Last year I got Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' and for $8.99 it seemed like a deal. The prices here range from $8.99 to $10.99. In the past I've picked up more common ones like Cham. obtusa 'Nana Lutea'and Picea abies 'Little Gem'. I also picked up some extremely miniature cotoneaster and barberry to go with some conifers in a trough garden. I always check them out when they arrive (usually around Mother's Day in these parts). I think they're marketed as "Fanciful Gardens"

tj

Last spring I got a Cunninghamia konishii 'Little Leo', a Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans Nana' and a Podocarpus totara 'Aurea'.
Right now all three tiny plants are still buried in snow, so I have no idea which of them survived, and which croaked (although some pretty safe bets can be made in each case).
But I'm already looking forward to see what else might be available this spring.

They are so cute, but I don't want them to get lost in the yard. Would a shallow bowl be ok if I don't have a trough? or would they do better planted directly in the ground?

I've sold these at our arboretum Mother's Day sale for a number of years now, but didn't order any in this year. They are so root bound that twice a day watering is needed once the weather gets a bit warm. And if you don't tease out the roots and loosen up the root ball, they won't last long in the ground. Customers are told about this, but you always miss some or they don't heed advice very well. We have considered re-potting and growing on for a year in a slightly larger pot and then selling, but don't have the space for that right now.

Iseli does have some nice selections though. These Fanciful Collections are typically organized by growth habit and zones, but Iseli will customize a collection if you talk to the sales folks.

Not really interested in "dwarf" mini rock gardens, but was hoping to find some odd stuff you never see otherwise

I like the small conifers from Stanley and Sons Nursery. The plants are not potbound, and nicer variety, and there is a large square imformative tag.
Minis are not always included in the group of plants that come in Fanciful Garden Collection. You need to look at what you are getting.
For starters I like to grow the small conifers in containers like Hypertufa troughs. Then as they get larger, move them in the yard.

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This spring's small conifers included some dandy ones.

One I never heard of, looked kind of ordinary, until I got home and checked what Diselma archeri is: Glad I picked it up, because according to van Gelderen & van Hoey Smith, its "a very rare conifer from Tasmania, seldom seen in cultivation."
Strangely enough, its supposed to be good to Z6 -- which seems odd for Tasmania, but is better than some of my other small plants, like the Cunninghamia konishii and Podocarpus totara, I mentioned above....

They also had a bunch of dwarf mugo pines -- I picked up 'Michelle', 'Teeny' and 'Moppet'.

From the photos I've seen, I never did much like Cryptomeria japonica 'Tansu'.
But the little one they had looked very interesting, in real life, so I picked up one of those too.

Got a few more yesterday, including a Podocarpus alpinus Red Tip, and a couple of Cryptomeria japonicas: Little Diamond and Compressa.
Anyone have experience with these ?
The ACS database says very little about Podocarpus alpinus -- no hardiness info, and claims there are no cultivars.
A Google search yields two cultivars -- Red Tip and Blue Gem -- and lists them as Z7 (...oooops !)