(Sweet Broom)

This beautiful broom brightens the late winter garden and ushers in early spring with its branches of golden yellow flowers. Some believe that this semi-evergreen shrub is actually a naturally occurring hybrid between two Genista from the Canary Islands Genista stenopetalus and G. canariensis, but this is not confirmed.

It is a large attractive shrub with slender upright and arching branches lined with very small green leaves. These branches were once cut and bundled...

(Caricature Plant, Jamaican Croton)

Named for its artful look and mottled, variegated leaves, caricature plant is a lush, colorful tropical shrub. This tender evergreen it is believed to have originated from New Guinea but has become naturalized throughout Southeast Asia and parts of Oceania. It grows best in areas with ample warmth and tropical humidity but is otherwise very easy to grow.

The satiny leaves are thin and dark green with irregular variegated markings of white and yellow along the central vein. The stems are usually...

(Black Beauty Caricature Plant, Black Beauty Jamaican Croton, Caricature Plant)

A lush, dark-foliaged tropical shrub, Black Beauty caricature plant leaves are blackened dark green with reddish undersides. A tender tropical evergreen shrub, it is believed having its origin in New Guinea, but is naturalized throughout Southeast Asia and parts of Oceania.

The satin-glossed leaves are thin and charcoal dark green, or simply a drab black. Undersides of leaves can show off a salmon-red color, especially in sunlight. In late spring to summer each branch tip bears a flowerspike...

(Grevillea)

Grevillea comprises some 250 species of evergreen shrubs and trees, primarily from Australia. A few are native to New Caledonia or other islands to Australia's north.

Grevillea typically have deeply toothed or lobed leaves, giving their foliage a feathery appearance. Their colorful flowers are usually borne in spidery or toothbrush-like clusters. Nectar-seeking insects and birds visit and pollinate the flowers. Individual flowers are tubular with four long petal-like sepals...

(Canberra Gem Grevillea, Grevillea, Spider Flower)

A hybrid of unknown parentage, 'Canberra Gem' is a rounded, medium-sized evergreen shrub with fragrant, prickly, needle-like leaves and rose-pink flowers. One of the hardiest of the Grevillea tribe, it survives into USDA Hardiness Zone 8a.

The short, awl-shaped, bright green leaves of 'Canberra Gem' are densely borne on ascending, gray-green stems. Spidery clusters of purple-pink flowers appear along the stems from winter to spring, and sporadically at other seasons. Nectar-seeking...

(Rosemary-leaved Grevillea)

Delicate flowers and foliage add feminine beauty to this otherwise big, burly shrub for dry, warm climates. Native to New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, rosemary-leaved grevillea thrives in well-drained, slightly acid soils. It has a large stature, upright habit and bears needle-like leaves, much like those of the herb, rosemary. The rich green foliage may become more yellow-green in extreme drought.

This is a winter bloomer, flowering off and on from fall through spring. Blossoms are...

(Ozark Witchhazel, Vernal Witchhazel)

Grown for its spicy-scented winter flowers and colorful fall foliage, vernal witchhazel is a medium to large deciduous shrub from the south-central United States.

This upright, rounded shrub bears oval, scallop-edged, medium-green leaves along its gray-barked branches. The leaves often turn bright yellow in fall. Small flowers with four narrow, ribbon-like, yellow to coppery-red petals cluster along the naked branches in winter or early spring, opening as early as Christmas in mild winters....

(Ozark Witchhazel, Vernal Witchhazel)

Selected for its showy fall foliage, 'Autumn Embers' is a cultivar of vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis), a medium to large deciduous shrub from the south-central United States. Like others of its species, it bears spicy-scented flowers in winter or early spring.

The oval, scallop-edged, medium- to dark-green leaves of this upright, rounded shrub are borne alternately along gray-barked branches. The leaves turn shades of orange, bronze, and purple in fall. Small flowers with...

(Ozark Witchhazel, Vernal Witchhazel)

Bearing its spicy-scented blooms during the shortest days of the year, 'Christmas Cheer' flowers weeks to months earlier than most other forms of vernal witchhazel.

The oval, scallop-edged, medium- to dark-green leaves of this upright, rounded shrub are borne alternately along gray-barked branches. The leaves turn buttery yellow in fall. Small flowers with four narrow, ribbon-like, coppery-orange petals cluster along the naked branches for several weeks beginning in late fall or early winter....

(Ozark Witchhazel, Vernal Witchhazel)

Selected for its exceptional fall color, 'Sandra' is a cultivar of vernal witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis), a medium to large deciduous shrub from the south-central United States. Like others of its species, it bears spicy-scented flowers in winter or early spring.

The oval, scallop-edged, medium- to dark-green leaves of this upright, rounded shrub are borne alternately along gray-barked branches. The leaves turn various shades of purple, orange, and yellow in fall. Small flowers...