(Baobab, Dead Rat Tree)

With a flared, muscular trunk and architectural, stubby branches, the baobab is a tree to admire in spacious landscapes. A slow-growing, deciduous tropical tree native to southern Sub-Saharan Africa, this succulent tree is characterized by a swollen trunk that often becomes hollow in order to store rainfall for sustenance. Interestingly, the wood of baobab is relatively soft and spongy and does not produce age rings, even though considered one of the longest-lived tree species on earth.

The medium...

(Desert Rose)

Desert rose is a heat-loving beauty with swollen “feet” or trunk flare. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and Arabia and is a large perennial shrub to small tree with a wide swollen base which is sometimes buried underground. The ovate leaves are clustered on the ends of many twisted branches, most with no petiole. It is usually leafless during the cooler winter dry season. Grown for spectacular bell-shaped flowers with colors ranging from deep rose/red to pale pink which appear in summer in mass...

(Black Ruby Desert Rose, Desert Rose)

Desert rose is a hothouse baby with swollen “feet.” It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and Arabia and is a large perennial shrub to small tree with a much swollen base which is sometime buried underground. Grown for spectacular bell-shaped flowers, ‘Black Ruby' blossoms have white centers, red petals with a very dark red or 'black' edge which appear in summer in mass and few scattered throughout the year. The ovate leaves are clustered on the ends of many twisted branches, most with no petiole. It...

(Amur Adonis, Fukuju-so, Ganjitsu-so)

The Greek God Adonis represents life, death, and rebirth much like this sweet spring ephemeral. A truly magical early season bloomer, the low-growing Amur adonis produces large, glossy, semi-double buttercups towards winter's end. The traditional Japanese name "Fukuju-so" translates to "good fortune, long lived plants". Another old Japanese name is "Ganjitsu-so", which means "New Year's Day plant", referring to its early bloom time. Wild specimens naturally exist along open grassy slopes or wooded...

(Autumn Adonis, Pheasant's Eye)

Small, scarlet buttercups are the glory of the annual pheasant's eye. A wildflower of field and meadow, natural populations exist on calcareous soils across much of Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and western Asia. Each bloom has very dark anthers giving the appearance of a bird's or pheasant's eye. Flowering occurs from late spring to midsummer.

Seeds germinate in late winter or spring, and plants have very finely dissected ferny foliage that's pale or bright green. Small red flowers...

(Winter Pheasant's Eye)

Similar to the Asian Adonis amurensis but larger overall and better adapted to drought, winter pheasant's eye also has a broader area of distribution existing across much of Eurasia. In the wild, this spring ephemeral inhabits dry fields, roadsides and montane grasslands. Its golden flowers light up the landscape in late winter or spring and disappear by late spring. Occasionally, plants escape from cultivation; wild populations are known to exist in New York State's Westchester County.

Rising...

(Aechmea, Big Harv Aechmea, Big Harv Bromeliad)

A large bromeliad for the tropical landscape, 'Big Harv' has light green and coppery foliage and produces a tall, branched, yellow and red flower spike in summertime. It is an evergreen, frost-tender perennial bromeliad that forms an upright rosette of leaves with a bold, coarse visual texture. It is usually grown in the soil but can be wedged among rocks. This hybrid was developed by Bullis Bromeliads of Princeton, Florida.

The long, rigid strappy leaves are a light green with coppery bronze...

(Aechmea, Patricia Aechmea, Patricia Bromeliad)

A large bromeliad for the tropical landscape, 'Patricia' has handsome evergreen foliage and brilliantly hued flowers. Developed by Bullis Bromeliads of Homestead, Florida, this frost-tender perennial forms an bold upright rosette of arching, broadly strap-shaped leaves. The leathery, light olive-green leaves have hints of silver and blushes of dark red-copper, particularly in cool conditions. Their edges are lined in tiny red lacerating spines. The leaf bases form a water-collecting "cup" at the...

(Aechmea , Bromeliad, Urn Plant, Vase Plant)

Urn plant is a tree-dwelling tropical bromeliad native to Brazil. In its native habitat it lives under the rain forest canopy where it clings to tree branches and trunks. Plant enthusiasts grow it for its ornamental leaves and long-lasting pink blooms.

The huge, lance-shaped leaves of this Aechmea are gray green and silver with subtle horizontal stripes and spiny edges. They are bowed and often curve downward as they lengthen. Each plant produces one very long-lasting flower spike...

(Bishop's Goutweed)

Bishop's Goutweed is a fast-spreading Eurasian groundcover that has become naturalized across the whole of North America. It spreads via rhizomes (rooting underground stems) and has green compound leaves with three to nine leaflets. The equally weedy garden variety, 'Variegatum', is the most common form in cultivation and has leaves mottled with ivory.

In mid-spring to summer, goutweed produces umbels of tiny white flowers that are insect-pollinated and produce lots of brown seeds that spread...