(White Forsythia)

What a pretty shrub for early spring! White forsythia is a multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub native to Korea. It has arching branches that put forth fragrant, four-petaled, white to faintly pink blooms in late winter to mid spring, prior to the emergence of its glossy, dark blue-green foliage.

A location with full to partial sun and moderately fertile soil is best for white forsythia. It makes a nice addition to a mixed shrub border or foundation plantings. Early in the season, before bloomtime,...

(Pink Forsythia)

What a pretty shrub for early spring! White forsythia is a multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub native to Korea. It has arching branches that put forth fragrant, four-petaled, white to faintly pink blooms in late winter to mid spring, prior to the emergence of its glossy, dark blue-green foliage.

A location with full to partial sun and moderately fertile soil is best for white forsythia. It makes a nice addition to a mixed shrub border or foundation plantings. Early in the season, before bloomtime,...

(Musk Okra, Muskmallow)

Hairy foliage and pretty, colorful hibiscus-like flowers make the musk mallow a favorite warm season garden accent. A tender herbaceous perennial from southern Asia that is most often grown as a bedding annual, its flowers occur from summer to frost and are usually bicolored yellow with a purple eye, but variations with pink, orange or red blossoms with a white eye are now common as both named and unnamed garden cultivars, too.

The busky plant with many upright stems will be clothed in coarse-textured...

(Mischief Muskmallow, Musk Okra, Muskmallow)

Hairy foliage and pretty, deep rose-magenta hibiscus-like flowers make the Mischief musk mallow a great selection for gardens and containers. A tender herbaceous perennial from southern Asia that is most often grown as a bedding annual, its ripened seeds smell like musk.

The bushy plant with upright stems will be clothed in coarse-textured foliage that is hairy. Each deep green leaf has three to seven lobes. From early summer onwards, tennis ball-sized flowers occur at stem tips and attract butterflies....

(European Silver Fir, Silver Fir)

The tall European silver fir reaches great heights with age. Young trees were traditionally used as Christmas trees in Central Europe before North American fir species were introduced to the market. The pyramidal young trees develop wider, more flattened canopies as they grow. They also become enormous. Populations of grand specimens exist throughout the southern mountains of Europe, from the Pyrennes eastward to the Alps and into the Caucusus.

The flattened needles of this fragrant fir are...

(Silver Fir)

The tall European silver fir reaches great heights with age. Young trees were traditionally used as Christmas trees in Central Europe before North American fir species were introduced to the market. The pyramidal young trees develop wider, more flattened canopies as they grow. They also become enormous. Populations of grand specimens exist throughout the southern mountains of Europe, from the Pyrennes eastward to the Alps and into the Caucusus.

The flattened needles of this fragrant fir are...

(Pacific Silver Fir)

A very tall, spire-like evergreen in the wild, the Pacific silver fir remains much shorter and more pyramidal in form when grown in gardens. Native to the panhandle of Alaska southward to Victoria Island and western Oregon's Cascade range, this fir prospers where summers are moist and cool and winters cold and snowy. The bark is light gray and smooth but with age, the trunk displays plates floating on an underbark of reddish brown.

New branch shoots emerge at right angles in opposite pairs,...

(Pacific Silver Fir)

A very tall, spire-like evergreen in the wild, the Pacific silver fir remains much shorter and more pyramidal in form when grown in gardens. Native to the panhandle of Alaska southward to Victoria Island and western Oregon's Cascade range, this fir prospers where summers are moist and cool and winters cold and snowy. The bark is light gray and smooth but with age, the trunk displays plates floating on an underbark of reddish brown.

New branch shoots emerge at right angles in opposite pairs,...

(Balsam Fir)

Balsam fir is a tall coniferous evergreen tree native to the northeastern fifth of the United States and extreme southern Canada. It has a fine pyramidal form, is slow growing and becomes a very tall tree when mature. Its small deep green needles are soft, glossy and smell of sweet balsam. The female cones are full of resin and are brown when mature, and shatter readily when dry. This tree offers year round interest and provides habitat to wildlife, including foliage eaten by deer.

Plants excel...

(Balsam Fir, Dwarf Balsam Fir)

Dwarf balsam fir is a compact evergreen shrub with fragrant balsam-scented foliage. A very slow growing dwarf, 'Nana' offers year-round interest because of its dense deep green needles and rounded silhouette. When it matures, the shrub's top may become more flattened.

Grow the dwarf balsam fir in full sun to partial shade in a slightly acidic well-drained soil. Evenly moist soil that is cooled with an organic mulch is best. Shade from hot, intense mid-afternoon summer sun keeps the needle quality...