We wouldn't have guessed we could grow Acacia here in our cold pocket garden but we had a random seedling of this appear in our never-water Arctostaphylos/Garrya bed and it has not had a bit of damage from several winters down to 10F.  Poofs of yellow flowers among the evergreen leaves.  Lean soil, great drainage and dry.

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.

Our collection of this distinctive vining Monkshood from the wooded slopes of Longshou in Sichuan.   We think this is quite superior to other color forms of this rare species and have given it the name 'Monk Gone Wild' because it is a pretty crazy color for a Monkshood plus this monk managed to remain technically celibate yet still have lots of children via stem bulbils.

Fabulous wine-colored (red - not white) vining Monkshood that cannot fail to please with late summer into fall flowers.  Perfect for sun to light shade, this will make annual growth of 10'-15' if it has something to twine onto.  Best part, it's poisonous - take that, deer!

This vining monkshood is from our seed collection of this herbaceous vine which was growing in a large shrub hanging out over a stream in a cold rain.  The potential for becoming even wetter was pretty good and fortunately, such a risk proved well worth it as this has large blue flowers with a pale white lip.  This has been a star in our shade garden flowering in late August into September.

Our collection of this most impressive vining Monkshood.  Sumptuous flowers of a good blue with a white interior  This one is a real cracker and these will easily grow 8'-12' or even 15' tall provided they have something to twine onto.  An immense treat in August and September.

Wolfsbane.  Our collection from the Swiss Alps of this quietly charming yellow-flowered Aconitum  Lovely at trail's edge in the light shade of the deciduous forest in August.  Apparently this is key to any good witches garden and used in shapeshifting spells and as a werewolf repellant.  Better safe than sorry.

Bugbane.  A dusky, dark-leafed plant that appeared as a seedling in our shade garden a few years ago.  We are windy here and which seed from which black-leafed, named form blew in from our sales tables, we cannot say.  We let it be where it landed until it got too large and now it is divisions in pots.  To 4' with late season wands of whitish fragrant flowers.

Doll's Eyes Baneberry.  Striking woodland plant in fruit - the white puffs of flowers in late spring are ok but the fruit is serious business.  An elongated fruiting spike holds with red stems, round white berries each with a small black pupil.  The common name is immediately obvious and is either clever or creepy depending on how many "Chucky" movies you have watched.  We think it is clever.  All parts poisonous which means deer proof.

Ultra-choice dwarf form of our Western Maidenhair fern that is currently known from just a few coastal cliff sites on Vancouver Island and historically on the Olympic Peninsula.  Short black stems hold dense perfection of classic maidenhair leaves on plants not exceeding 8" in height.  These are established divisions from our plants originating from the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden.

This is likely the first introduction of this curious Tea family member from our collection in Guangxi Province. An evergreen shrub to 10' in the wild with long slightly drooping olive-green leaves prominently hirsute especially along the margins. Flowers are small and white and give way to small black fruit. We are thinking hardy to zone 8.

A collection by Shayne Chandler from the Five Fingers mountain range in Vietnam.  This zone 8 hardy shrubby gesneriad was first introduced by Steve Hootman over 20 years ago from China and it is good to have another collection from a new area.  Tubular red-orange flowers and boxwood-like leaves.

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.

Our collection from an area little visited by Westerners and part of our ongoing effort to collect and grow comparative specimens from across its range in Vietnam and China.  Same genus as Lipstick Vine, this shrubby gesneriad has proven hardy in mild gardens here in western Washington.  Tubular red-orange flowers.

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.

Choice little alpine from the heights of Syria, Lebanon and Turkey which is remarkably hardy.  Sue brought this out west with her from her garden in northern Vermont in case you think we're making stuff up.  Which we do but we're not this time.  Perfect low mats of small rounded gray leaves and white spring flowers.

This was selected at Bressingham Gardens by the legendary Alan Bloom and is derivative from the garden-proven Headsbourne hybrids that are noted for hardiness and excellent flowers. This pick of the litter has 2-1/2' stems with baseball-sized flower-heads of a good dark blue. This will be good down to zone 7 with a nice deep mulch.

Lily of the Nile. One of the top hybrids bred by Steve Hickman of Hoyland's and is well-regarded among those in the know for its large powder-blue flowers on 30" stems.

This is one hell of a plant.  Flower stalks to 5 feet tall with admittedly small heads of flowers but the individual florets are large and quite long.  These drooping pendants are the color you dream about in Agapanthus - a deep and dark smoking blue-black that you can look at eye to eye.

A pretty spiff hybrid from the Los Angeles County Arboretum. This hardy Lily of the Nile has deep and dark violet flowers which are held on stems up to 3' and are quite the show. Had a girlfriend years ago who was deep and dark and would frequently put on quite a show but that grew tiresome. This plant is different and you won't weary of it or require therapy.

A hardier deciduous species with big heads of purple-violet flowers with each petal boasting a darker central stripe. This is a performer which will not disappoint. This can be grown in zone 7 if deeply mulched for the winter. We typically mulch all of our Agapanthus just to be on the safe side as we can get cold here.

Lily of the Nile. Upright gray-green leaves lead the eye up and up to over 40" where the pale sky blue flower heads with large drooping individual florets are captivating. Not an easy plant to obtain here in the States.

Attractive cousin to blueberries growing in the trees of Thailands northern mountains.  Sometimes seen offered as a hybrid clone 'Red Elf', this is typical hosseana which is a small evergreen shrub with dark red flowers that can take light frost.  The fruit is edible and would be nice sprinkled on Thai Beef Salad, Phla Nuea.

Stunning introduction by the equally stunning Steve Hootman from the rich forests of the Myanmar border area.  This epiphytic blueberry cousin has luscious pink, tubular, ribbed flowers accented by red squiggly chevrons with provocatively inviting, recurved yellow tips ringing the corolla mouth.  Likely tolerates light brief frosts.

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.

In this unusual variant, the flowers are creamy white followed by edible pale lavender fruit and its alliance with Vaccinium (blueberries) is easy to see. . Very easy to grow and will tolerate short exposure to light frost but best no colder than zone 9. The hummingbirds loved it.

This epiphytic Vaccinium relative is a stunner. Growing on trees in the cloud forests of the Himalaya, this forms woody lignotubers from which arise the branches clad in evergreen leaves which hold the narrow pendant yellow flowers in late winter and spring. This is an especially good form with red calyces. Tolerant of light frost and needs very good drainage.

Named by plant guru John Flintoff who found this as an interesting seedling growing in plantswoman Loie Benedict's garden. Light green leaves with a spreading habit and flowers of a soft muted lavender which happily goes with most everything. As long as the soil is reasonably moist, this will be good in sun to light shade and is resistant to deer and rabbits.

Rare plant found only in limited areas in central Honshu, Japan where it likes the forest fringes in the subalpine areas and is known as hiiragi-sou or holly tree-leafed weed.  Hiiragi-sou sounds better than the translation.  This selection has dark blue flowers and is a deciduous clumper to 16" tall - very nice!

This is the coveted true species which is very hard to find.  Thin grassy leaves in dense tussocks with small headed blue flowers in late summer. A Chinese species that is not one of the bulbous summer dormant types but appreciates moisture during the summer and is quite easy despite its relative scarcity.  Pretty much love anything blue.