Triteleia laxa

Blue brodiaea - Grassnut - Asparagaceae - formerly Brodiaea laxa - California Oregon - near native - edible corm tastes like potato - full sun - winter wet summer dry - good drainage - good for container planting - "we don't use enough bulbs in the landscape" - flowers open as leaves die down

Baptisia australis

Blue wild indigo - Fabaceae - central and eastern North America - good drainage - bee pollinated - 6 weeks of flowers - herbaceous perennial - 1.5m tall - late spring early summer flowers - first nations used for blue dye - spreading rhizomes - zone 3-8

Phytolacca clavigera

Chinese Pokeweed - Phytolaccaceae - China Yunnan - 1.5-2m tall - deadly poison all parts - summer flowers - pink flowers -> clusters of black berries crazy looking - leaves turn golden yellow in fall - sun to part shade

Stachys macrantha

Big betony - Lamiaceae - herbaceous perennial - Turkey Caucusus - zone 4-8 - spring flowers - full sun - ground cover - rich moist soil - tough adaptable - 60cm x 60cm

Carex flacca

Blue sedge - Cyperaceae - purpley - bulletproof - Europe North Africa - leaves blue green above glaucous beneath - grasslands moorlands edge of salt marshes - erosion control - drought / wet feet tolerant - june-july - full sun part shade - 30cm tall - rain garden - clump forming - slow creeping rhizomatous

Tradescantia Andersoniana Group

Spiderwort - Commelinaceae - 50-60 cultivars - complex hybrids lots of variation - it has been used in testing for radiation - spidery fluff on flowers - great for herbaceous border - 6 weeks of flowers may-july - foliage breaks down when flowers peak and looks bad - zone 4-9 - full sun to part shade - rain garden - thread-like silky sap

Lavandula pedunculata

Spanish lavender - Butterfly lavender - Lamiaceae - sub shrub - sloping ground with rocks - aromatic - evergreen - full sun - well drained - bees - late spring early summer flowers - 60cm x 60cm

Helianthemum nummularium

Common rockrose - Cistaceae - European mountains - evergreen trailing plant - good drainage - sub shrub - flowers all summer - dry sunny - butterflies - moths - 50cm tall x 100cm spread

Sedum ‘Bertram Anderson’

Black leaf sedum - Crassulaceae - metallic purple black stem - darkest sedum - evergreen - pinky red flowers - 6cm tall - spreading - full sun - well drained - late summer fall flowers - groundcover - hot dry poor soil

Allium caeruleum

Blue globe onion - Amaryllidaceae - 80cm tall - late spring early summer flowers - Asia Siberia - sky blue flowers - full sun - fragrant - butterflies - likes it dry - good drainage - zone 4-8 - well drained

Bletilla striata

Chinese ground orchid - Orchidaceae - easiest of all orchids to grow - rich well drained - moist - pseudobulbs - Japan China Tibet - part shade - spring flowers - woodland - slow spreading rhizomes

Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra’

Japanese blood grass - Poaceae - zone 5-9 - sun to part shade - best colour in full sun - if it reverts to green look out! green form very agressive - turns red in fal - dies to ground in winter - moisture in summer - almost never flowers - good in container - clumps spread by underground runners

Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’

Black stonecrop - Crassulaceae - zone 3-9 - 60cm x 60cm - deep rosy pink flowers - full sun - herbaceous perennial - easy to propagate vegetatively - butterflies - sandy gravelly well drained soils - vase shaped clumps - mid summer to early fall blooms - sedum

Hemerocallis minor

Grassleaf daylily - Xanthorrhoeaceae - edible flowers - tiny leafs look good when not in flower - more sun the better - insect pollinated - 50cm tall - Korea Japan China - zone 3-9 - sun to part shade - adaptable perennial - well drained

Carpenteria californica

Bush poppy - Hydrangeaceae - evergreen - ugly in Vancouver in winter - 1-2 months of flowers - good for down on beach where climate is milder - California - rare species endemic to only a few sites - 1-3m tall - wildfire adapted - moist well drained - full sun - shrub

Verbena rigida

Rough verbena - Verbeneaceae - 3-4 months of flowers - butterflies - good drainage - full sun - Brazil Argentina - tuberous perennial - 60cm tall - dark green leaves have rough surface

Lobelia tupa

Tupa - Tobaco del diablo - Devil's tabacco - Campanulaceae - shamans - central Chile - 2-2.5m tall - hummingbird pollinated - thrives in dry soils - latex is a hallucinogen - grey green downy leaves - red purple stems

Eryngium eburnium

Sea holly - Apiaceae - sun to part shade - South America - bee pollinated - needs deep soil - drought tolerant - thimble shaped flower heads - butterflies - dense clumps of neat narrow sword shaped leaves - 1-2m tall - evergreen 

Fuchsia magellanica var. molinae

Fuchsia - Onagraceae - blooms for 3 months spring through summer -> berries - hummingbirds - good near water - southern South America - deciduous sub shrub - 1.5m x 1.5m - moist fertile soil - mulch in winter - zone 7-9

Parahebe perfoliata

Digger's speedwell - Plantaginaceae - full sun - evergreen or semi evergreen sub shrub - late spring flowers - blue green foliage - well drained - likes it hot - walls rock gardens - Australia - low growing arching habit - zone 7-10

Polystichum munitum

western sword fern - Dryopteridaceae - evergreen - Western North America - very tough - very long lived - easily propagated - west coast landscapes - tolerates summer drought when established - grows very large in shade - 50-180cm tall - understory of moist coniferous forests - well drained

Geranium Ann Folkard

Ann Folkard geranium - Geraniaceae - yellowish leaves - purple fuchsia flowers - knit things together in a herbaceous border - 60cm tall - sun part shade - moist well drained - summer flowers - trailing groundcover

Gunnera tinctoria

Chilean rhubarb - Gunneraceae - loves water all year round = wetspot in garden - small leafed one leaves 2m across - rhizomatous - weed in Tofino Ireland Scotland - Brazil to Columbia - clump forming - herbaceous perennial - hardy to zone 7 = form tents with leaves over crowns in winter for protection

Thalictrum aquilegifolium

Columbine meadow rue - Ranunculaceae - powder puff white or pink flowers - terminal inflorescence - very variable flowers - versatile shade or sun all manner of abuse - long lived - columbine like leaves - 1m tall x 50 cm - june flowers

Eschscholzia californica

California poppy - Papaveraceae - Washington to California + Nevada - brilliant orange flowers - white yellow to dark orange these ones are cream - blue wax that coats leaves - annuals short lived perennials - invasive weed in Victoria - full sun - sandy well drained poor soil - drought tolerant - self seeding - grows in disturbed areas

Santolina chamaecyparissus

cotton lavender - Asteraceae - button flowers hundreds of micro flowers inside - sub shrubs - works well in a formal garden where you have a lot of maintenance or on a very steep slope - Mediterranean - aromatic - evergreen - silvery wooly dissected leaves - full sun - yellow flowers

Osmundastrum cinnamomeum

cinnamon fern - Osmundaceae - edges of swamps bogs and ponds moist woodlands - dimorphic - fertile fronds improve look - the Americas East Asia - very tough plants - transplant easily - looks great with metasequoia glyptostroboides - rain garden - forms huge clonal colonies - living fossil

Carex pendula

weeping sedge - Cyperaceae - male catkins hang down on ends - seed + rhizome spreading - 2m tall - evergreen - cut it down every few years - Europe Middle East - may june flowers - roadsides streambanks

Triteleia hyacinthina

fool's onion - white hyacinth - Asparagaceae - Western North America locally in mountains - bulb - candelabra inflorescence tolerates shade - likes drainage - will seed around and naturalize - crocus like leaves - white flowers - vernal wet coastal meadows

Bergenia purpurascens

purple bergenia - elephant ears - Saxifragaceae - purpurascens = leaves purple wine red in winter - hot pink flowers best of them all - hardy shade + drought tolerant - march-may flowers - evergreen - East Himalayas - clump forming rhizomatous - zone 4-8

Alchemilla alpina

Alpine lady's mantle - Rosaceae - Europe Southern Greenland - alpine montane - groundcover rock garden - herbal remedy - leaves have silver edge - good drainage - sun or part shade

Iris tenax

Oregon iris - toughleaf iris - Iridaceae - North American West Coast - evergreen june flowers tight clump slowspreading - no weeds can get through - grows out in open where blasted by wind - self seeding - rhizomatous - good drainage - tenax = tough or tenacious referring to the leaves - purple lavender yellow or creamy white flowers - sun to part shade - 15cm tall

Carex grayi

Grey's sedge - Cyperaceae - flowers boring - fruits interesting - North America east of Rockies - colony forming - moist base of rock - sedges are extremely adaptable - would look good with stark architectural lines - very angular - don't neglect carex! - sun to part shade - moist - may-oct blooms - zone 5-9 - rain garden -

Aquilegia chrysantha

yellow columbine - Ranunculaceae - chrysantha = yellow - long nectar spurs - hummimgbird butterfly love - short lived perennial - flower looks you in the face - problem promiscuous hybrid easily - fun to have hybrids - North America - alpine - 30-90cm tall - april-sept flowers - part shade - moist well drained

Cistus x ladanifer ‘Pat’

hard cistus - Cistaceae - summer blooming - blooms all summer - glandular sticky aromatic leaves - alpine - North America - might call sub shrubs or shrubs - crepe paper like 5 petals - boss of yellow stamens in flowers - very well drained soil required - sunny bank - no colder than zone 7 - 15 or so cictus in Vancouver area are ignored in landscape trade - not long lived without perfect drainage - experiment in your own garden not clients - pink white sometimes bits of purple blooms

Polystichum polyblepharum

Japanese eyelash fern - tassel fern - Dryopteridaceae - shade heavy shade - evergreen - nice curve in stem - very reflective dark green - can grow under Magnolia grandiflora - polyblepharum = many eyelashes = fuzzy stems - zone 5-8 - Japan South Korea - rich moist well drained

Dryopteris wallichiana

Himalayan dryopteris - shield fern - Dryopteridaceae - big bold fern - almost black hairs - looks like tree fern - good background plant - semi evergreen - Nepal South Sea Islands - wide distribution - moist well drained - shade part shade - 1m x1m after 5-10 years - tufted

Blechnum spicant

Deer fern - Blechnaceae - evergreen fern - stays green 2-3 years in forest environment - shady with course woody debris high humus organic matter in soil with moisture holding capacity - very tough - 1m across after 10 years - groundcover - Northern Hemisphere - sterile and fertile leaves

Athyrium felix femina

lady fern - Dryopteridaceae - temperate Northern Hemisphere Scotland Scandinavia Russia Chine - damp shady woodland - fragile breaks easy - pattern of spore cases often defines genus - 1.25m tall - aggressive weedy fern - produces all leaves from centre spot on ground - herbaceous - part to deep shade - delicate looking large fern

Adiantum aleuticum

Maiden hair fern - Pteridaceae - aleuticum = Aleutian Islands of Alaska - Western/Eastern North America - clump forming - short rhizomes - compound pedate leaf - filmy thin leaf tissue - delicate - tip of the leaf rolled over to protect where spore capsules are born - black stems - fertile moist well drained - rocky mossy cliff next to a waterfall - very good garden plants - irrigate in summer - gets a little brown at tips in full sun - north facing slope - herbaceous

Lupinus polyphyllus

big blue lupine - Fabaceae - will grow in poor soils - palmately compound leaves with hairs - 6-8 weeks of flowering - summer flowering - nitrogen fixing - bee pollinated - garden hybrids are toughest - Western North America - BC to California - has a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria - self seeding

Nuphar polysepala

Yellow pond lily - spatterdock - Nymphaeaceae - polysepala = many sepals - among oldest of all flowering plants - extensive snakelike rhizome - 1-1.5m - western North America - aquatic - shallow muddy ponds - waxy waterproof leaves provide shelter for fish - seeds are edible and pop like popcorn or can be ground for flour

Acaena magellanica

greater burnet - Rosaceae - groundcover - each red point is an individual fruit - Acaena = single seeded fruit - rock garden - full sun - essentially evergreen - doesn't compete well with grasses - southern South America -

Bistorta vaccinifolia

Blueberry leaved bistort - Polygonaceae - hundreds of mini pink bottle brush flowers - brilliant scarlet in autumn - excellent rock garden plant - late summer flowers - low trailing herbaceous perennial  - Himalayas

Bistorta affinis

Fleeceflower - Polygonaceae - some shade - Pakistan Himalayas - foliage turns bronzy red in fall - summer flowers - deep red flowers fade to soft pink - groundcover - sun to part shade - drought tolerant once established - zone 3-9 - well drained - bees butterflies

Allium cernuum

Nodding onion - Amaryllidaceae - cernuum = nodding - pink almost purple almost white - weedy onion - used by first nations - edible - elegant - associates well with strawberries - height 50cm - bulb - bee pollinated - full sun to part shade - zone 4-8 - well drained - canada to mexico - narrow grass like leaves - self seeding - green roof