(European Beech)

Dwarf, naturally occurring forms of European Beech with twisted, gnarled, contorted branches, these trees are the stuff of haunted castles and griffins' lairs. Radiating from a stubby, crooked trunk, the zigzagging branches wander outward and downward, forming a domed crown. The glossy, elliptic, wavy-edged leaves are luminescent light green when new, dark green in summer, and rich gold or bronze in autumn. In winter, the gothic labyrinth of bare branches makes a striking sight. Inconspicuous flowers...

(European Beech)

Cherished for its smooth gray bark, elegant deciduous foliage, stately habit, and adaptability, European beech has long been a garden favorite on its native continent and elsewhere. Distinguished by its cut or lobed leaves, variety heterophylla has given rise to several well-known cultivars, including the lacy-leaved 'Asplenifolia'. Glistening golden-green in spring, the leaves mature to dark green in summer. In autumn they turn shades of yellow, orange and bronze. Inconspicuous flowers...

(European Beech)

Cherished for its smooth gray bark, elegant deciduous foliage, stately habit, and adaptability, European beech has long been a garden favorite on its native continent and elsewhere. Introduced around 1800, the cultivar 'Asplenifolia' has slender lacy leaves that are often deeply lobed. Shimmering golden-green in spring, the leaves mature to rich green in summer. In autumn they turn shades of yellow, orange and bronze. Inconspicuous flowers in spring give rise to bristly capsules that ripen to tan...

(European Beech)

Cherished for its smooth gray bark, elegant deciduous foliage, stately habit, and adaptability, European beech has long been a garden favorite on its native continent and elsewhere. Introduced in 1795, the cultivar 'Laciniata' has elliptic leaves with deeply toothed margins. Glistening golden-green in spring, the leaves mature to deep green in summer. In autumn they turn shades of yellow, orange and bronze. Inconspicuous flowers in spring give rise to bristly capsules that ripen to tan in late summer...

(Japanese Knotweed)

Japanese knotweed is an immense herbaceous perennial with attractive foliage and flowers but a rampantly invasive habit. Native to East Asia and naturalized worldwide, it is listed as a noxious weed in many areas including the eastern United States. It is known by several other botanical names including Reynoutria japonica, Polygonum cuspidatum, and Polygonum japonicum.

The vigorous underground rhizomes of this "super-weed" spread rapidly to form dense nearly ineradicable...

(Fallugia)

(Apache Plume)

The rose-like blooms and ornamental seed heads make this one of the most interesting shrubs of the Southwest United States. Its twiggy, pale-barked stems and downy white branchlets form an upright to spreading shrub that retains a relatively low profile (head-high or less). Small lacy dark green leaves are rather widely spaced on the branches, giving the plant a somewhat scruffy look when it is not in flower or fruit. The leaves are deciduous in areas where cold or drought persist.

Small white...

(Leopard Plant, Ligularia)

The leopard plant is the royalty of the shade garden. It arguably has more magnificent foliage than any hosta or woodland wildflower, and also manages to produce a tall flower stalk that surprises you as being a member of the daisy family. This perennial is native to the forests and moist slopes across Japan and southern China. It develops rhizome roots and its foliage remains evergreen as long as winter temperatures do not drop below 20 F (-6 C). Leopard plant becomes a loosely clumping, mounded...

(Gold Spotted Japanese Farfugium)

The gold spotted leopard plant is among the prized shade garden foliage plants. It arguably has more magnificent foliage than any hosta or woodland wildflower, and also manages to produce a tall flower stalk that surprises you as being a member of the daisy family. This perennial is native to the forests and moist slopes across Japan and southern China. It develops rhizome roots and its foliage remains evergreen as long as winter temperatures do not drop below 20 F (-6 C). Gold spotted leopard plant...

(Parsley Leaf Ligularia, Pie Crust Leopard Plant, Wavy-leaved Japanese Farfugium)

Interesting common names such as pie crust ligularia or parsley farfugium reveal the ornate foliage of 'Crispatum'. It is among the prized shade garden foliage plants, with more magnificent foliage than any hosta or woodland wildflower. The Japanese farfugium manages to produce a tall flower stalk that surprises you as being a member of the daisy family. This perennial is native to the forests and moist slopes across Japan and southern China. It develops rhizome roots and its foliage remains evergreen...