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!

An eyecatcher as evidenced by our friend Brian, with exquisite taste in all things beautiful, when he made the hopeful inquiry "These probably aren't ready to sell yet"  From a Malaysian botanic garden, this has sumptuous burnished metal leaves on the uppers with rich red undersides.  White/pink flowers are not needed.

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.

A recent collection of this Zingiberaceae which we have not yet identified.  A graceful species with relatively narrow leaves and very pleasing melon colored flowers.  This is from fairly low elevation and growing both as a terrestrial and as an epiphyte.  In zone 8 gardens, we would mulch well to keep frost from reaching the rhizomes.

One of the hardiest of the Aloes, this will withstand short drops into the upper teens but will appreciate shelter against a sunny wall under an eave where it will produce orange flowers for months on end. Well worth trying for some succulent exotica or just fine in a container where it can be brought inside for the winter.  Has done well in outside with careful siting in mild PNW gardens.

Crazy fern that takes away the need to fuss with growing this from spore as it makes a multitudinous panoply of ready-to-go plantlets on the leaves that will soon have you owning the corner in your 'hood dealing in fern babies.  Remember, if it's a kid, the first one is free.  Warmer gardens or indoors, mulch protect in zone 8 winters.

The leaves held on salmon stems are a soft dark olive green and enhanced by purplish-red undersides.  A rhizomatous type making a very eye-catching mound and this is before the pink flowers take it up another notch.  Underplanted with golden Creeping Jenny - dang!  Good houseplant or summer containers.  Tender.

Plant Addict Alert!  If you have problems coping with uncontrollable acquisition, step away from this plant.  Take a few minutes, walk through the garden and if you are still besotted, know that it is ok because this is totally cool!  Crazy Ethiopian species for a hot sunny spot with red flowers late summer into fall.

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.

Pretty awesome evergreen fern because not only is it cool but it increases fast enough to make a statement in the garden before you are in your dotage and have forgotten why you bought this yet not in that rampaging acreage-eating Borg-assimilating manner that is sometimes described as "a good nursery plant".

This was one of those "Holy shit - lookit that fern!" moments when we first spotted this species growing at the base of soaring pinnacles of vertical peaks in Guizhou, China where it was not intimidated in the least and perfectly in scale.  Massive 4'-6' wide fronds 6'-8' tall in the wild and clumping.  Likely smaller in cultivation but still BIG!  Zone 7b-9.

We were gifted this from plantsman Ian Barclay of The Desert Northwest Nursery as a potentially cold hardier form from 6000' in Mexico.  We can't attest to that - too much compassion to trial this at our 10F dips some winters.  It is a heckuva container plant rapidly increasing with new rosettes and orange flowers to boot.

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

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.

Pretty cool and needless to say, rare rhizomatous evergreen perennial taxonomically wandering among genera from Tupistra to Campylandra to currently Rohdea which we have written in pencil. This has proven nicely hardy here in the PNW making a statement with elegant narrow green leaves with a muted amber central stripe. Flowers curiously interesting.

Asian Sour Gum or Tupelo. This deciduous tree does flower, not that you would notice, but it does produce small bluish fruits in Fall. Fast-growing with largish leaves often carrying bronzy-purple tones when young. Moist acidic soil and sheltered from hot or freezing winds.

A collection by Dr. Peter Zale of this recently described evergreen species.  A gorgeous plant with attractive new shoots and handsome foliage on arching stems.  Small yellowish flowers adorn the leaf axils and reddish fruit follows.  We haven't trialed this outside because our winters make us chicken out nearly every time.  Let's go frost-free for now and we'll find out more later.  Epiphytic, so a crumbly potting mix.

This from an unforgettable visit to Aberconwy Nursery in Wales, exceptional alpine plant growers.  A tender African violet relative, this makes dense rosettes of spirally arranged rugose leaves - the perfect backing for the white flowers!   A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Introduction.

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.

Our collection from Guangxi on a mountain area little explored by Westerners.  This Mondo Grass had leaves to 2' long and fairly lax.  Flower stems just 3" tall with surprisingly nice mauve flowers that give way to typical shiny Ophiopogon fruit in the fall.  Excellent textural evergreen for shade with a bonus of good flowers.

An undescribed species from a recent Hinkley collection in eastern Arunachal Pradesh.  A staggeringly good foliage plant fully clad in large deeply divided leaves and sporting yellow flowers - such a nice departure from pink!  These admittedly mingle within the foliage and teasingly tantalize in their allure.

A Hinkley collection of this rhizomatous Begonia from 9500' in the far eastern Himalaya. Attractive foliage with red hues and veins underleaf and we presume, pink flowers. Hardiness is unknown but we would mulch it well in zone 8 gardens. Ideally, overwinter frost-free until large enough to divide off a piece for trial outside in your garden. This would be a trial lamb.

Great foliage on this Wild Ginger from China which keys most closely to the species caudigerellum. A mist of white spray droplets on the leaves is especially vivid on the young foliage making this very desirable.  Small tan to soft red flowers are a welcome addition. We have seen nice clumps of presumably this species in Vietnam looking fabulous on the forest floor among the bright buff trunks of Camellia trees.

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.

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.

Our collection from a previously unbotanized remnant old-growrth forest in China.  It was like walking in a mountain valley in Appalachia with massive Beech, Chestnuts, Hornbeams, Magnolias and Rhododendrons all hundreds of years old.  Just writing this - it is like we're there.  Good evergreen fern - guessing on species.

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.

Unflowered plants from our seed collection, although attributes and geography suggest a likelihood of this being the species edulis due to widespread cultivation from pre-Columbian times thanks to the edible tubers.  If this is edulis, expect 24 or more pink-tubed flowers with green-yellow throats in a fireworks umbel.  Showy orange seeds in fall.

A lovely shrubby epiphytic Indochina gesneriad in the same genus as lipstick vine.  That comparison made, this should be an excellent houseplant although we speculate that it ought to take a brief light frost.  A lot of the exposed limestone ridges radiate heat away at night making them colder.  Red tubular flowers.