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.

I have always been attracted to aureolas and this Aureola is one of the finest.  One of the 10 best ornamental grasses and perhaps the best for light shade, this deciduous species from Japan forms a beautiful undulating surf of foliage when planted in drifts.  It is a great plant.

We adore the Halimiums as they have proved to be amply hardy here at Far Reaches, the nearest thing to a Russian Steppe that western Washington offers.  Low growing evergreen shrub clad in grayish foliage and not shy at all yellow flowers with precise carmine pyramids at the base of each petal.  Good drainage.

This has been a fantastic Hebe in our garden handling our worst winters with aplomb.  A low 20" x30" evergreen shrub with narrow gray-blue leaves and lots of small white flowers for at least 2 months June-August.  Ours looks great planted with Mertensia maritima and it is perfectly ok to steal this planting combination.

An extremely dwarf Ivy found in 2005 by Dutch nurseryman Cees van Ostaayen who noticed a miniature sport on Hedera helix 'Needle Point'. This one came to our attention in John Massey's private garden at Ashwood Nursery where it called to us from among the abundance of rarities and perfection.  Should this little gem throw a shoot that is unnecessarily more vigorous in an attempt to revert, just nip it off.

This a good form of the species from our collection in Yunnan in 2006 and one that we could be easily persuaded is actually H. yunnanense or H. forrestii as they look pretty similar but the showy red fruitingdisplay is so spicatum.  A fine and hardy garden plant with 30 white flowers per spike with coral highlights.

Rare and elusive denizen of the New Jersey Pine Barrens which when in flower,  always strikes me as looking more extra-terrestrial than a product of our own earthly evolution.  Bizarre pink cones studded with blue anthers are just a giggle.  Rich moist soil in some shade.

A rare offering of a rare species of this choice little bit of botanical collectable necessity.  Found by Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones in Taipingshan, Taiwan, this is a beautiful representative of one of our favorite obscure genera.  Evergreen rosettes and slowly forming companion rosettes, this has enchanting white flowers on 4"-7" stems.  Moist and shade.

Interesting and showy Japanese species that makes tidy little evergreen clumps.  Our original plant came from the Portland iconic Bovees Nursery.  Unusual lavender-pink flowers held well above the foliage.  Makes nice patches by rooting at leaf tips.  Good moist soil.

Easy there, steady yourself - remember to breathe……..you are reading this right - this is a double flowered Heloniopsis of the dark flowered persuasion. Dense heads of tightly packed double flowers of dark pink-lavender makes this very collectible for those who love rare aberrations and isn't that true of most of us?

Interesting and showy Japanese species that makes tidy little evergreen clumps.  Our original plant came from the Portland iconic Bovees Nursery.  Unusual lavender-pink flowers held well above the foliage.  Makes nice patches by rooting at leaf tips.  Good moist soil.

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.

A very robust selection in one of our favorite genera, this is one we brought in from Japan some while back and at last have some to offer. Wider and longer leaves than other Heloniopsis, making larger evergreen rosettes. Early spring  sees the elongation of the flowering stem to 10" and  a full head of creamy flowers aging to a clear white.

Fantastic collection by arguably the preeminent plant hunter of our times, Bleddyn Wynn-Jones of Crug Farm in Wales.  This is from a 1993 collection in the Odaesan Mts in cold NE Korea and departs from the norm of this little known genus by having blue flowers.  We nearly wept when it flowered.  Moist and shade.

Broadleaf evergreen from Japan and China that is pretty unigue in having the tiny specks of flowers appear on the midrib of the leaf followed by a black fruit on the female plants.  The flower are formed on a modified bit of stem tissue which is part of the leaf midrib.  You won't get fruit s this is a guy but great foliage & bronze new growth.

Midwestern native Hepatica whose name has been changed to Anemone acutiloba or some prefer Anemone nobilis var. acuta. We cling to Hepatica, kicking and screaming. These are from seed from the unparalleled collection at Ashwood Nurseries and are not wild collected plants.

Rare and distinctive species endemic to the island of Ulleungdo off the coast of Korea evolving from the mainland species, H. asiatica - a great example of island species evolution.  The biennial leaves are very large. Small white to palest pink flowers backed by a stylin' green involucre.

Choice selection with ruffled heavily marbled leaves and light pink flowers.  You normally grow Hepatica for the early spring flowers and any foliar enhancement is pure gravy but with Cremar, flowers bow their heads to the majesty of the leaves. Quite a choice plant and does well in light shade with decent drainage.

Ashwood Nursery's strain of Severin Schlyter's compact 'Bibo' selection. Strain refers to seedlings grown from seed collected from the clone 'Bibo' which is indicated by the ex. Strictly speaking, only divisions and not seedlings can be called 'Bibo' so in this case, keep the ex!

Our own flowering divisions from a plant bequeathed us from the former garden of plant-obsessed Marian Raitz.   This Japanese selection is a fully pink double and double means the flowers last longer than the typical single fertile flowers.  Ideal for cool greenhouse pot culture or mild gardens.

These Japanese versions of the European nobilis are ones we have grown from seed and have been hoarding for a few years but since there is no room left in the Hepatica house, we must send a few of our kids out into the world.  Each plant is different from pale blue to purple and we get to pick.

These Japanese versions of the European nobilis are ones we have grown from seed and have been hoarding for a few years but since there is no room left in the Hepatica house, we must send a few of our kids out into the world. Each plant varies a bit but all are good pinks and we get to pick.

This is just a good clean form we have bulked over the years by patient, ever so patient, year after year, division.  Clear white flowers with the subtle pop of red anthers and a marbled leaf to boot.  This all combines in a presentation of exquisite subtlety that propels you back via state-induced memory to past intersections with grace and beauty.

These Japanese versions of the European nobilis are ones we have grown from seed and have been hoarding for a few years but since there is no room left in the Hepatica house, we must send a few of our kids out into the world. Each plant is different from white to pale pink and we get to pick.

To find fault with this bit of botanical jewelry would be to put on display character defects so profound that your friends would desert you in droves while making plans for your involuntary institutional incarceration.  Perfect marbled leaves subtend appleblossom pink-white flowers of larger size than typical.  Shade garden pizzazz.

We love this variety of nobilis - awesome foliage with very good marbling and equally fine pink flowers in early spring.  The whole presentation is exquisite and obviously the result of judicious honing of extraneous elements over the course of untold millenia.  Tom Hobbs - put this in your Jewelbox Garden!

Very choice selection not often available but we have some very nice plants.  This has rich blue flowers in profusion during those often grim early spring days.  This is  an overachiever in the shade garden and often eats lunch alone as no one likes a show off but we do so we feed it cow poop.

These were shared with us by Kelly's mentor and fair to say, hero, Steve Doonan of Grand Ridge Nursery.  A superb selection with petaloid stamens giving this a robust doubled appearance.  Always hard to come by and much sought after, this will in time make a nice carpet of ostentation.

Fabulous hybrid Hepatica that in time will form mats of great lobed foliage with loads of light medium blue flowers in early spring.  A durable plant with few if any faults.  Great with Ranunculus ficaria and Hellebores.

Often white flowered, this coveted form has white flowers with a striking pink reverse to the backs of the petals.  The leaves which follow bloom are impressive in their own right being quite large with rounded leaves and rich purple-maroon undersides.  A mature clump of this confers the honorific Hepatica Highness to the owner.