New and Restocked Plants

Newer hybrid selection of this New Zealand Iris relative.  Evergreen (except for hard winters) olive green foliage provides a grand setting for the numerous stems of small bright white flowers.  This makes a clump pretty quickly and is great texture in the garden.  This is a performer.

A sterling selection of a smaller Agapanthus which has lots of small heads of dark blue flowers,  We dug this from the personal garden of our friends from Hedgerows Nursery upon their retirement and moving away.  A very choice selection and not to be confused with the clone 'Midknight Blue'.

Grown from a seed collection in China by the brilliant plantsman Bjornar Olsen, this is an easy and very pleasing lily.  Turk's cap style flowers are predominately in shades of pink, varying in intensity.  The recurved tepals are pale white on the margins and speckled with deep carmine spots.  Spreads fairly fast, making a lovely patch.

From Wendy Perry of Bosvigo Plants in S. England comes this unfortunately scarce and choice Campanula.  Gently and very controllably spreading to make an impressive clump with spires of pure white flowers.  Pairs impeccably with Hosta 'Patriot'.

A chance seedling in our gardens with some affinity to "Purple Leaf' and other clones out of England.  The similarities are such that we were reluctant to clutter the field with another named Corydalis but it is good enough to share so an "unofficial" descriptive is our solution.  Purplish new leaves and scented lavender-blue flowers.

One of the wildflower kings of the Columbia Gorge.  This is an awesome Desert Parsley that can be found near Lyle growing out of basalt rubble outcrops in the grasslands.  Billowing mounds of blue green ferny foliage and big rich pink flower umbels.  Yowlza!  Ask us how to grow it.

This is one sweet Pea.  Native to the Caucasus Mts, this takes a backseat to its more floriferous and showy cousins for it has simple pairs of pink flowers borne with restraint.  Don't be misled - it is the backseat of a Bentley.  Perfection of leaf and flower in exquisite refinement.

One of the finest of the species Peonies, this Mediterranean goody is among the first to bloom in spring. Fabulous new growth and very showy single pink flowers. With good, well-drained soil, this will be more heat tolerant than the other species.

One of the good ones raised by Keith Lever at Aberconwy Nursery in Wales.  Large trumpets of dark royal blue tempered with violet and lit by white exterior stripes and throat. This is a compact grower which makes for a concentrated display of these flowers and would be a suitable subject for a pot.  Full sun and moist.

This one has pale petals and darker eye pattern to the center, and narrow pleated leaves in an open and airy arrangement on the 3' flowering stem.  A rich moist soil in part shade will be just the ticket.

This is related to Corydalis temulifolia 'Chocolate Stars' and has a similar, if smaller, above-ground bulbous rhizome and tons of flowers on long, lax stems The flowers go through color phases of white, pink and dusky purple appearing concurrently during a long flowering period of spring through summer. A remarkable plant.

Our collection from our way to Tianchi Lake in Yunnan.  We found this Lily relative (which has been called N. forrestii) growing in a wooded copse with Sorbus reducta.  Likes a good moist soil and can have 7-10 flowers per stem in our experience when it gets some age.  Survived in Wisconsin where the ground freezes 5' deep.

Robin White's hybrid. Stout of stem, bold of leaf and arresting of flower, all is colored a rich purple in June and July later mellowing somewhat but still freaking awesome. Unavailable in the US.  Except here.

A Primula allionii hybrid which we received from the plant duo of Mason & Grimm at Hedgerows Nursery. The allionii hybrids are a tough lot and excellent for troughs, rock gardens and container culture. Small cushions of foliage on well-grown plants can get totally obscured by white flowers with a tiny cream eye. This is a good gateway hybrid to the many allionii crosses out there.

Our own hybrid introduction which we have trialed for 10 years before releasing a few.  A very long bloom period from mid summer into fall.  Narrow foliage supports 3'+ stems of rich burnt orange with the individual flowers glistening as if lacquered.

Rare selection of this Japanese woodlander of delicate stature notable for its smoky cast to the foliage particularly in the early part of the season. Named for Mt Hakkoda in Aomori Prefecture (best skiing in Japan) where we presume this was found. This is a little shorty with small pale bells and will clump up nicely.

Rarely offered selection of this very hardy and extremely garden-worthy group.  Lots of pink flowers in spring.  Creates mats and is easy to divide the the rooted crowns to make more.  Part sun to shade suits this best.

Interesting genus in the Bellflower or Campanula family and we try to grow as many different ones as possible.  Just how long can we last growing unprofitable plants is a question we ponder.  This is one of the better ones for the garden making perennial carrot roots and annual vines to 4' with tubby cream flowers with purple corolla lips.  Z5 at least.

Long my favorite Bergenia with large upright broad paddles of leaves which turn the  best maroon in the winter of any in the genus.  Oh sure, the dark pink flowers are good in spring but this plant is one of the few reasons I look forward to winter.  Galanthus for contrast - oh my.

A superb compact and very floriferous plant we got from the sadly late Michael Wickenden at Cally Gardens in Scotland.  This is just about the perfect little container plant with low, dense tuffets of deep green narrow blades of leaves and a profusion of small white flowers on short stems which retain interest long after flowering with their seed heads.

We're looking at a houseplant here for everyone except those with that San Francisco microclimate and if you are lucky enough to have such a thing, just for the record - we pretty much hate you.  But we'll set aside the envy and sell you one of these astoundingly lovely ferns with long white ghostly fingered fronds.

This is very close to 'Kaleidoscope' and comes from the same Japanese nursery.  Lightly hairy stems hold the pale green leaves with their radially symmetrical chocolate splotches.  Red flowers held beneath the foliage but who cares, really?  It's all about the leaves.  Moist shade and be prepared to be envied.

A white flowered version of the normally pink Japanese which we never have enough of as it sells immediately.  One of our customers tells us how it well does under the trees in dry shade and we grow it in the dry end of our shade garden.  This has large fuzzy leaves and spreads rapidly by rhizomes if moist or slowly if dry or just right if in-between.

Pretty fantastic selection originating in China but now out of Japan at considerable cost.  This Mayapple will develop quite irregularly lobed leaves that are like a psychotropic rectilinear parallelogram awash in pale patterns and dark mottled patterns flashing you back to your youthful experimental phase.  Divisions from our plants - not fresh imports.

We received this as the Pioneer Mountain form of Erythronium revolutum and indeed, there is revolutum in them as well as californicum.  These are obviously natural hybrids which do occur and perusing "Erythroniums in Cultivation" by Ian Young, these fit his description nicely especially with the parallel, narrow filaments.

Nepal Lily. One of our favorite Lilies and one we've had the pleasure of seeing in the wild in Arunachal Pradesh near eastern Bhutan growing in low scrub on a sunny hillside. This is not from that trip but is a good form with very large pendant yellow-green flowers with a stunning chocolate maroon throat.

This selection of this evergreen Clematis can likely be traced back to Roy Lancaster's introduction of this choice species. Small scented creamy flowers start appearing in late winter.  A classic wall plant where it appreciates the protection afforded by the wall as well as access to plenty of sun.  It is easily kept in bounds by pruning after flowering.

Great little frothy mound of silver foliage that deserves a place in the plant petting zoo.   The yellow button-like flowers dance on wiry stems in late spring and early summer.  Too cute. On the dry side.  Thanks to David Mason and Susie Grimm of Hedgerows Nursery for sharing it with us.

Very hardy Jack in the Pulpit which is the Asian equivalent of our eastern US Arisaema triphyllum.  This Jack is native to the Russian Far East, northern China and Korea and is a variable species but always has green flowers with stripes that are usually white but can be sort of a chocolate purple.  Good bulb for light shade to morning sun.

This is the Japanese version of our native False Hellebore. Wonderful broad pleated leaves and when old enough, nice spikes of white starry flowers to 3' or more. This likes a rich moist soil, emerges early in spring and goes dormant by mid to late summer. Deer resistant and very hardy.  Young plants.