(New Zealand Sedge, Orange Sedge)

This native of New Zealand is an outstanding foliage plant. Commonly called orange sedge, it is an evergreen, short-perennial that forms dense, upright to fountain-shaped clumps of fine, gray-green foliage with a copper to orange-brown caste. Sun-loving and tough, it prefers average soil that is well drained but evenly moist. It may be planted in containers or mixed with colorful annuals and perennials in the garden. This sedge may self sow and can be grown as a tender perennial where not hardy....

(European Hornbeam)

A stately tree with muscular gray branches and trunk, the European hornbeam has glossy green foliage and produces interesting strings of lobed, yellow-brown fruits in fall. This tall, oval-canopied deciduous tree is native to much of Europe and eastward into Asia Minor.

The leaves are oval and have unequal but doubled rows of teeth on their edges. Veins are very depressed and the upper leaf side is a dull, deep green and undersides a lighter shiny green. These leaves are held late into fall and...

(European Hornbeam, Upright European Hornbeam)

A stately tree with gray branches and trunk, the upright European hornbeam has glossy green foliage and produces interesting strings of yellow-brown fruits in fall. This tall, oval-canopied deciduous tree is native to much of Europe and eastward into Asia Minor. Although named 'Fastigiata', the mature form of this selection is oval to pyramidal, not a tall, narrow, upright spire.

The leaves are oval and have unequal but doubled rows of teeth on their edges. Veins are very depressed and the upper...

(European Hornbeam, Weeping European Hornbeam)

A stately tree with muscular gray branches and trunk, the European hornbeam has glossy green foliage and produces interesting strings of lobed, yellow-brown fruits in fall. This tall, oval-canopied deciduous tree is native to much of Europe and eastward into Asia Minor.

The leaves are oval and have unequal but doubled rows of teeth on their edges. Veins are very depressed and the upper leaf side is a dull, deep green and undersides a lighter shiny green. These leaves are held late into fall and...

(European Hornbeam)

A stately tree with muscular gray branches and trunk, the European hornbeam has glossy green foliage and produces interesting strings of lobed, yellow-brown fruits in fall. This tall, oval-canopied deciduous tree is native to much of Europe and eastward into Asia Minor.

The leaves are oval and have unequal but doubled rows of teeth on their edges. Veins are very depressed and the upper leaf side is a dull, deep green and undersides a lighter shiny green. These leaves are held late into fall and...

(American Hornbeam, Musclewood)

A slow-growing, spreading-canopied deciduous tree, American hornbeam is native to southeastern North America from Canada to Mexico. The ridged, gray, smooth bark looks like there are flexed muscles under it, yielding another common name of musclewood. It may also grow with many trunks and attain a form much more shrub-like, albeit large.

The pretty, oblong, tapered leaves have depressed veins and double-teeth on their edges. In spring, male and female flowers appear separately on the same tree,...

(American Hornbeam)

A slow-growing, spreading-canopied deciduous tree, American hornbeam is native to southeastern North America and subspecies virginiana has a more northerly natural range. The ridged, gray, smooth bark looks like there are flexed muscles under it, yielding another common name of musclewood. It may also grow with many trunks and attain a form much more shrub-like, albeit large.

The pretty, oblong, tapered leaves have depressed veins and double-teeth on their edges. These leaves are slightly...

(Highway Iceplant, Hottentot Fig)

In addition to its light yellow and pale pink flowers, the highway iceplant also yields edible, fig-like fruits late in the season. This summer blooming perennial groundcover is native to the slopes of coastal and inland South Africa. It develops a relatively shallow root system and spreads via fleshy stems across the soil to create dense mats of foliage.

The short, succulent leaves are stiff, narrow and held upright. In cross section they have a distinctly triangular shape. Younger leaves...

(Caraway)

The aromatic, strong-tasting seeds of caraway are best known as a flavor in rye bread. This Eurasian herb is a hardy biennial. The aromatic oils in its seeds have a warm, earthy, almost anise-like flavor. If not harvested, the abundant seeds fall to the ground causing new plants to spring forth the following season. Caraway seeds are most popular in northern and eastern European and Russian cooking.

Clumps of feathery foliage are produced by caraway plants in the spring and summer of the first...

(Bluebeard, Moustache Plant)

Bluebeard is an open-formed deciduous shrub that brings a magnificent display of bold violet-blue flowers among gray leaves in late summer and fall. Native of China and Japan, it blooms from the current season's growth. Gray-green leaves, each oval but with jagged lobes, appear in pairs along the stems and are fragrant if crushed. In late summer and into early autumn, clusters of violet-blue to deep true blue flowers emerge from the paired leaf joints. Butterflies and bees will visit the plant when...