New & Restocked

One of our favorite Roscoeas (we admittedly love the one we are with at the moment when it comes to these) which distinguishes itself by a haughty erectness (only achieved at a great cost at expensive finishing schools) in apparent conflict with the "Do Me Now!" exotic yellow flowers.

The ticklingly named Prawn Sage (unexpected culinary pairing or wizened crustacean?) sports prawn red flowers typical of the genus but with the added flair of attractively felted leaves highlighted by a bright white underside. These were wild collected by Ben Kamm of Sacred Succulents as a part of his effort to source and distribute ethnobotanical plants of the Andes. To that end they like it dry and sunny, the hardiness is also a bit limiting but these are easily grown from cuttings to provide a self-perpetuating supply of annuals in colder climates

Excellent member of the Crassulaceae which means it is a succulent basically, but one that eschews the arid sunny spot in favor of lusher environs like our shade garden with dairy manure mulch. Makes a thick clump of fleshy green leaves with taller stems of pendulous strings of bead-like yellow flowers that are nothing less than captivating. This is one of those plants we have had for a long time but one that surprises us each year when it blooms because we don't expect something so familiar to float our boat quite so high. Very easy to please and a plant people want when they see it in flower.

Potentially the first offering of this plant in the US we brought this back from Far Reaches sister city Pan-Global Plants, the stellar nursery of plantsman Nick Macer who wild collected these in Guizhou. Very unique look with dark green rosettes of leaves centered by a cluster of yellow flowers, will slowly spread to form a truly special groundcover Broader and fewer leaflets than the more often seen var. stenophylla. 

I have always been attracted to aureolas and this Aureola is one of the finest. One of the 10 best ornamental grasses and perhaps the best for light shade, this deciduous species from Japan forms a beautiful undulating surf of foliage when planted in drifts. It is simply a great plant.

We are pleased to be the first to introduce this excellent Sibirica Iris to North America. We were visiting John Grimshaw, plantsman extraordinaire and Director of the Yorkshire Arboretum, and walking about his home garden when he asked if we would like a bit of an Iris he had named with lovely scrambled egg flowers of yellow and cream. We said yes, of course because while we might be comparatively brutish colonists, we ain't without a certain native wit. Very floriferous on a shorter plant with flowers well-displayed. When Cotswold Garden Plants first introduced this in the UK in 2011, John mused on his blog about how nice it would be to receive a voluntary royalty which he could use to help fund the educational needs of a Maasai child he is sponsoring. School doesn't get less expensive as you get older so we are going to give $5 from each plant sold back to John.

Sweet little groundcover whose double white flowers resemble fluffy bits of white popcorn strewn on the leaves. Perfect underplanting for other shade plants to pop up through and great between stepping stones. Gently spreading and not hard to keep in bounds. Darn near perfect.

We received this extraordinary selection from and equally extraordinary plantsman, David Mason of the vaunted former Hedgerows Nursery. Few members of the genus approach this for impact which is only heightened by flowering before other large-flowered forms. The emerging spring growth is enclosed in soft salmon sheaths and the hot damn lavender-pink flowers stand proud before the leaves develop. This is a cool climate genus.

A very distinct form of this species which was collected in Nepal by Tony Schilling and shared with us by David Mason of Hedgerows Nursery. A good spreader rather than a clumper, the rounded ping-pong paddle leaves offer much as a small-scale groundcover. White to tinged pink flowers in early summer. Deciduous to semi-deciduous, we are inordinately fond of this collection and have it planted at the entrance to our shade garden. This particular collection is quite rare in the trade. Tony used to be the director at Wakehurst and David was deputy director so the chain of provenance custody is just how we like it.

A species not often encountered for sale, the 2019 RHS Plant Finder lists but two sources in the UK and they won't have many. Neither do we but we want someone else besides us here in the colonies to enjoy this plus this will give that collector's itch a good scratching. A stout, smaller species with yellow flowers that is related to R. humeana. This was described as a species in 1982 from a George Forrest collection near Dali in Yunnan.

Redwood Ivy. This is a premier groundcover which is nothing like ivy. You will never find this choice species on a noxious weed list. Evergreen leaves forming a slow carpet with delicate white "inside-out" flowers suspended above like celestial motes of light. Drought tolerant!

A selected form from England notable for pale cream flowers which are lighter than typical for the species. We're just over the moon about Roscoeas and this uncommon selection is certainly in the top tier. All the allure of a hardy orchid without the expense. Trouble free pretty much.

Nifty little species we salvaged out of plant collector Marian Raitz's garden when she moved. Low toothed leaves and nice mid-sized white flowers hazed lavender-pink. This will make a nice lower-than-most-Epimediums patch which works perfectly under low shrubs.

This tasteful perennial from Japan bides its time in the shade garden as the floral hoi polloi scrabble for attention during spring and summer. Once the fracas has died down, this takes center stage in September and October with its intricately constructed buds like little pieces of sculpture which open to fuzzy light lavender flowers. 

Safe to say this is rare. From the higher elevations in Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet comes this collector's primrose. This has proven very easy in our shade garden where the rounded sort of palmate leaves form a very dense canopy over the short creeping rhizomes. Purple rose flowers are just what we wanted to see.

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 former Anemone is one we first became acquainted with in John Massey's impeccable garden at Ashwood Nursery. We didn't know what it was but it grabbed our attention which is saying something in that candy store of a garden. A small plant that would be well-suited for a moist rock garden setting, it has simple, soft yellow flowers and distinctive green leaves.

Let's be honest if you're growing Podophyllums for the flowers you're probably a misses the forest for the trees type, and don't be fooled the huge multi-pointed star leaves of these are still just as flashy as ever. That being said, we here at Far Reaches tend to be of the more is more, por que no los dos persuasion and the large paler-than-usual flowers of this selection are quite the added bonus. Thanks to Jacques Thompson for sharing this beauty with us!

White Velvet Spiderwort. This gets great cobwebby silver-white foliage with light purple flowers nestled in the leaf axils. Likes it on the drier side thank goodness and is far hardier than we thought. This overwintered in the ground outside at plant maestro Brian McLaughlin's garden just down the road at 10 degrees one winter "although I mulched it" he hastened to add. The biggest issue for us is not so much the cold but adequate winter drainage because we can get some rain. It resents water-logging but is really quite easy and just very eye-catching as it looks more house plant the garden plant.

Indian Rhubarb. California native that is an imposing sight in the garden. This is a superior form with darker flowers and somewhat more textured foliage. Streamside dweller that loves a wet rich soil where the big rounded leaves can really do their thing.