A remarkable arborescent species endemic to the Sierra de la Laguna of Baja California where this grew on a shaded ridge in mixed oak-pine forest at 5800'. This can get over 20' tall with a 10' inflorescence with yellowish to white flowers but that height might be for your child's child's child's child to enjoy - it will take a while!

A very good evergreen fern native to Taiwan, China and Japan which we imported from a specialist in the UK.  Tidy and attractive species reaching 30" wide with fronds to 20" tall, this requires shade to part shade.  And brace yourself - it is tolerant of dry shade!  Happier of course with some water,  Spore-grown by us.

Originally introduced by Cistus Nursery from a seed collection at 8000' in La Siberica, Mexico. These have been undamaged in brief nighttime drops to 10F and have formed new crowns after flowering so the show will continue. It is mandatory to have a series of parties when these bloom, btw.

This Spoon Yucca comes from a seed collection in Grant County, New Mexico at 6800'.  This is a full sun, drought tolerant impressive piece of work when it is mature.  The flower spike can reach 10'-15' with thousands of packed creamy florets arising from the center of the well-armored rosette of narrow, bluish, toothed leaves.

Got lots of sun and sandy or well-drained soil with average to low fertility in a dryish garden beset by rabbits and deer but still want lots of flowers for the bees and other pollinators? Look no further as this will nicely fill the bill. Mature plant has hundreds of pink papery bracted flowers in midsummer on drooping stems. Best displayed in a raised bed.

A white flowered variant of this familiar Geranium whose flowers are backed by a green calyx rather than pink which adds to its overall indispensable lightness of being. The paler than normal green leaves accentuate this and makes this valuable for brightening a somber corner or tempering hotter colors.  Takes dry shade - very tough.

Formerly in the genus Cheilanthes, this dryland fern is found in Mexico, Central America and Argentina and just recently, one site in Brazil.  Evergraygreen fronds of fine texture are densely vertical on this smaller fern.  Perfect candidate for the rock garden or container for milder gardens - doing well at Berkeley Botanic Garden

Fabulous hybrid ornamental Oregano (O. rotundifolium x O. scabrum) which is both heat and drought tolerant and a perfect choice for the sunny rock garden or top edge of rockery wall.  This really does need sharp drainage to perform its best.  In the Midwest, it is used as an annual in window boxes.  Light pink flowers all summer long.

A remarkable Manzanita native to the southern Mendocino Coast which features unusually large rounded leaves for a groundcover type.  Makes a dense cover mounding to 24"-30" tall and 8' + across with white flowers and bird attractant small fruit.  The leaves seem verging on succulent giving this a uniquely appealing look.

Pinecone Thistle.  Pretty cool 6"-12" tall plant from dry pine woods and wastelands in southern Europe and northern Africa.  The spineless gray-green, thistle-like leaves, are felted gray-white underneath and are a perfect accompaniment to the art project flowers.  Tufts of filamentous purplish flowers erupt from hefty cones of overlapping, feathered brown scales.

Tender South American shrubby succulent making a 3'x4' mound of thin stems with small fleshy leaves  Flowers unknown and we are perfectly willing to accept that this might well be a different genus entirely!  Pairs well with cactus, bromeliads and xeric shrubs.  Let us know what it looks like when it flowers!

Small green leaves and light pink flowers combine with the expected good bark color and texture and trunks and branches.  This will be an open broad rounded shrub 6 or 7 feet tall and as wide in ten years depending on the gardener.  Drought tolerant, this requires little summer water in our dry summers and good drainage is key.

We acquired this incredibly tough, tuberous, summer dormant Geranium in the 80's from East Lambrook in southern England which was home to Margery Fish and the original English Cottage Garden.  Provenance alone is merit enough but good lavender blue flowers and drought tolerance carries the day.

Rock Fleabane.  A mighty mite in the Asteraceae family, this rock crevice dweller was not discovered until 1978 in the Chiricahua Mts in Arizona and later was found 200 miles east in the Black Range of New Mexico.  It has been very easy and rock hardy for us and although drought tolerant, adapts to frequent irrigation.  Small white flowers.

Rio Grande Rain Lily.  This has the cheeriest yellow flowers with burnt orange streaking which appear without leaves in late summer to early fall with the onset of fall rains if grown in a sunny dry spot.  These get 6" tall but are wicked cute and will self sow to make an enviably vibrant patch in time.  Native to the Southeast and Mexico.  Zone 7.

Heart-leafed Globe Daisy. Pleasing little alpine from the mountains of southern Europe and Turkey. Low and slowly spreading domes like a small overturned pie with evergreen leaves and lavender-blue pom-pom flowers on short stems. Easy and tough enough for a beginner, sweet enough for the rock gardener who has grown it all.

A seldom-encountered Dianthus from the mountains in South Africa.  Apparently the local indigenous use this in magic - we can attest we are transported briefly to another realm when this flowers.  Nice pink flowers on slowly spreading mats which is best suited for the rock garden.  Good drainage in full sun and hardy to zone 7 and possibly lower.

Quite an uncommon evergreen species in cultivation from Shaanxi and Sichuan possessing an impish charm to which few others in the genus can lay claim. A smaller species to 12" with cute rounded leaflets which subtend stems bearing rounded simple spurless flowers which are a soft yellow.  Good drought tolerance on this winsome cutey,

Officially Xeric Awesome Perennial. Seeds we got from Panayoti Kelaidis' home garden in Denver. This has rosettes of foliage which erupt in early summer to 2'-3' branched displays of orange to yellow poppy flowers. Nifty seed pods too. This really wants good drainage and hot sun and you will be smitten by the Horned Poppy.

Winged Broom.  Superb shrublet from the Balkans down in to Greece that has distinctive flanged leaves and stems.  This is a low growing very dense small scale groundcover and takes full sun and poor soil while being tolerant of drier conditions.  In late spring, smothered in yellow flowers.  We have a dandy one under our palms by the gate.

Quirky little evergreen vine from the Mediterranean that brings delight far out of proportion to the size of its flowers. Small curved pipe-like flowers are a subtle burnished pale flesh on the outside accented by thin reddish lines.  The flared pipe bowl is a perky yellow with faint lines in the back of the throat and a rim of umber, delicately whiskered.

Shipping restrictions may applyA selection from the mountains of Orange County CA notable for its rose colored flowers.  This species has somewhat viscid green leaves that tend to drop in late summer but reappear with the rains of autumn and have handled temps to 15F here.  Late winter-early spring flowers in our area, these delight the overwintering Anna's hummingbirds.

Pretty much an awesome plant for the rock garden or hell strip as this relishes good drainage and hot sun.  We saw this at Lakewood Gardens in Denver summer of 2014 and had to have!  A small subshrub covered in blazing red tubular flowers and allows no other plant to have any attention whatsoever.  On the moderate to dryish side and lean.

Exceptional selection of this cross between Garrya elliptica and G. fremontii from Glasnevin in Ireland.  What is notable about this is the long late winter catkins have conspicuous wine-colored bands.  We're talking Pinot Noir here not Pinot Grigio.  As a bonus, the stems are dark colored as well.  Winter interest, anyone?

Pretty awesome new hybrid that came up at Suncrest Nurseries in CA thanks to some inspired work by the bees.  This outshines its parents with gray-blue leaves and branched erect stems to 3' holding lots of lavender-blue flowers for many weeks.  This can take drier conditions and the vermin deer don't like it.

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.

This hybrid Oregano works what it got to da max. This is made to order for heat waves, drought conditions, and hungry bees.  Lean soil with great drainage? Check. Dry summers? Check. Ravening hoards of deer and rabbit? Check. Loads of amethyst-pink flowers from light green bracts in summer.

Grown from seed given to us by xeric, steppe and rock garden guru, Panayoti Kelaidis of Denver Botanic Garden.  Brilliant plantsman who, if you gave him an hour lead time, would be conversant in aquatic plants native to Lake Malawi and the nearby Great Rift Valley.  This Central Asian species grows natively on rocky, sandy slopes and in the garden, is quite drought tolerant.  Thrives in Denver, this will get 3'-4'+ with pink flowers in summer.

We were gifted this little green "roller" from John Grimshaw, Director of the Yorkshire Arboretum at Castle Howard. As he handed us a nondescript pup, we wondered what magical thing attended this to earn a place in his exquisite collection. "This is from the garden of Carl Linnaeus" STFU! The Father of Binomial Nomenclature!?! Linnaeus & Grimshaw - now that's provenance!

A serious bit of yellow on this rock garden gem.  The dome of small silver leaves is completely obscured by the mass of yellow flowers in May and June here.  We let ours go to seed so we can enjoy more seedlings.  This is visually nearly identical to three other distantly related species in the Mediterranean and may reflect parallel evolution from similar habitats.