measeled in creamy yellow spots. Clustered small red-purple flowers give way to large red fruit in fall which is just another bit of ornament for this tough plant which can tolerant dark shade and neglect.
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Hedychium spicatum NAPE 119
A hardy Ginger relative from our seed collection near eastern Bhutan. This is a rare offering of this collection. Narrow petals of white and peach are floral whimsy and always amuse us. Unscented flowers which compensate by having the showiest seed display in the genus. Mulch in winter.
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Maianthemum tatsienense
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.
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Allium schoenoprasum 'Aaland'
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.
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Clematis - Integrifolia Group seedlings
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.
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Austroblechnum penna-marina subsp. alpina
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.
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Umbilicus (syn. Chiastophyllum) oppositifolium
Excellent member of the Crassulaceae which means it is a succulent basically but one that eschews the arid sunny spot in favor of lusher environs like our shade garden with dairy manure mulch. Makes a thick clump of fleshy green leaves with taller stems of pendulous strings of beads yellow flowers. Very easy to please and a show stealer in bloom.
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Polygonatum vietnamicum
Staggeringly impressive recent introduction of this Solomon Seal species from - wait for it - Vietnam. This is similar to our favorite Polygonatum huanum (formerly as kingianum) but is just more of everything that is good. Large red flowers snug the whorled leaves on stems which this year in the garden reached 15' tall and which remain green for us until temps drop below 20F.
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Asarum caudigerellum
Great foliage on this Wild Ginger from China which keys most closely to the species caudigerellum. A mist of white spray droplets on the leaves is especially vivid on the young foliage making this very desirable. Small tan to soft red flowers are a welcome addition. We have seen nice clumps of presumably this species in Vietnam looking fabulous on the forest floor among the bright buff trunks of Camellia trees.
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Gentiana 'Troon'
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!
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