Besides the two gardengal mentioned, there is Dragonfly Farms nursery on the north end of the Kitsap peninsula, and check out Dan Hinkley's web site for opening days his partner and him have at their home. Some really one of a kind plants can be found there, and also a fantatic self guided tour of his garden. I almost forgot, Ian Barclay's The Desert Northwest in Sequiam has a lot of hard to find plants. Call first or check his web site out for opening days.

Dragonfly Farms has for all intents and purposes closed their nursery operations. They are now focusing on event hosting - weddings, garden parties, etc., although the limited nursery stock remaining (conifers and bonsai plants mostly) is accessible by appointment only or on limited open days.

One other suggestion are the open days at Heronswood Nursery, Dan Hinkley's old garden and nursery. It is now just a display garden but hosts a few open days each season with invited nursery vendors that typically offer some pretty good and unusual stuff for sale. Next opens are 7/23 and 9/17. Windcliff - Dan's current nursery brand name :-) - is always represented here as well.

You are right gardengal, I haven't been there in years nor checked her web site. That is sad about Dargonfly Farms. my first Schefflera taiwaniana 'Yuan Shan' I bought from her when Monrovia first introduced it to the public. I also bought many other hard to find plants from her over the years.

I forgot about the old Heronswood Garden being open for plant sale from time to time, like Hinkley personnal garden. What I like about going to Windcliff is that if they have a plant listed on their web site but not showing on the tables they can go to their greenhouse and get it for you if they still have it for sale.

Windcliff is darn hard to find and to get to, if you don't know the way ;-))

Visitors can pretend the Windcliff access road is through a Chinese forest. Desert Northwest, Far Reaches, Heronswood and Windcliff definitely all provide relief from the usual selection - eclectic, hobbyist style assortments including plants collected by the vendors themselves from various far flung destinations are the what these are all about. Each has a web site.

Thank you so much! I'm excited! I've heard of heronswood before. I'll put that on my calendar!

>I'll put that on my calendar!<

Mark Your Calendar for the Heronswood Summer Sale!

http://heronswood.com/events/