(Purpleleaf Japanese Barberry, Royal Burgundy Barberry)

Purpleleaf Japanese barberry ‘Royal Burgundy’ is a compact rounded shrub with upright stems. It has glossy burgundy leaves and attractive bright red fruit that persist into winter. Small, green, insignificant summer flowers give way in the fall to attractive bright red fruit which persists into winter. Barberry ‘Royal Burgundy’ is on the United States Department of Agriculture’s list of rust resistant barberries.

Japanese barberry is a tough, sun-loving plant that is tolerant of many soil types...

(Purpleleaf Japanese Barberry, Royal Cloak Barberry)

Purpleleaf Japanese barberry is a dense, upright to arching shrub that originates from eastern Asia. It has glossy, red-purple leaves that emerge red turn shades of red, purple and orange in fall. In spring, small but showy yellow flowers cover 'Royal Cloak'. Bright red berries, which are attractive to birds, appear in late summer to fall and persist long after the leaves are shed in the fall.

This is a tough, fast-growing and sun-loving plant that is tolerant of many soil types and urban sites....

(Gladwyn Barberry)

If you like tough and thorny plants then this shrub is for you. Gladwyn's barberry is a beautiful thorny evergreen that is a hybrid cross between Berberis verruculosa and Berberis gagnepainii. It is grown for its glossy, spiny, evergreen leaves that turn burgundy-bronze shades in winter. This medium sized shrub is also graced with showy yellow flowers in mid to late spring. The flowers are followed by small blue-black fruits that offer little visual appeal but are attractive to...

(Gladwyn Barberry, William Penn Barberry)

This popular cultivar has a mounded to spreading habit and deep green foliage that turns bronze hues in winter.

Gladwyn's barberry is a beautiful, but thorny, evergreen that is a hybrid cross between Berberis verruculosa and Berberis gagnepainii. It is grown for its glossy, spiny, evergreen leaves that turn bronze in winter. This medium sized shrub is also graced with showy yellow flowers in mid to late spring. The flowers are followed by small blue-black fruits that offer...

(Little King River Birch)

Little King river birch, also marketed as the Fox Valley birch, is a handsome multi-stemmed, fast growing tree that is native to the central United States. Its most notable ornamental feature is its beautiful peeling bark that appears in mixed shades of rust-orange and brown. Like other birches, it has elongated catkins, which appear in spring, and its medium-green leaves turn a dirty yellow in the fall. One problem with river birch is its tendency to drop many fine branches on the ground, especially...

(Common Birch, European White Birch, Silver Birch, Trost's Dwarf European White Birch)

'Trost's Dwarf' is small in stature, featuring beautiful white, exfoliating bark and deeply-cut, thread-like leaves like other European white birches. Small greenish catkins appear in the spring and are quite eye-catching. A handsome small tree for use near water features, in the border, or in a container, 'Trost's Dwarf' unfortunately has a high suceptability to birch borer attack. Reduce the threat of attack by providing ample moisture and not planting it in hot, dry microclimates in the yard or...

(Bismarck Palm)

What a grand silvery palm! Bismarck palm is an evergreen native to Madagascar. It has a single, stout trunk and a symmetrical crown consisting of large, waxy, silver to blue-green, fan-shaped palm fronds. Its flowers are yellow and occur in the crown of foliage.

Drought tolerant and heat-loving, Bismarck palm requires full sun and does well in a wide range of well drained soil types. Too much shade and the leaves are not as silvery. Its growth and habit will be much better if given ample water...

(Bougainvillea, Firemound Bougainvillea, Paperflower)

What a bright and vibrant bloomer! This compact bougie becomes a mound of red flame when in bloom. Its shiny foliage and compact size make ‘Firemound’ a perfect hybrid Bougainvillea for containers and small gardens. This cultivar has the same graceful arching branches as larger forms, but they are held low to the ground.

Bougainvillea is grown for its garishly bright blooms. The true flowers are small, tubular and inconspicuous but are surrounded by large, bright, papery...

(Bougainvillea, Helen Johnson Bougainvillea, Paperflower)

This dwarf bougie is one of the best for massing as a groundcover. It is a semi-vining woody shrub that becomes covered with vivid magenta blooms. The shiny deep green foliage and compact size of ‘Helen Johnson’ make it a perfect hybrid Bougainvillea for containers and small gardens. It has the same graceful arching branches as larger forms, but they are held low to the ground.

The garishly bright blooms of this tropical evergreen are the heaviest from late winter to spring, though...

(Bougainvillea, Paperflower, Silhouette™ Bougainvillea)

Contemporary plant breeders have transformed bougainvillea, typically an enormous vine, into a few small, manageable shrubs, such as ‘Singapore Pink,’ so that gardens of any size can host intense tropical colors. Most garden bougainvilleas are hybrids descended from giant vines of South America and bred to create less vigorous but highly floriferous vines for gardens. This one, ‘Singapore Pink,’ (also known as Silhouette) takes the downsizing farther, allowing us to rethink using bougainvillea in...