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.

A very good hardy hybrid Hebe from the UK which handles our winters here with no problem.  This is a low sprawler getting only about 6"-8" high and 20" wide or so.  Leaves of a nice gray olive green (or something like that) and nice flowers of blue-mauve.  A cross between H. allanii and H. pimeleoides.

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.

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 fruiting display is so spicatum.  A fine and hardy garden plant with 30 white flowers per spike with coral highlights.

A distinct Hardy Ginger with leaves and flowers evoking Canna more so than any other in the genus.  Gorgeous foliage and the flowers although few are quite large and a striking reddish orange.  Likes a moist spot in the garden and can take full sun to part shade.  Winter mulch.

A recent collection of this Zingiberaceae which we have not yet identified.  A graceful species with relatively narrow leaves and very pleasing melon colored flowers.  This is from fairly low elevation and growing both as a terrestrial and as an epiphyte.  In zone 8 gardens, we would mulch well to keep frost from reaching the rhizomes.

A collection by Floden-Mitchell-Wynn-Jones at Lao Cai, Dragon's Tooth, Vietnam as aff. tengchongense and offered by us as such, but upon flowering for Floden, proved to be spicatum which Wynn-Jones disputes.  Plant Fight!  H. spicatum from other areas have proved quite hardy for us. White and coral flowers that turn into brilliant red seed pods that are arguably the showiest in the genus.

This hardy true ginger relative is good down to zone 7b with enough mulch for short durations to single digits, and happy in bright shade to mostly sun.  This species blooms reliably every year with white crane fly flowers highlighted by salmon-pink working parts.

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.

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. 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.

A robust form of the species collected by Dr. Peter Zale.  We have long been enamored by this genus and this fine form simply fans the flames of our ardor.  Here in March, the exotic pink flowers stand proud over the evergreen rosettes of leaves. We view the recent merging into Helonias with skepticism.

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.

Collected by the Wynn-Jones of Crug Farm from, as they describe it, "the moist well-drained forests on the steep sides of the Aso Crater on Kyushu, Japan." The tip of the flowering stem or scape is dark purple which then holds lavender-pink flowers with dark ovaries. For moist soil in light shade to part shade.

We are wild about this genus and it combines beauty, rarity and growability in its appeal.  Evergreen rosettes of flattened broadly lance-shaped leaves with spring whitish flowers accented by purple stamens.  Zone 6.

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 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.

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.

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.

This gesneriad comes from southern Jiangxi Province in China via an Atlanta Botanic Garden collection.  Hemiboea defy what we know inherently to be true by being surprisingly hardy when they look very tender.  Broad leaves with large foxglove-like white flowers spattered in red dots with a yellow throat.