Trachycarpus fortunei, the Chinese windmill palm, is one of the most cold-hardy of palms. Gardeners in London, Vancouver, and Tokyo grow this palm to perfection. It looks really neat in the snow.

Trachycarpus wagnerianus, a close cousin we like to call the “waggie” palm, makes an durable container specimen. Isn’t this little family of fan palms endearing?

It’s also a palm that produces fascinating flowers this time of year. Ours here in the nursery are pushing out new flowers right now.

Flowerstalks of waggies emerge among the leaves in the crown.

The bracts are the pale-yellow, leathery structures enclosing the mass of flowers.

Each of the corn-like grains is an individual, unopened flower.

Waggies are such pretty, durable palms. They look particularly nice in groves. Even in a small city garden they can make a lovely grouping.

Waggies -- Trachycarpus wagnerianus -- have elegant, sculptural leaves.

We were pleased to see how popular they are in Japan (where they originated) — and how well they fit into tiny Tokyo city gardens. Their Japanese name is “toujuro.”

A typical waggie (toujuro) in Tokyo's Nakano District