(Okra)

Bright red stems and scarlet okra pods distinguish the vigorous okra, 'Red Velvet.' This tall, ornamental selection has tasty fruits that are best harvested young and tender.

It's hard to believe that okra is in the same family as hollyhocks and hibiscus. This tropical annual vegetable originates from Africa and has large edible pods that are a American Southern favorite eaten fried, stewed with tomatoes or used to thicken gumbo.

Mature plants become quite tall and have a sturdy upright habit....

(Okra, Silver Queen Okra)

The pale creamy yellow-green okra pods of ‘Silver Queen’ remain tender and flavorful even when big. This heirloom is also said to have exceptional flavor, and the interesting color of the fruits really set this American Southern selection apart.

It's hard to believe that okra is in the same family as hollyhocks and hibiscus. The tropical annual vegetable originates from Africa and has large edible pods that are a Southern favorite eaten fried, stewed with tomatoes or used to thicken gumbo.

Mature...

(Sunset Hibiscus)

Sunset hibiscus, is both an edible and ornamental plant that is native to eastern Asia. Like okra, its pods are used to thicken stews and vegetable dishes and can be ornamental when dried. The primary ornamental value of these tall plants come from their large showy yellow hibiscus-like flowers and bold glossy dark green leaves. Provide them with full sun and well-drained soil. Be sure to remove mature seed pods in the fall because these tender perennials tend to self sow. Plant in vegetable gardens...

(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....

(Fir)

Comprising some 50 tree species from cool areas of the Northern Hemisphere, firs are used worldwide for lumber, pulpwood, Christmas trees, and ornamental plants. In parts of the North Temperate Zone these coniferous evergreens are dominant forest species, important for erosion control and wildlife forage and cover.

Most firs are medium to large, conical trees with a dominant central leader. Their flattened, straight or up-curved needles sit directly on the smooth branchlets (rather than on...

(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,...