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.

Caterpillar Grass.  This is a cool evergreen grass (semi-evergreen in our winters) from South Africa.  The low grassy 15" mounds of leaves won't turn your head but the flowers will.  Wiry stems bear seedheads looking like a Caterpillar on a stick.  Seriously.   It's seriously fun.

Small scale evergreen Hebe and one of the hardier ones for the PNW.  This is attractive in flower or out as it has very tidy foliage and a pleasing mounding habit. The flowers are small and white and sometimes with a bit of a mauve tinge but anyone would say white.

Nice hardy Hebe for us here in the PNW as this hails from the alpine and subalpine areas of the drier mountains on New Zealand's South Island.  A low creeper to just 8" high, the olive-green leaves are quite good but it really gets its groove on when it blooms as the white flowers contrast with the near-black stems.

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.

Small winter-flowering species collected by Kettle and Wynn-Jones on Mt Fansipan in northern Vietnam. This is nice little ginger given varietal status due to its larger flowers and much larger sagittate anthers. Sagittate anther envy - it happens even in the plant world. Stems to 28" with very nice spidery white lightly scented flowers

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?

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.

Antique hybrid nearly lost to cultivation but thanks to Jim Fox, we can keep this going.  Jim visited Graham Stuart Thomas at his home in England and Graham handed Jim his spade and insisted he dig a piece.  As if God himself spoke, Jim obeyed.  Narrow elegant yellow flowers, evening scented.

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.

The classic European blue-flowered Hepatica nobilis that is such a stalwart in northern gardens.  These thrive under deciduous canopies which lets spring sun bathe the plant and promote optimal seed set.  As the sun intensifies, the canopy leafs out, shading the plant as Flora intended.  Gallon pots.

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!

Scarce selection in the US, these seedlings all flowered pink although they can also come in white and blue. But like a good species Rhododendron, foliage rules for most of the year.  Lobed leaves whose margins are crenulate - scalloped or notched with small rounded dentition - hence 'Crenatiloba'.

'Papillion' possesses excellent foliage looking very clover-like with flattened tri-lobed leaflets in triplicate and is no great leap to imagine butterflies.  These seedlings from the Ashwood nursery breeding program, have the characteristics of the parent and the flower color can be either white, pink or blue.

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.