A remarkable arborescent species endemic to the Sierra de la Laguna of Baja California where this grew on a shaded ridge in mixed oak-pine forest at 5800'. This can get over 20' tall with a 10' inflorescence with yellowish to white flowers but that height might be for your child's child's child's child to enjoy - it will take a while!

This Spoon Yucca comes from a seed collection in Grant County, New Mexico at 6800'.  This is a full sun, drought tolerant impressive piece of work when it is mature.  The flower spike can reach 10'-15' with thousands of packed creamy florets arising from the center of the well-armored rosette of narrow, bluish, toothed leaves.

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.

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.

A fine hardy hybrid from Deb and Ron Monnier whose nursery, Monnier's Country Gardens in Woodburn, OR closed in 2009.  This knockout will keep the memory alive for years to come.  Maroon tube and sepals embrace a corolla that is black velvet eggplant in color with an optical texture that is almost 3D.  To 3' and hardy in the PNW.  Mulch in winter.

An outstanding selection from Mt Kiyosumi in Japan, this is distinguished by russet and burgundy tones to the new foliage and the lacecap flowers are the perfect complement to that foliage with the sterile florets being white in the center of the flower and bushing to a distinct pink rim.

A Vietnam species which has been hardy to 15F.  Great container plant with tubular red flowers which can easily be moved inside for the winter where it can serve as a houseplant  until it is time to go back outside.  Or keep it outside until there is danger of frost and then hustle it in and bring it back out when safe.

A remarkable Manzanita native to the southern Mendocino Coast which features unusually large rounded leaves for a groundcover type.  Makes a dense cover mounding to 24"-30" tall and 8' + across with white flowers and bird attractant small fruit.  The leaves seem verging on succulent giving this a uniquely appealing look.

Glossy green evergreen leaves on a small 4'-5' shrub in the wild, growing on a bright, mostly shaded slope in close company with its understory compatriots Mahonia, Metapanax, Lilium, Disporum, Lysionotus, and a host of ferns.  Single red fruit resting 1/3 of the way up on the leaf midrib.  Flowers small but curious.

RBG Kew and us are gonna have some words!  How dare they merge Rosa mulliganii into another species?  This was named to honor beloved Seattle icon, Brian Mulligan, who was Director of Washington Park Arboretum for 27 years.  Very vigorous beautiful rose with fragrant white flowers and blood-red hips.

Evergreen shrub to small tree with gorgeous exfoliating cinnamon colored bark, white fragrant flowers and edible blue-black fruit. A selection we imported via Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy from the UK that was propagated from plants which survived the prolonged Big Freeze of December 2010. A portion of the proceeds goes to support the mission of Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy.

A unique evergreen member of the Myrtaceae family native to moist, rocky areas within alpine and subalpine regions of Australia. This forms a dense mound with arching branches, 3ft by 4ft with early summer small white flowers en masse. Diminutive leaves become coppery in winter, smelling lovely when crushed.

Fine South American evergreen shrub to 20" or more when grown richly or half that grown rock garden lean. Wiry red stems bristle with small stiff leaves that pair well to the plentiful small white bells and reddish fruit later. From Simon Bond in England who had some obscure treasures when we visited his Thuja Alpine Nursery.

Evergreen alpine Aussie growing in the same habitat as Snow Gums.  This has billowy gray-green foliage and 1" white flowers borne on last year's wood.  With age the bark exfoliates and reveals a very shiny trunk which adds to the allure.  Sun, good drainage, dryish and phooey to the deer.

Rubus can be scary but with this classy China species, it will be shivers of delight instead of fear. Graham Stuart Thomas "One of the finest of all foliage plants". 4'-8' upright somewhat arching canes. A clumper and not a vine with few small fruits, white flowers and no thorns

F2 plants from the original wild collection of this rare species. This is a very handsome thing with superb glossy textured leaves and showy displays of red fruit. Just looking at it, we thought - bummer, can't possibly be hardy but heard from one of the collectors that it handled zero Fahrenheit so woohoo!  We later saw for ourselves the reason why as we climbed on Mt Fansipan, "The Roof of Indochina' and saw this growing near the summit.  A portion of the proceeds goes to support the mission of Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy.

From the cloud forests of Panama and South America where it grows on trees in accumulations of decomposed debris in crotches.  Finally, an upside to crotch debris!  Essentially a neotropical blueberry, this had been placed in Vaccinium a time or two.  Small white to pinkish flowers with similar colored edible fruit.

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.

Alpine Bush Mint.  This high elevation Aussie handled our 2010-11 Winter of Horror with scarcely a whimper.  Dense shrublet with rounded packed leaves minty when crushed and white flowers with red-yellow-purple in the throat from spring and sporadically until fall.  Excellent plant.

A shrub very rare in this country (we might be the first to introduce this) and one we are pretty excited about. This has some pretty good cold tolerance and will be an evergreen shrub to 2' high and wider. White flowers like a Leptospermum but long anthers so looks like a small bottlebrush. Good drainage, Zone 8-9 and might be worth trying in warmer parts of zone 7.

An excellent introduction if you are into the Araliaceae family and fortunately, there are lots of Araliaddicts out there!  This came from the high point in its range with occasional cold exposure and has proven hardy outside here in full sun and wind exposure.  Not ideal but that's what we got!

Our collection from an area of extreme resource exploitation in Sichuan.  Normally we don't collect much in this group but this was huddled out of harm's way on a cliff face playing the sympathy card which coupled with unusually glossy leaves and showy red fruit, we relented.  Multi-stemmed to 8'-10' +.  Deciduous.

One of the better selections of Aucuba and very rare in the nursery trade. 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.

Young plants of a rare offering of this graceful woodland species from the borderlands of China and Vietnam. Upright plants to 10' that rarely branch with expected Schefflera - we mean Heptapleurum - green leaves. Umbels of black fruit in a raceme. Hardiness unknown but let's start with not very. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

This hardy bush Fuchsia is quite a pleasing addition to the garden where it performs admirably in a sunny spot with lots of narrow hanging white flowers which are touched in faintest green on the tepal tips.  Recent winters have put a whupping on reliably hardy plants so if it is going to turn nasty, mulch the base and trunk well.  Easy and gratifying.

The cream of the the New Zealand woody Asters and a star in the rock garden.  This comes from the alpine areas of the mountains near Marlborough up to 1900 meters.  Flowers are a bit of yellow teminal nothings but the whipcord silvery branchlets are exquisite perfection.  Full sun and drier lean soil will suit this.  Took 3 nights of 0F at Hedgerows Nursery in 2009.

A monotypic member of the Columelliaceae family from Chile. Now that we have our botanical parameters firmly in place, we find ourselves exactly where we started. As Obama would say, "Let me be perfectly clear. This is not a Holly." Evergreen and best in a mild garden with tubular red-orange flowers.

Our collection of this large species from Fanjinshan in China where we saw it growing in the open with mixed scrub. This was a leafless 10' rounded open shrub with seed capsules at the ends of the branches.   Expect white flowers tinged pink aging to red or some variation thereof and being fairly profuse in May.

Alas, most Schefflera you have known and loved have been moved to other genera with just a scant handful remaining in Schefflera.  Perfectly sensible for a very large genus spread over several continents.  These are seed-grown from our plants from the recent first North American introduction.

This accidental bee cross between Phyllodoce breweri and Kalmiopsis leachiana arose in Mike and Polly Stone's Scottish garden, Askival.  Evergreen small leaves on a low rounded shrublet to 16" and a bit wider.  Copious bright mauve-pink flowers can cover the foliage in early summer making this a star in our rock garden.