Last week at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show there were some amazing seminars and Dan Hinkley was one of the best.  He presented this list of his top 25 plants, or the plants he will always have in his garden.  I’m excited about these plants, especially my favorite, the Dove Tree!  Check out some old favorites from the Pacific Northwest as well as the strange and unknown from the far corners of the world.

Pacific Northwest Natives
Erythronium revolutum   Glacier Lily
Camassia leitchlinii   Quamash
Arctostaphylos densiflorus   HE McMinn Manzanita
Arbutus menziesii   Pacific Madrone

China
Davidia involucrata   Dove Tree
Magnolia wilsonii   deciduous and fragrant
Sassafras tzumu   Chinese Sassafras
Stachyurus salicifolia ‘Sparkler’   Winter Spike
Hamamelis mollis   Chinese Witch Hazel
Hydrangea aspera   Plum Passion
Hydrangea angustipetala   Golden Crane fragrant
Mahonia   Lionel Fortescue
Helwingia japonica and Helwingia chinensis   ( berries form on leaf blade )

Herbaceous Perennials
Beesia deltophylla   purple new growth, clumping, evergreen, for shade only
Disporum longistylum Green Giant, bamboo like effect to 5′ in height, non spreading
Cypripedium formosanum  the best terrestrial orchid for use in the PNW
Mukdenia rossii   Crimson Fans, for moist soils, brilliant red foliage color as summer progresses

Corydalis solida George Baker ( brick red flowers, late winter, spring ephemeral
Cyclamen hederifolilum autumn flowers, winter foliage

Vietnam
Magnolia insignis  evergreen, large pink goblets for a long period in early spring
Schefflera alpinia   Hardy Schefflera (Schefflera taiwaniana from Taiwan )
Edgeworthia chyrsantha   deciduous ‘daphne’ used for paper production

Vines
Holboellia coriacea ‘Cathedral Gem’
Holboellia brachandra white flowers, large edible fruit
Aristolochia kaempferi   (clever pollination strategy of ‘collecting’ living gnats inside flower )

Australia
Grevillea victoriae winter flowers, hummingbird attracting, orange/red flowers
Acacia pravissima evergreen tender, late winter soft yellow flowers, quick to establish
Leptospermum scoparium  evergreen, lovely bark, summer flowers of white

New Zealand
Olearia cheesmanii white flowers fragrant of coconut oil, self cleansing, evegreen
Pseudopanax crassifolius and P. ferox  lancewoods with long narrow foliage with clever protective strategy from predation by Moas

Chile
Embothrium coccineum  Chilean Fire Tree
Drimys winteri ‘Pewter Pillar’
Gunnera chilensis  Giant Prickly Rhubard  (herbaceous perennials with enormous foliage )
Lobelia tupa  Red flowers on tall stems, highly attractive to hummingbirds

South Africa
Eucomis pole-evansii   giant pineapple lilly
Melianthus major ‘Antanow’s Blue’  Giant Honey Bush
Agapanthus species and cultivars, Lily of the Nile with late summer flowers of rich blue
Dierama pulcherrimum   Wand Flower
Rhodocoma capensis   a hardy ‘Restio’ grass relative with graceful arching stems of evergreen foliage to 5′

Burma
Cymbidium iridioides