'It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited '

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March Hare Garden is a small private garden nestled in a corner of a cul-de-sac in the Pacific Northwest. "Mad about Hepatica" is a diary of one of our many undertakings here - to grow, create, and propagate beautiful Hepatica.

The garden is filled with an eclectic collection of rare plants which have been carefully selected and grown. Some of them are grown only here since we breed and propagate special forms of species including Hepatica, North American viorna-type Clematis, and other native plants. We also have an extensive collection of rare and hard-to-find roses, including many that are our own introductions. While you may be able to find some of what we have at small specialty nurseries, we always try to start from seeds if we can. It is a long and laborious commitment, and we don't get to see the plants bloom right away, but that is not why we garden. We want to enjoy the moment of growing and see the plants mature with time. We strongly believe that every garden should be personal and that our garden reflects the love that we have for the plants that we grow, share, and exchange with our good friends.

In late winter, even though our neighboring land is still covered with fallen leaves, early spring ephemeral plants are awake. Tiny plants like Galanthus and Eranthis that you really have to bend over to see and appreciate are some of the earliest ones in our garden and their delicate flowers shine in the dark January winter. Also, colorful Hepatica and Hellebores start to bloom about the same time, and by March, our garden is filled with our madness of lovely plants we've grown from seed from all over the world. Some folks think we are more of a nursery than a garden since we have such a large propagation area beside our house. 

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Despite our garden's urban location, we have many birds as regular visitors, including pileated woodpeckers, finches, bluejays, and great horned owls, as well as smaller, less-welcome guests like slugs and snails. Our most recent uninvited guests are Eastern cottontail rabbits who have moved into this area for the first time. They seem to enjoy having late night parties in our gardens.