A treasure for the rock garden or trough, this little jewel is native to Europe growing in crevices on rock cliffs. It likes good drainage but not too dry so add some fine gravel or sand to your planting mix. We've found it to be quite easy growing it in full sun and it often reblooms later in the year.
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.
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.
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.
Rare in cultivation, this NW Indian Solomon's Seal is mainly an epiphytic species growing in mossy trees and rocks. The speckled pale pink flowers hang as small bells as the new growth elongates. Very charming. This is an evergreen species in mild areas. Good drainage.
A hybrid between two fab foliage species, Syneilesis palmata and S. aconitifolia. We have Diana Reeck of Collector's Nursery to thank for these goodies. Silken silver conical new growth unfurling to deeply dissected round leaves - nothing like it! Flowers are an afterthought.
This is one of our favorite little dwarf shrubs that totally rocks the rock garden. Slow, slow growth, densely twiggy, small heavily textured leaves and small clusters of deep pink flowers in mid summer makes this a great choice for containers or that small special place.
Bold foliaged Chinese Salvia collected by plantswoman June Sinclair. Deciduous species and tough as nails. Multiple arms of flowering stems splay out from the leafy crown bearing many rich purple tubular pouchy flowers. We previously offered this as S. bulleyana. Bad well-intentioned nursery!
Best form of the species with good green leaves and clustered ok to unremarkable pale pink flowers which transmorgrifies into totally remarkably awesome bunches of impossible blue fruit which seems crazy out of place in the woodland but now you can't imagine shade without.
A newer Crocosmia with nice bronzy-brown-green foliage and profuse sprays of dark buds opening to nice burnt orange-red flowers that are mid-sized and flared open rather than tubular. This has a very pleasing appearance of rustic muted yet showy colors. Words are failing me.
Odd Fuchsia hybrid which we got as cuttings from an old Heronswood employee. It appears to be a procumbens x excorticata cross with small red leaves on a low mounding plant. The narrow flowers are a metallic dull purple and while not showy, gets credit for being interesting.
Fairly recent introduction from China of this superb evergreen shade perennial differing from the more widely grown SEH (Steve Hootman) collection. This has denser flower heads and is perhaps more vigorous - we're quite fond of it. This makes a tidy rosette of evergreen leaves with very attractive white flowers in spring. We say yip-sih-landra by the way.
A diminutive relative to the more familar Jurassic Gunnera. This has a creeping habit making a low dense groundcover with rounded leaves. Herbaceous, the new leaves emerge in late March to April. It does flower in the most insignificant manner. Loves a rich moist soil - mulch if bitter cold.
This dandy Salvia came to us from the garden of Dan Post of whom we hold in the highest possible esteem. He has trialed this under intense deer pressure and it gets a thumbs up in all the critical categories. Easy, hardy, deer-proof and lovely. Bushy big leaves to 2' and tall branched flowering stems to 40" with blue violet flowers splotched in white, touched in yellow.
Very rare Solomon's Seal from NW India which has proven to be evergreen at least in our cool greenhouse. We've not tested it outside but suspect it will be evergreen in mild winters at least. Creamy bells with darker mottling hang beneath the glossy leaves. Loose moist organic soil.
An evergreen Lily-of-the-Valley relative, this is our collection from Yunnan, China from our 1997 trip. This is distinctly different than the Reineckia carnea of Japan as well as other collections from China yet DNA by Aaron Floden puts it right in the species. Scented pink flowers at the base of the leaves.
A dandy Geum whose soft butterscotchy-apricoty yellow flowers are such an easy and pleasant color in the garden palette. This blends and goes with far more plants than some of the more strident colors. If you are color combination challenged then start here.
This is a dandy spreading evergreen Chinese wild ginger with delectable silver splashed bold leaves and beefy (up to 3"!) flowers of purple-brown tempered by a little cream. This came through 9F here with nary a whimper. Great in containers or the moist woodland/shade garden. Hi-ho!
Native to the New Jersey Pine Barrens this is a choice prostrate ornamental Cherry. This is a creeper kind of hummocking along getting maybe 18" high by 10' long. Easily kept in bounds by pruning. Small white flowers followed by small black cherries. Great red fall color.
Our collection from Bitahai in Yunnan where it was growing in a shaded broad ravine with a small stream meandering through and in association with Actaea (Cimicifuga) foetidus, Malus sp. and oddly for such a moist area, Potentilla fruticosa which was on a bit of a raised shoulder in the sun. Soft yellow flowers.
Dwarf Mountain Ash. Our collection of the grand little 2' species from NW Yunnan where we found it mingling about in a little wooded copse with Nomocharis aperta as a friend. Creamy white flowers in clusters followed by pinkish red fruit. Decent fall color as well.
Can't get enough bold-leafed herbaceous perennials in the shade garden especially given our penchant for finer-leafed Solomon Seals and their kin. This choice Asian with its broad foliage and early summer cream flowers plays perfectly off the willowy textures around it while complementing like-minded Arisaemas.
An ornamental shrub from northern Vietnam from the Floden-Mitchell-Wynn-Jones collection in 2011 to which we were privy to a large share of the seed spoils. We've put a lot into Karma and we've a good balance going. From an area where plants are hardy for us, this will have classic St John's Wort yellow flowers.
This is from seed collected in 2010 at 3500' from cliffs on the lower slopes of Fanjingshan in Guizhou. What fun it was to see this gesneriad in the wild! Purplish flowers are held on short 4" stems and this is a must-have if you fancy Afican Violets and Streptocarpus. Frost-free and good drainage.
Very unusual Primrose collected by Steve Hootman in Sichuan China. This has short-stemmed light pink flowers and spreads by strawberry-like runners to make a nice carpet. Imagine - a Primrose groundcover!
We got this rare Hydrangea relative from plantsman Ed Bowen of Rhode Island which was introduced by Crug Farm of Wales from Japan where it apparently is native to the Ryukyu Islands. Learn geography through plants! Pink late summer clusters of small all fertile flowers. Best in cool, moist ,sheltered shade.
Nice variegated Alstroemeria with clusters of narrow tubular red and green flowers which are a nice departure from the gaudiness of so many of the hybrids. Easy in a sunny spot and tolerates some drier conditions. Prefers a well-drained soil.
Gladwyn Iris. A reasonably recent selection with good yellow seeds possibly arising as a seedling or clone from ''Fructo-Aurea'. The usual excellent evergreen foliage which is at its best with some shade and superb late summer into winter seed display. Loves a rich moist soil but will tolerant leaner and drier situations. An uncommon variety.
Mousetail Plant. So named because the brown hooded flowers with their long brown tails look like mice scurrying for shelter beneath the foliage. Related to Jack in the Pulpits, this Asian species is very easy inthe shade garden and delights old and young alike.
An interesting version of this valuable evergreen Iris which has light lemon flowers instead of the typical uninspiring dull lavender mauve. The flowers are really just a teaser for the main show which is the big seed pods spitting open in late summer and fall showing brilliant red -orange seeds. Excellent evergreen foliage.
