Near red selection of this cheerful little plant.  Rhodohypoxis fill a pot with flowers like few other plants their size and 'Albrighton' is no exception.  Ideally suited for container culture, these are easily overwintered in a cool frost-free spot indoors when they are dormant.  If growing outside, give them good drainage as prolonged winter wet can be a terminal annoyance.  Fortunately in our Port Townsend rain shadow, not a big consideration.

A perennial (usually anyway) thistle relative from South Africa which makes a multicrowned clump of softly spiny leaves which by themselves merit nothing more than a good hosing of Roundup but the large purplish flowers are the swan emerging from the ugly duckling.

A very nice South African Buddleja whose beauty lies in its evergreen heavily textured foliage.  The narrow leaves are silver clad when young maturing to a dull green but very pale benath and all held on fuzzy white stems.  Small white flowers but at least they are scented.  Hardy.

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.

This is a treasure among Pokers.  A small statured species with big time bloom from South Africa introduced to the NW by Hedgerows Nursery in OR.  This doesn't know the word quit and after a main heavy spring bloom keeps throwing up flowers spikes throughout the season.

An impressive Fairy Wand Flower or Angel's Fishing Rod. This is a good species with a narrow presentation and nice flowers of good rich pink held 4'-5' tall on wiry stems. This is not a big robust clumper but tends towards a narrower verticality quite in keeping with modern design trends.

This is an awesome plant with very large flowers of excellent substance clustered in dense heads which compounds the visual impact. Tall stems to 40" just to make sure you won't miss seeing this in bloom. A good even rich yellow that is not brightly strident but very capable of mingling with other colors or carrying the display load on its own.

One of the truly elegant cultivars and one that will be the toast of the garden.  Tall stems with fingers of flowers heldout like a ladies hand extended to be kissed.  Refined petals nicely spaced reeks of breeding and affluence yet is always up to knocking back a cold brew ot two.

A refined selection with rich bright red flowers and named in 1993 by Cornwall gardener John Hogan for Lana de Savary.  We can't fault the name as a cursory google search reveals that the socialite Lana de Savary is not only red-haired but apparently both bright and ungodly rich.  We have more cool plants than her though.

The penultimate 'Poker in our opinion at this particular moment.  Tall wands of orange tubulat flowers well spaced on the stem evoke images of Aloes in Southern California.  A good spreader which quickly makes a clump.  I generally view this barefoot as it knocks my socks off anyway.

This is an Alan Bloom selection from Bressingham Gardens which he introduced in 1970.  'Spitfire' is a feisty little plant making a dense clump of thin leaves with flared open fiery red-orange flowers held closely together in which the many presents as one to great effect.  A smaller mounding plant than some of its kin.

This has yellow flowers as clean and pure as butter churned by hand by a virtuous and chaste milkmaid on a farm set in the Alps where the cows while away the summer days grazing in meadows alight with wildflowers and the unhurried soft clank of an unseen cowbell becomes music impossible to improve upon.

This exceptionally large flowered selection is going to be a star in any sunny garden where it's unrivaled flower size leaves most other Crocosmias wishing they hadn't been mired in ethical dilemmas and just gone ahead and done the testosterone injections.

This is not commonly grown and only a handful of nurseries in the UK offer this 1918 George Henley introduction and you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the US. Small flowers touched red on the outside of the tepals and fusing into yellow on the inside presenting a very pleasing two-toned effect.

This UK selection has good ripe tomato red flowers arrayed nicely on the stem and held out horizonatally to optimize viewing. Very accommodating those Brits. The flowers are nicely ranked with some overlap which creates a showy floral synergistic effect. This is a compact grower to just a couple feet tall.

This is a compact Angel's Fishing Rod but it is a lunker in flower power.  This makes a dense evergreen grassy clump which has lots of flower stems bearing pendulous fared pink bells in mid summer.  We have this out in our sunny border and it has been great.  Deer resistant.

These are such good little quasi-bulbous plants from South Africa.  Likes a full sun rock gardens with good drainage.  Nice summer bloomers and good increasers making dense clumps.  Probably deer resistant.

Little bulby plant from the Drakensberg Mts in South Africa.  This is a good rock garden subject in that it likes good drainage in the winter.  When growing, keep it watered reasonably and it will bloom its tail off with loads of small reddish flowers.  Mulch if bitter cold in winter.

From the breeding work of Bob Brown comes this crazy good plant. On very stout stems, the big flowers with broad rounded tepals are bunched together in nice fat heads and the flowers are a melange of peachy apricoty pink hues. One of the very best of the recent introductions.

Aptly named, a Crocosmia of truly majestic proportions and grandeur of flower.  Arguably the finest large-flowered cultivar in the world, this indeed has the largest flowers among the 150 or so varieties we grow,  Wide open rich orange yellow faces with dark red-orange backs on 40" stems.  It rules.

Our mama plants were collected by Panyoti Kelaidis and  is truly one of the finest Red Hot Pokers.  If we had to choose just one Poker, this would be among the ten or so we would have to have.  Stout gray-green leaves and chunky often reblooming salmon and yellow flowers.

aka Schizostylis.  A selection by our friend Urs at Edelweiss Nursery.  This has good large medium pink flowers in the Fall and consistently puts on a good show with minimal effort on your part.  A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou once in a while.  So some water and a little fertilizer and trim back in winter.

We believe Rhett, this Crocosmia is no lady.  Really, are you looking for some refined creature when you buy a Crocosmia?  I think not - it's hussies, hotties, tramps and trollops that get's it done in the garden.  This has big heads of bright red flowers more flared than Lucifer.

Everything good about this yellow hybrid from David Tristan in the UK.  Densely clumping and quite respectful of it's space without the imperialistic proclivities of some it's Borg-like relatives.  Flowers a rich clear yellow with a good open flared aspect and rounded petals of distinct substance.

aka Schizostylis.  A nice selection from the legendary Gossler Farms Nursery in Oregon.  Long noted for offering discerning plants, this introduction of theirs offers excellent flowers of a glowing coral-red on sturdy stems.  This bloom like mad in the fall and will spread into a showy clump,

A purported G. papilio hybrid, our mama plant when in bloom with its 5 foot stems of red-mauve flowers sporting dark eye patches, frequently caused plant geeks to start speaking in tongues and offer creative enticements in exchange for a wee bit.  We have had to say "No." until now.

If this is what you get for sinning then I can hardly wait!  New selection from the UK that has to be Lucifer's love child.  This is much better than that old devil with dark sooty stems holding deeper blood red flowers with a wider flared corolla. So bad it's good.  Burn, baby burn!

A hardy Gladiolus that could win over that segment of gardeners who just don't like glads but we suspect they would be glad to grow this.  Happy even.  Some verging on ecstatic.  Smaller statured in leaf and flower, this will make nice clumps with flowers of  a clear,  soft creamery-butter yellow.  Mulch if winter is bitter.

A favorite of ours from South Africa.  We have this growing in front of our greenhouse and the first winter I mulched it and covered with a a tarp.  No damage. 2nd winter just tarped it - no damage.  Last winter I didn't protect at all and no damage at 17F.  Yellow daisy flowers - good drainage.