By Jim McCausland, Sunset senior garden writer

Nuts about plants, Chris Hansen has a passion for finding great new trees, shrubs, vines, and perennials and getting them into American gardens. He does it through Great Garden Plants, a mail-order supplier he recently co-founded with Mary Walter.

Hansen, who lives in Oregon, developed a nearly unparalleled contact list among breeders and growers when he worked first at Wayside Gardens, then at Terra Nova Nurseries. They've paid off. For example, Great Garden Plants is currently offering a series of new hellebores developed by Ernie and Marietta O'Byrne at Northwest Nursery in Eugene, OR (see following item).

In his days at Wayside, Hansen could only offer varieties when they were able to secure a minimum stock of 5,000 plants. Now he has more flexibility. When he finds choice plants in small quantities, he buys them and posts them until they're gone. It has the serendipitous charm of a flea market, but the quality of a high-end boutique.

To see what Hansen is doing, go to Great Garden Plants.

photo courtesy Great Garden Plants