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!

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.

Incredibly exciting rare ornamental Araliad from Taiwan where it can reach 30 feet tall.  Don't be scared by that as it will likely not attain those dimensions in your garden at least while you are the gardener!  Broadly orbicular leaves with 3-5 shallow lobes on stout branches makes this a riveting centerpiece.  These are seed-grown and best in mild gardens.

Riverine Tea Tree.  This uncommon to cultivation Tasmania endemic is often found along stream banks in its native setting so can take moister conditions than some other species.  White flowers on an evergreen shrub with good flaking bark and getting to 8'-10'.  Deer proof as well.

This blueberry relative was an exciting find from a small mostly deforested limestone ridge in Vietnam. It was a small compact 12"-18" shrub growing both in the rocks and epiphytically with orchids on the few trees left.  Evergreen with boss white tubular flowers and a red berry sheltered by 3 large red bracts.

A Vietnam species which has been hardy to 15F.  Great container plant with tubular red flowers which can easily be moved inside for the winter where it can serve as a houseplant  until it is time to go back outside.  Or keep it outside until there is danger of frost and then hustle it in and bring it back out when safe.

An excellent introduction if you are into the Araliaceae family and fortunately, there are lots of Araliaddicts out there!  This came from the high point in its range with occasional cold exposure and has proven hardy outside here in full sun and wind exposure.  Not ideal but that's what we got!

This is the rarest US Magnolia species occurring in just 6 counties in the Florida panhandle. Fantastic species with huge leaves up to 2' or more long and nearly a foot across. On plants young as 3-4 years old, white scented flowers to 10" wide appear in May avoiding frost damage . Dramatic large shrub to small tree.

A unique evergreen member of the Myrtaceae family native to moist, rocky areas within alpine and subalpine regions of Australia. This forms a dense mound with arching branches, 3ft by 4ft with early summer small white flowers en masse. Diminutive leaves become coppery in winter, smelling lovely when crushed.

Fine South American evergreen shrub to 20" or more when grown richly or half that grown rock garden lean. Wiry red stems bristle with small stiff leaves that pair well to the plentiful small white bells and reddish fruit later. From Simon Bond in England who had some obscure treasures when we visited his Thuja Alpine Nursery.

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.

From the cloud forests of Panama and South America where it grows on trees in accumulations of decomposed debris in crotches.  Finally, an upside to crotch debris!  Essentially a neotropical blueberry, this had been placed in Vaccinium a time or two.  Small white to pinkish flowers with similar colored edible fruit.

Our collection from an area of extreme resource exploitation in Sichuan.  Normally we don't collect much in this group but this was huddled out of harm's way on a cliff face playing the sympathy card which coupled with unusually glossy leaves and showy red fruit, we relented.  Multi-stemmed to 8'-10' +.  Deciduous.

A shrub very rare in this country (we might be the first to introduce this) and one we are pretty excited about. This has some pretty good cold tolerance and will be an evergreen shrub to 2' high and wider. White flowers like a Leptospermum but long anthers so looks like a small bottlebrush. Good drainage, Zone 8-9 and might be worth trying in warmer parts of zone 7.

Collected by Floden-Mitchell-Wynn-Jones at Lao Cai, Vietnam at 2050 meters. This rare species is a great plant for the naturalistic or wild garden making a large shrub with branchlets tipped in fingers of small pale flowers which contrast with the reddish stems and textured leaves. Good fall color.

Very attractive selection with gray-centered evergreen foliage.  This used to be in the Camellia family Theaceae but has been reclassified into the Pentaphylacaceae and we are resting much easier for the knowing.  Sad we missed the big party.  Better in milder gardens but so worth trying.  Small white flowers on the underside of the branchlets.

Jim Fox brought us seeds of this rare Chinese Hypericum from Roy Lancaster's garden where it is one of the many stars.  A shrub of some refined habit with arching branchlets to perhaps 3 feet or a little more with very nice yellow flowers in mid summer.  Roy is one of best plantsmen ever and we're well pleased.

Alas, most Schefflera you have known and loved have been moved to other genera with just a scant handful remaining in Schefflera.  Perfectly sensible for a very large genus spread over several continents.  These are seed-grown from our plants from the recent first North American introduction.

Mint Bush. We love the genus with the aromatic, deer-proof evergreen foliage and in this case, white flowers tinged lavender. A Welsh nuseryman describes it as "a cracking plant tolerant of heavy frost and sells on sight".

Second generation plants from our collection from the Cangshan, Yunnan in 1997. This was midway down the mountain sprawling among and on top of a tapestry of 4'-8' shrubs. The red fruits with brilliant pinnate scarlet foliage was pure eye candy. Expect multiple trunks with a liberal interpretation of vertical.

Beautiful variegated form of this new Zealand Griselinia.  As the species name suggests, this favors coastal conditions and can take the wind.  We saw the typical form growing happily at Robin's Hood Bay in England as we finished the Coast to Coast walk.  Think a much more refined laurel and you are in the ballpark.  Easy to prune, gets to 12', zones 8b-9 or warm 8a.

Evergreen shrub to small tree with gorgeous exfoliating cinnamon colored bark, white fragrant flowers and edible blue-black fruit. A selection we imported via Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy from the UK that was propagated from plants which survived the prolonged Big Freeze of December 2010.

We just love plants that keep us guessing. At first glance, is this one dead? Would we care if it was? It looks freakin' cool. A New Zealand prostrate groundcover with wiry stems that from gravelly/sandy soils from coastal to subalpine areas. Our plant is from John Massey's private garden at Ashwood Nurseries.

Exceptional Mountain Ash form our collection on the summit of Leigongshan in Guizhou where this was a multi-trunked small tree/large shrub to 10' with nice clusters of white berries.  This species is being grown in the UK but they have yet to put a name to it.  From the highest point in its range.  Freakin' Cool!

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.

One of the hardiest Leptospermums, this creeping form is from the alpine areas of Tasmania and has grown for many years at the Arboretum in Seattle. Evergreen leaves with small white flowers, this would be a shame not to have it in the rock garden and a greater shame not to have it spilling over a wall.

Luscious variegated selection out of Japan of this small evergreen shrub.  The leaves are heavily frothed and patterned in creamy whites which can take on some pink depending on the season and exposure.  No two leaves are alike on this new wave plant canvas.  Small white flowers under the branches.

Seed-grown from the clone 'Soft Caress' which is good parentage to say the least.  This will be similar and expressing to varying degrees the qualities of its parent which are good non-spiny foliage with upright yellow candles of flowers on a narrowly vertical evergreen shrub.  It will be good and also a unique one of a kind.

This species was only recently described by botanist Julian Shaw in 2012 from a collection in Hoang Lien Son range on the second summit trail of Phansi Pu in Vietnam. These are second-generation seed-grown plants from a 2011 recollection by Floden-Mitchell & Wynn-Jones.

Threadleaf Dwarf Mulberry.  A curiosity found and named in Japan, this has long, crazy thread-like leaves on thin stems and will make a spreading, small mound which would hang over an edge if so sited.  It can be staked up to get a bit of height which we like.  No fruit or flowers on this Mulberry and don't grow this clone for silk production - the poor silkworms would starve!