Plant Curiosities

are rarities for enthusiasts

Curious plants, showcased by our innovative
Windowpane™ see-through label

For 30 years, Log House Plants in Cottage Grove, Oregon, has been known as a pioneering wholesale grower that starts trends and inspires excitement about new plants.

Log House supports the finest Northwest retail nurseries with rare plants, innovative labeling and educational materials that keep gardeners coming back for more.

Log House world exclusive offerings will be available to discriminating gardeners throughout the U.S. and Canada through a new plant liner program called PLANT CURIOSITIES. We have made these plants available to specialized growers/garden centers. Check our website for an outlet near you.

Our PLANT CURIOSITIES are extraordinary!  These varieties are all exceptionally hardy perennials that exhibit outstanding performance and flower form. Log House Plants named and introduced each plant in the PLANT CURIOSITIES program while working closely with hybridizers all over the world. They are available only from us. See below for plant descriptions.

We look forward to bringing you new world exclusives each year. Our mission is to support independent retail nurseries with exquisite plant material.

Echinacea purpurea 'Doppelganger' TM  
PURPLE CONEFLOWER

‘Doppelgänger’ offers a spectacular summer display of double-decker cone flowers. Above the reflexed rosy purple petals, a second flower emerges atop the vivid orange central cone.

This extraordinary double flower forms reliably as the plant matures (by the second year). Flower arrangers prize this unusual perennial for its unique structure and lively color. The name means “double walker” and refers to the psychological shadow self that partners each being. A sturdy sun lover, this 30" plant thrives in natural gardens, beds and borders and makes a curious cut flower. Long lived and easy to grow,
‘Doppelgänger’ is hardy to zone 3.

Primula x tommasinii 'YOU and ME' Series
F:1 HOSE-IN-HOSE PRIMROSE

This rare two-layered primrose blooms in sparkling shades of burgundy and purple, rose and pink, white and cream, as well as yellow, red laced, and burgundy laced. Popular in Elizabethan times, hose-in-hose primroses carry pairs of identical flowers curiously nested one inside the other. The name refers to a style affected by courtiers who wore two pairs of long stockings (hose) at once, folding down the outer pair to reveal the inner.

First described in Gerard’s Herbal in 1597, hose-in-hose primroses are among the oldest documented garden flowers. In the late 1800’s, Gertrude Jekyll’s selected white and yellow Munstead hose-in-hose primulas were famed for hardiness and persistent, colorful bloom.

Over the next century, hose-in-hose primroses all but disappeared from commercial horticulture. A few ardent collectors preserved hose-in-hose color strains by vegetative propagation, but each plant yielded only a few offspring and disease progressively weakened the old stock.

In the 1930’s and 40’s, Florence Bellis, an Oregon plantswoman was breeding the revolutionary Barnhaven hybrids. Though she developed the first more or less reliable hose-in-hose seed strain, she never achieved better than a 50% success rate with it. Over the past 15 years, a Czech breeding program refined and improved the Bellis seed strain to produce the new F:1 Hose-in-Hose primula seed, available exclusively through Log House Plants in North America.

Primula x tommasinii ‘YOU and ME’ is a free flowering hose-in-hose double primula that constantly blooms from February to June, in eight sparkling clear colors. This 12" partial shade lover is the hardiest known primrose, flourishing in zone 4. Divide this long-lived perennial every 4–5 years and it will perform vigorously for many years.

pictured above: Blue, Cream, Pink, Red Laced

Primula polyanthus 'Penumbra' TM   
SILVER LACED PRIMROSE

 The first silver laced primula to be commercially available, ‘Penumbra’ is a dramatic companion for the old fashioned gold laced primrose that has been available for centuries. 

Named for the curious slim edge of cool light that shows around the moon during an eclipse, ‘Penumbra’ grows to 10" and is heavenly in woodland gardens. Fragrant ‘Penumbra’ flowers from February to June and is hardy to zone 4.

 

Delphinium elatum ‘Chocolate’ 
TRUE ENGLISH DELPHINIUM

For the connoisseur, a new English delphinium in delectable chocolate shades! Watching each plant bloom is like opening a box of the finest assorted chocolates. Tall graceful spikes are filled with highly varied flowers in blends of velvety deep brown, lighter cocoa, and ivory, each bloom uniquely veined, picoteed, or stipled, with even an occasional cherry-pink or blue undertone. Bees range from deep, dark near-black to striped brown-and-white to bright minty green. The overall effect of the Chocolate Delphinium is a vision of sweet creamy white chocolate with smooth milk and rich dark chocolate swirled throughout. The elegant flower spikes are excellent for cut flower arrangements, or use the long-stemmed individual florets for small handheld bouquets.

Bred for their unique color, exquisite form, and sturdy stalks, these superior hybrids are very early and floriferous, with numerous slender stems on strong canes and an amazingly long flowering season, from early June through July with a second flowering in the fall. Chocolate Delphinium will thrive in a sunny but not baking hot site with moist, rich,well-drained limey soil. Plants grow 6-8 feet tall and have outstanding winter hardiness. Zone 3-10. 

Salvia officinalis
CURLY SAGE

The most unusual landscape and culinary sage ever seen - each velvety leaf on this soft gray-green subshrub has an undulating edge that twists and curls around its perimeter. In early to midsummer, the softly ruffled 3-inch long leaves are complimented by delicate racemes filled with tubular, lilac-blue 1 inch blooms that attract beneficial bees. When crushed, the leaves give off a strong pleasant camphor aroma, a reminder that this wonderful herb is not only quite ornamental in the garden but also makes a delicious, savory accompaniment to winter stews, sauces, and meat or pasta dishes.  Sage is best used fresh; chop a handful of leaves to add to holiday stuffing, biscuits or cornbread, or blend with a soft mild cheese (try goat cheese or cream cheese) for a mouthwatering spread.

Curly sage plants grow 30 inches tall with a spread of 36 inches and are evergreen in zones 5-10, providing soft color and texture to an herb garden or mixed border all year.  Plants prefer  well-drained neutral to alkaline soil and full sun to light dappled shade.  Avoid waterlogged winter soils.

Please call us at 800-564-4115 or e-mail us at info@loghouseplants.com to receive a brochure or wholesale ordering information. Gardeners can check our list of retail outlets that carry PLANT CURIOSITIES locally.

 

 

Liners available all year on order (16 week lead time)

Availability above is our current extra list

Liners grown in 200s or 128s, billed for 125

Liners come with special patented Windowpane label (royalty and label billed for .125)

Minimum order: One box (4 liner flats)

Boxing charge: $6.75 per box

Shipping: FedX, Air (Delta, United, Southwest or Alaska), UPS or DHL