(Aerides Orchid, Orchid)

The fragrant orchids in the genus Aerides inhabit the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia and India. The specific number of species is under question, but in a recent revision of the genus 21 were legitimized. These orchids are commonly called cat's tail or fox brush orchids because their blooms are borne in pendulous racemes that look tail-like. There are two distinct flower types in Aerides, one with an pollinator spur entrance that's hidden and one that's open,...

(Aerides, Orchid)

The rich green foliage of this unique orchid sits atop a chain-like mass of long roots and bears a cluster of deliciously fragrant gold and fuchsia flowers in early summer. Houllet's aerides is a fairly large evergreen epiphytic orchid native to the hot, sultry lowlands of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It has a growth habit that is called vandaceous (like Vanda orchids) with extremely long aerial roots and a fan-like leaf mass atop the stem-like pseudobulb.

The leaves are short,...

(Aerides, Orchid)

The graceful aerides-with-five-wounds orchid bears a fragrant drooping cluster of small, ivory and fuchsia-violet spotted blossoms in summer and autumn. A large evergreen epiphytic orchid, this species is native to forested tropical highlands of Malaysia and the Philippines. It grows from a short pseudobulb with dangling aerial roots that clasp to tree trunks for support.

The medium green leaves are leathery and strap-like with two lobes at their ends. In early summer into fall, a long drooping...

(Basket Vine, Hot Flash Lipstick Plant, Lipstick Plant)

One of the prettiest and easiest to grow of the lipstick plants, 'Hot Flash' is a compact plant with large orange-red blooms with light color striations. The flowers are held upright in clusters at the ends of the branches. This vigorous, floriferous hybrid is a cross between Aeschynanthus evrardii and Aeschynanthus hildebrandii and a favorite plant for containers or hanging baskets. It was hybridized by B. Schwarz in 1984.

This tropical is a semi-trailing evergreen perennial...

(Lipstick Basket Vine, Lipstick Plant)

Vibrant lipstick-red flowers adorn the sprawling stems of this tree-dweller ("epiphyte") from moist forests of Malaysia. In nature it grows in trunk crotches and other arboreal niches where leaf litter accumulates.

Pairs of glossy deep green leaves crowd the long, lax stems of this evergreen perennial. They may blush burgundy-purple in relatively hot, sunny sites. Pairs of dark red to nearly black buds develop at the branch tips, opening into tubular, hairy, vivid red blooms with five lobes,...

(California Buckeye)

Beautiful and fragrant white flowers, decorative nuts, and glossy leaves make the California buckeye one of the more interesting and pretty buckeyes for the garden. Native to the canyon hills and ranges of central California, this dry-season deciduous large shrub also boasts smooth silver-gray bark that arguably makes the plant look more stunning when no leaves are present.

The warmth of spring finds the new, light green foliage emerging, with hand-like (palmate) leaves with five to seven leaflets...

(Yellow Buckeye)

Yellow buckeye boasts pretty yellow and pink flowers, attractive fruit and nuts, and glossy, hand-like foliage that turns yellow and orange in fall. This tall deciduous tree is native to deep, rich, moist soils of the east central United States. Its bark is relatively smooth, with platy splotches of tan among drifts of light gray.

The leaves are palmate (hand-shaped) with five to seven lobes of glossy, dark green, long oval leaflets. On the tip branches in late spring are found clusters of rosy,...

(Ohio Buckeye)

Lobed, hand-like leaves and reddish-brown nuts distinguish the Ohio buckeye tree. This broad and round-canopied deciduous tree is native to low, moist soils of the east central United States. Its bark is gray and corky and wart-like when young, and fissured with age. It is among the first of the trees to leaf-out in early spring

The leaves are palmate (hand-shaped) with five to seven elongated lobes of bright green that deepens to dark green. On the tip branches in late spring are found clusters...

(Common Horsechestnut, Horsechestnut)

Horsechestnut is a tall, rounded, deciduous tree native to southeastern Europe. In spring, it bears showy conical clusters of large white flowers with yellow or pink markings. It later produces spiny fruits that contain inedible brown horse chestnuts. The large palmate (hand-like) leaves cast dense shade.

This sun-loving tree does well in moist, well drained soil, and tolerates salt and pollution. It makes an excellent shade tree, but beware of its falling nuts!.

(Baumann's Horsechestnut, Common Horsechestnut)

Long prized for its showy conical clusters of large white flowers with pink or yellow blotches, horse chestnut is a tall, deciduous, spring-blooming tree native to southeastern Europe. The cultivar 'Baumannii' produces exceptionally long-lasting, double, creamy-white flowers that age to blush-pink. It bears little or no fruit. The large palmate (hand-like) leaves cast dense shade.

This sun-loving tree does well in moist, well drained soil, and tolerates salt and pollution. Baumann's horse chestnut...