Fraser’s Thimble Farm 175 Arbutus Rd. Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 1A3 Canada Ph/ Fax(250) 537-5788 Specializing in Native, Rare and Unusual Plants at www.thimblefarms.com Hours of Operation: th February 13 Through June: Open 9am-4:30pm daily July through August Open 9am-4:30pm Tuesday through Saturday (Phone for Sunday and Monday openings during this time or check the website for closed days.) th September through February 12 : Open 9am-4:30pm Tuesday through Saturday Welcome to our 2012 catalogue. My name is Richard and I am a plant hoarder. I have had this obsession for over 20 years and I’ve amassed thousands of plants. My wife said something had to go: some of my plants or Her. Knowing that I simply have too many plants and can’t possibly look after everything by myself, she is safe. So, I reconciled myself that I had to break into my stash and free up thousands of choice perennials. You see, because I’m a plant hoarder our stock area has grown to an unmanageable size. So this year we’ve lifted and potted up tons of choice perennials that we’re ‘perennially’ short of, from Erythronium japonicum and Diphyellia, to Dysosma, double trilliums, single and double Hepaticas, Galax, species primula, double bloodroot and much more. This does’t mean the hoarding has stopped, it just means I have to be more careful, organized and a bit sneaky. Our first major event in 2012 will be ‘Helleborganza’(Hellebores), February 17th-26th. Helleborganza is our celebration of hellebores and other early blooming perennials including species snowdrops, winter aconites, Adonis, double hepaticas and bulbocodium to name a few. We’ve clearly become hellebore crazy as do most people when they see the incredible diversity in both blooms and foliage at a time of year when we can all use more colour in our gardens. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the dedicated hellebore breeders around the world who have toiled over the last twenty odd years to bring us so many fine plants. Last year the display of blooms at Helleborganza was impressive and the event itself was a stunning success. We are extremely excited about the plants this year and our new introductions. We have more than doubled the number of bloom sized plants and display area. For the first time we will see many varieties bloom that we’ve only seen pictures of. The event will run over 10 days this year as every day more and more plants come into bloom. As we did last year, we will also offer an assortment of smaller and larger plant sizes. Please see our website, www.thimblefarms.com for mouth watering pictures. Our second event will be ‘Growing Native’(Native Plants), May 1st-7th. This event is designed to feature and promote the use of native plants. We grow a vast array of pacific northwest and North American native plants. This year we’ll be hosting the event in our growing area and hopefully we’ve timed it to catch the peak of the blooming season for many of our favourite wildflowers. We will have more information about availability on our website and Facebook soon. There are new plant introductions scattered throughout the catalogue in almost every group of plants we grow. In fact we had so many new plants, it was very hard to fit them in the allotted space. Please keep in mind we have thousands more plants available at the nursery, so if possible, come and visit us. We would like to thank our customers , staff and suppliers for another great year. Thank you, Richard and Nancy Fraser Shipping and mail order information is at the back of the catalogue or on the mail order information page. Collector's & Bulb Lists We are now putting out a fall bulb list and a collector's list each year. The bulb list will have over four hundred varieties of bulbs, from the common to the extremely rare. We try to put out two collector's lists a year. The first comes out between November and April and will list new plants, plants available in small quantities and bulbous plants that should be moved at that time of the year, while dormant. This list will be posted on the web site, not mailed. We also put out our main collectors list in July with our bulb list to list all the new plants we have ready then, so some of you don't have to wait a whole year for our next catalogue. These lists are posted on our Website www.thimblefarms.com only, no hard copies will be printed. An easy to print PDF version will be posted as well. 1 Fraser’s Thimble Farm 175 Arbutus Rd. Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 1A3 Canada Ph/ Fax(250) 537-5788 Specializing in Native, Rare and Unusual Plants at www.thimblefarms.com Trades We are always on the look out for new plants and are constantly searching for new sources of supply around the world. Whether you are a private gardener with surplus plants or a wholesale commercial nursery, we would be interested in hearing from you. We are interested in all sorts of plant material, in small or large quantities, often to add to our current stocks. If you have a species or variety that you think we may be interested in, please contact us. If at all possible please suggest your price or trade requirements. We will try to respond quickly and try to make each offer reasonable and fair. Of course, there is no obligation on your part. We also consider trades for seeds. We would like to thank all those that traded with us in the last year. Many of the new plants we now offer come to us first via our customers. Thank you, Richard and Nancy Fraser Coming to the Nursery? The fastest way is a ferry from Table of Contents Tsawwassen ( Near Vancouver) to Hardy Orchids ............................................................................ 3 Ferns ........................................................................................... 8 Swartz Bay( Near Victoria) then Perennial Plants......................................................................... 15 another from Swartz Bay to Fulford Grasses and grass like plants and Bamboo................................ 70 Shrubs ....................................................................................... 72 Harbour ( Salt Spring). This is not Vines......................................................................................... 81 your only option as there are three Helleborganza & all things Hellebore..………………………...38 ferry routes to SaltSpring Island so Deciduous and Evergreen Trees............................................... 81 Mail Order Information ........................................................ 85-88 for Ferry information phone Where is Thimble Farms? ...................................................... 1&2 1-888-223-3779 Spring Sale................................................................................ 80 Or go to www.bcferries.com What to do when my order arrives ............................................ 84 Native Plant Weekend............................................................... 84 Table I. Hardiness Zones used in this catalogue. Temperatures are average winter lows. Fahrenheit Zone Celsius ___________________________________ below -50 1 below -45 -50 to -40 2 -45 to -40 -40 to -30 3 -40 to -34 -30 to -20 4 -34 to -29 -20 to -10 5 -29 to -23 -10 to 0 6 -23 to -17 0 to 10 7 -17 to -12 10 to 20 8 -12 to -7 20 to 30 9 -7 to -1 30 to 40 10 -1 to 5 2 Hardy Orchids Bletilla `Sunset’ (szetschuanica x ochracea) .......................$19.00ea Hardy Orchids Z 5-6. Light yellow petals and sepals, sometimes with pink on reverse. Lip yellow with light purple front margin. Tip of column also light This includes a diverse group of ground orchids from around the purple. Few For Fall 2011. world. Some of these groups are relatively easy to grow like the Bletilla and Pleiones and some are more challenging like the Bletilla `Yokohama’ (striata x formosana)..........................$12.99ea Cypripediums. The cultural requirements for most of these orchids are Z 5-6. Pale lilac petals and sepals, throat yellow with lilac markings. similar. They require well drained but moist soil when in active Makes a nice clump in only a few years. growth and excellent (almost dry) drainage in the winter when dormant. Light shade or partial sun works well. Bletilla are more tolerant of varying soil conditions and require more sun than other Calanthe species. This is a large group of hardy and semi-hardy ground orchids from Asia. Most can be grown in the Garden but the frost tender species Bletilla should be brought indoors. They prefer a lightly shaded woodland This is a wonderful group of easy to grow hardy ground Orchids. setting with humus rich soil. Most spread quite rapidly, and are These are best planted 5cm deep in light shade to full sun in a well extremely showy and rare in North America. Great companion plants drained humus-rich soil. In colder areas (Zone 5-6) they need to be for Ferns, Hostas, and Bleeding Hearts. These like to be fed a lot with planted 10-15cm deep and in yet colder areas they can easily be grown a weak solution of liquid fertilizer while in active growth. in pots indoors or in an alpine house. Calanthe alismaefolia..........................................................$33.00ea Bletilla striata ....................................................................... $6.00ea Ht. 30cm. Z9. A gorgeous Asian species with white flowers. The lip is Ht. 20-40cm. Z5-6. This hardy ground orchid has long, arching elongated and split. The narrow elongated side lobes have a blotch of ribbed leaves and soft rose to magenta erect inflorescence of up to 10 golden yellow at the top and a hood formed by the remaining petals flowers. and sepals. The overall effect is like a small yellow faced man with skinny arms and baggy pants wearing a hat. Probably not frost hardy Bletilla striata `Murasaki Shikibu’..................Fall only $35.00ea A very rare variety with the bluish flowers of any hardy bletilla.