Narcissus 'Diamond Ring' is a floriferous Dutch selection of Narcissus bulbocodium ssp. obesus. For us, the small bright yellow hoop-shaped flowers top the thin green foliage in late March...very cute! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This fabulous Narcissus hybrid came from breeders in the Netherlands in the mid 1990s. It is far superior to the typical form of Narcissus bulbocodium in commerce, both in vigor and superior flowering. For us, the commonly sold form of Narcissus bulbocodium crowds itself out so that flowering ceases after the first season...not so with Narcissus 'Golden Bells'. For us, Narcissus 'Golden Bells' starts flowering in late March with golden hoop petticoats atop 8" tall stems. We love the small round green leaves that don't share the untidy habit of the larger narcissus. This has been a real winner in our trials. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: Stipa tenuissima) We truly love this Southwest US native grass. The delicate, narrow foliage of Nassella tenuissima forms a delightfully wispy, deer-resistant clump...every garden needs at least one wispy plant. The 2' tall, wispy tan plumes blend nicely with the foliage in late spring...a very cute ornamental grass! The shallow-rooted Nassella tenuissima will often seed near the mother clump, so if you get a few too many babies, simply get out the Progestin...I mean Roundup®. Nassella tenuissima was named by the Royal Horticultural Society as one of the top 200 plants of the last 200 years! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: Nepeta 'Novanepjun') We have been very impressed with Nepeta x faassenii 'Junior Walker'...a sterile dwarf form of the famed Nepeta 'Walker's Low' from Pennsylvania's Nova Flora. Developed via a gamma ray treatment of Nepeta 'Walker's Low' and bearing the same name as the famed Motown musician, this compact catmint makes a 15" tall x 4' wide, extremely floriferous clump topped with sprays of small pale lavender flowers held just above the foliage. For us, Nepeta 'Junior Walker' starts flowering in mid-April (NC) and continues until September, although in summer heat, not at the same pace as in spring. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Nepeta 'Limelight' is an unusual new catmint developed by our friends at Terra Nova. Nepeta 'Limelight' makes a dwarf 10" tall x 2' wide clump of small ghostly yellow foliage topped, starting in mid-April, with short 10" spikes of blue-lavender flowers. Although Nepeta 'Limelight' is far from vigorous, we have found the growth rate just perfect for a non-aggressive, front of the border perennial. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Nepeta 'Purple Haze' is a catmint hybrid from our friends at Terra Nova that looks nothing like any catmint we've ever seen. The 10" tall x 4' wide mound of soft green aromatic foliage is topped, starting in mid-April, with hot dog-shaped spikes of blue-lavender flowers...quite unusual for a catmint. Come to think of it, it looks like something you'd smoke back in the sixties while listening to Jimi Hendrix bang out its namesake song. For us, Nepeta 'Purple Haze' has re-flowered well throughout the late spring and summer. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
I know there are a lot of pink oleanders out there, but this one was a selection that I made in Raleigh, NC, after our -9 degrees F freeze in 1984. Although the foliage of Nerium oleander 'Hardy Pink' burns when the temperatures hit single digits, we have never had a problem with root hardiness. Atop the 6' tall oleander bushes are dozens of single, medium-pink flowers in late summer. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
After our 1984 freeze-from-hell in which we hit -9 degrees F, I began a search in our local area for oleanders that had survived our killer freeze...there weren't many. One of the plants that I found was Nerium 'Mathilde Ferrier' that we sold as hardy double yellow for years. Although it was badly burned at -9 degrees F, Nerium 'Mathilde Ferrier' returned the following spring with great vigor. Atop the 8' tall bushes are bouquets of double, light yellow flowers in late summer. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
You will flip...your neighbors will say WHATZAT?...while you make all of your master gardener friends look like idiots as they try to identify this, your newest deer-resistant perennial. The 8" long, glaucous foliage adorns 7' tall stalks...perfect for the back of the border. The top of the stems are further adorned with clusters of tubular yellow flowers from summer through fall...a hummingbird party plant. The form of Nicotiana glauca in the trade was not reliably winter hardy for us, but we have had good luck with this new accession from 8,000' in Argentina's Salta Province. Although Nicotiana glauca doesn't spread in clay soils, it will spread by long rhizomes just under the mulch in sandy, organically enriched soils. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This marvelous Yucca Do selection of the Argentine desert native, Nierembergia gracilis, is one of the finest plants we have grown for summer flowering in full sun. Unlike most nierembergias, which melt in our summers, Nierembergia 'Starry Eyes' forms a tight mound of linear foliage 10" tall x 18" wide. From spring until fall, the clump is smothered with up-facing, light lavender bells. Good drainage and 6 hours or more of baking sun are required for best performance...absolutely outstanding! Where Nierembergia 'Starry Eyes' isn't winter hardy, it makes a great mixed container plant. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Nolina lindheimeriana is another of the lesser known but easy-to-grow native evergreen bear grasses that calls the alkaline slopes of the Texas hill country, home. Nolina lindheimeri forms a 2' tall x 2' wide clump of stiff, upright, arching evergreen foliage, topped in spring with lovely 4' tall upright sprays consisting of hundreds of tiny white flowers...quite spectacular as a garden specimen. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Nolina longifolia is a highly sought after species of bear grass from Mexico, collected at very high elevations. Nolina longifolia resembles a ponytail palm to 12' tall x 4' across with very long narrow weeping foliage, emerging from the top of the crown. When mature, Nolina longifolia also produces a dramatic 4' spike of white flowers...surely, one of the most elegant species in the genus Nolina. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
From the Mexican state of Tamaulipas comes this really cool and far-out bear grass (a little Deadhead gardener lingo). Mature architectural specimens of Nolina nelsonii resemble giant ponytail palms, with rigid but not sharp, pointed, 3' long x 1" wide, silvery blue-green, grass-like foliage. When the 10'-12' tall deer-resistant clumps mature, a 4' tall bloom stalk will rocket forth with thousands of tiny white flowers! To quote the redneck pick-up line, it resembles a parking ticket, because it has "fine" written all over it. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This little-known bear grass, Nolina parviflora comes from 8,000' elevation in the Cerro Perote Mountains near Xalapa in the Mexican state of Vera Cruz. Growing in the dry rain shadow region of the mountain, the drought-tolerant Nolina parviflora makes an architectural 15' tall multi-trunked specimen of elegant green leaves, resembling a giant ponytail palm. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
According to Carl Schoenfeld at Yucca Do, this is the most distinctive bear grass he has ever seen. The 2" wide, dark evergreen leaves form a billowing, tree-like fountain of foliage atop a central stem that will reach 20' tall with age, resembling a ponytail palm (same genus). When mature, the giant stalks of foliage are topped with 4-5' tall, narrow flower spikes of white. Although this is still an unnamed species, it has proven to be one of the hardiest of all the nolinas, as it was discovered at 8,380' on the dry side of an oak/madrone forest near the Nuevo Leon town of Siberica. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Thanks to the late bulb guru, Thad Howard, for sharing this gem. Thread-leaf false allium is a great rock garden plant composed of narrow thread-leaf foliage, topped in spring, then again in late summer, with clusters of small yellow flowers held just above the foliage. Nothoscordum montevidense is not a weedy species in a genus better known for its bad behavior. Reportedly, it has a lemon fragrance, but aging knees don't allow me to investigate as freely as they once did. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(aka: Ipheion sellowianum) This has long been one of our favorite bulbs in the rock garden and we finally have enough to share. These gems are found in the wild around Buenos Aires...the same area where Rhodophiala bifida grows. Nothoscordum sellowianum makes a small clump of tiny, narrow green leaves, to 1" tall x 6" wide. It starts flowering for us in late January and produces a steady progression of brilliant yellow fragrant flowers until May. Unlike many Nothoscordums, Nothoscordum sellowianum is completely sterile, making propagation quite slow. Each pot contains several small but flowering-sized bulbs. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
.jpg "Narcissus bulbocodium 'Golden Bells' (Golden Bells Narcissus)")
.jpg "Nassella tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass)")
.jpg "Nolina lindheimeriana coll. #D28-03 (Lindheimer's Bear Grass)")
.jpg "Nolina sp. 'La Siberica' coll. #DO7-64 (Siberica Bear Grass Tree)")
