A distinctive Vaccinium (Blueberry) collected by Jens Nielsen in western Yunnan at 3000 meters. Large leaves of serious substance alternately flank the arching stems and take on red-bronze colors when young as well in winter on the least mature leaves. No surprises on the white urn-shaped flowers or with the purple-black fruit which add ornament to an already interesting plant. We can only guess as to mature size of the plant but would think 3'-4' tall with arching and trailing branches to 6' or more.

Very cute little epiphyte with small rounded cupped leaves and green-tipped red flowers. This is going to be a source of no small pleasure in zone 9 where it will be happy growing in a container, rotting log or mossy rock in part shade. We grow ours in a cool greenhouse kept just at or above freezing and has been easy as pie.

Our collection as cuttings from the Cangshan in Yunnan of an especially small leafed form of this evergreen species.  Steve Hootman of the Rhododendron Species Botanical garden now and again mutters about giving it a clonal name.  Probably best in a mild garden.

Hamilton Dwarf Cranberry. This is one of our desert island dwarf shrublets. Granted, we would be bundled up on the beach as this would be a cool northern island for this to be happy but that is a small concession for 12 months of beauty.   Perfection in a small package with very slow growth, evergreen leaves turning burgundy in winter, tiny pink flowers and red fruit - yea, verily!

A very dwarf selection of our native red huckleberry found in the garden at St. Andrews in Scotland.  This is extremely dwarf to just a few inches high but spreading to 3' across in time.  That would be a long time.  Brilliant red and orange new growth.  Perfect little rock garden shrub.

Madeiran Blueberry.  We have the late Art Dome to thank for sharing this Vaccinium native to Madeira with us.  He grew this beautifully in his Seward park garden but it really does need a mild garden.  Big flowers for a blueberry and lots of tasty fruit.  We were all grazing last summer.

A hybrid between V.myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea making a dense little shrub 2' high.  Why stiff yourself with a boring beyond belief Boxwood when you could have this splendid little  gem with pinky-white flower bells in late spring and small blueberries in late summer?  Good organic soil.

This is the form most often available here in the Northwest and which may well be a hybrid with Vancouveria planipetala.  The flowers are much paler and a smidge smaller than typical Vancouveria chrysantha from our observations.  Regardless, a first rate evergreen ground cover which is drought tolerant.

Redwood ivy.  Vigorous carpeter in optimal conditions with evergreen foliage  which bronzes up in winter.  The tiny white flower motes benefit from profusion and the fact that they are the smallest in the genus is offset by this species having the best foliage which is what you have 95% of the year.  Our collection from California

A collection from northern California where this mingled with Pseudotrillium rivale and Rhododendron occidentale among other tantalizers.  This one has flowers noticeably larger than the other forms we grow which means the tiny white flowers make the leap from speck to mote.  Vigorous evergreen groundcover for shade that tolerates dry which slows its spread.

Our native False Hellebore which we see in the Cascades. Fabulous foliage plant with big rounded pleated leaves - these are old plants.  These may flower next year up to 6' with lots of small whitish starry flowers. Best in light shade or no afternoon sun. Loves a rich moist soil and is deer proof.  These started early in our greenhouses and are thinking about summer dormancy.

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.

A rare species from shaded moist areas in coastal Mendocino and Sonoma Counties in CA. Pleated leaves and branched flower stems to nearly 2 feet bear beautifully fringed snowy white flowers. Zone 5 hardy!

An uncommon little jewel from the mountains of Taiwan, these are 2nd generation plants from the wild collection.  Unlike our native steroidal colossal Veratrums, this is relatively demure with neat tussocks of low grassy foliage but kicks the compost out of them with its maroon flowers.

Rare ghostly-white flowered variant of the typically dark-flowered Veratrum formosanum. We finally secured this from the legendary Jim Sutherland at Scotland's Ardfearn Nursery just a few years ago. So excited we tossed our caber. Is it better than the typical formosanum? No. More collectible? Oh, hell yeah! Deer resistant.

A comparatively graceful species of Veratrum with broadly narrow leaves, if that makes any sense and sadly, it does to us. The 4'-5' flower stem has numerous lateral branchlets clad in lots of red-maroon flowers. Excellent long-lived plant of outstanding hardiness best suited for the cool to cold zones.

A comparatively graceful species of Veratrum with broadly narrow leaves, if that makes any sense and sadly, it does to us.  The 4'-5' flower stem has numerous lateral branchlets clad in lots of red-maroon flowers. Excellent long-lived plant of outstanding hardiness best suited for the cool to cold zones.

Pure class.  A perennial of the first rank and a true aristocrat which is seldom available especially in this size.  Expensive?  You bet and worth it.  One of the true pains to produce commercially.  This has broad pleated leaves and a tall flower stalk with lots of black maroon flowers.  Deer proof.

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.

Very thrilled to be finally able to offer this Veratrum which was formerly in the genus Melanthium.  Native from the Midwest to East Coast, this thrives in marshy, boggy settings or damp woods.  Perfect in rich moisture retentive soil in the garden.  White plumes of flowers to 5'+ in June and July.  Deer proof - thank goodness for toxic alkaloids!

We love seeing this False Hellebore when we are hiking up to Marmot Pass or Mt Townsend in the Olympics.  Always growing in dappled light or partly sunny spts where there is ample moisture, the big wide pleated leaves are perfect with the drooping plume-like green flowers.  Deer proof.

Ok, this is delightful!  A small evergreen subshrub which has these shiny little leaves on mahogany stems with sprays of lavender-blue with a distinctive magenta ring enclosing a white eye.  This happily flowers from June until frost and shearing off the spent flowers encourages continued bloom. This makes a 10"x24" billow of foliage and flower in sun to part sun.

This sweet little New Zealand groundcover is perhaps best known by its former name of Parahebe olsenii.  Soft lavender flowers with a yellow eye rimmed in cerise feathering are held just above the small rounded evergreen leaves that have tones of green olive.  Tidy is a word that comes to mind.

One of the sweetest little groundcovers we have grown.  Aside from the small terminal clusters of deep blue flowers in late spring and early summer, we are taken by its good evergreen foliage and year-round tidy appearance.  It is in one of our troughs and spills over the lip perfectly.  Good for the rock garden.

Chilean Box Thorn.  Pretty nifty plant in the Solanaceae from Chile with pungent leaves - think deer proof - and rather choice yellow tubular flowers displayed pretty much all summer.  Glossy evergreen leaves and reveling in sun, this is hardy here in mild gardens and would be ideal against a sunny wall.

Unique Viburnum with cute rounded evergreen leaves which are unmatched elsewhere in the genus.  Clusters of small white flowers are in keeping as is the resultant black fruit.  There is something universally appealing about this plant which must be the cute factor and somehow it manages to retain this even as a larger shrub to 8' tall.

This collection is from what we regard as the southern form of this populous Asian species. What makes this special is that this was from the 10000' summit of this virtually unknown mountain and surely must be the highest elevation that this form grows.  That, plus being one of the toughest days we have had in the field. This makes a good show

F2 plants from the original wild collection of this rare species. This is a very handsome thing with superb glossy textured leaves and showy displays of red fruit. Just looking at it, we thought - bummer, can't possibly be hardy but heard from one of the collectors that it handled zero Fahrenheit so woohoo!  We later saw for ourselves the reason why as we climbed on Mt Fansipan, "The Roof of Indochina' and saw this growing near the summit.  A portion of the proceeds goes to support the mission of Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy.

This is a fine winter-blooming deciduous Viburnum named after Charles Lamont of Edinburgh Botanic Gardens who made the first cross. It is light pink in bud and then ages white and the scented flowers can be seen in November through to March or April depending on your climate.

One of the good rock garden plants that is actually pretty easy to grow.  Related closely to our Douglasia of the Olympics, this little jewel from the Pyrennees and Dolomites has yellow flowers nearly covering the foliage in late spring.  Good drainage and not terribly dry.