(Japanese Alder)

Glossy green leaves and the persistent brown seed fruits make Japanese alder a great shade tree with a broad adaptability to landscape soils and moisture. A pyrimad-shaped deciduous tree that does not get too wide, it hails from Japan, Korea and China's Manchuria. Its barks becomes light gray-sandy brown with shallow fissures.

In early spring this tree flowers. The male flowers are in drooping, finger-like clusters called catkins and are yellow-brown. The female flower are small and purplish...

(White Alder)

White alder is a large, fast growing, short-lived, deciduous tree native to the western United States. It bears glossy, nearly diamond-shaped, dark green leaves from spring to fall. Its catkins provide mild interest from winter and early spring. White alder grows best in sites with full sun but also excels as a shade tree. It thrives in most soils and grows will in sites that are too damp or barren for many other trees.

(Giant Elephant Ear)

This large herbaceous plant with huge upright leaves says "tropical" in any landscape. The giant taro is native to a vast area of Asia: Sri Lanka and India through Southeast Asia into the islands of Indonesia. It can reach impressive size in both well-draining clay and loams, but also in sand if rich in organic matter. Unlike other taros, this species will form a thickened trunk that can reach 3-6 ft/1-1.5m. Leaves are the crowning jewel of the plant with immense size and being held on long stems....

(Asian Taro, Giant Alocasia, Giant Upright Elephant Ear, Hardy Elephant Ear)

Massive, arrow-shaped leaves make the giant alocasia a must-have for a tropical rainforest garden. A native of India, southern China, and northern Myanmar, the large rhizome gives rise to huge herbaceous and fleshy stems and leaves growing grows into a non-invasive clump with time. It also loves moisture, heat and humidity. Perhaps no other taro, even Alocasia macrorrhizos, is larger than this species. It will die back to the rhizome after a frost, and will return in late spring provided the winter...

(Partytime Alternanthera, Thread Alternanthera)

The colorful foliage of ‘Party Time’ is especially eye catching. Its green, wavy leaves have hot pink streaks and blotches. Some leaves are entirely pink and others entirely green. It is a lovely garden compliment to colorful tropicals or more subdued bedding plants.

Joseph’s Coat is a low-growing tropical perennial valued for its bushy habit and glossy, colorful leaves. It is native from Mexico to Argentina where it naturally inhabits open forests with ample precipitation. The variable leaves...

(Mountain Madwort)

Mountain madwort is native to the Mediterranean. It is a mound forming perennial that produces fragrant clusters of yellow flowers borne above gray-green hairy foliage.

Mountain Madwort thrives best in dry rocky soil and has a preference to full sun, although it will tolerate light shade. Add vibrancy to the facade of stone walls by planting mountain madwortin empty crevices or plant towards the front of dry borders. Interesting addition to the edge of a large alpine trough container. Cultivars...

(Mountain Gold Madwort, Mountain Madwort)

Mountain madwort is native to the Mediterranean. It is a mound forming perennial that produces fragrant yellow flowers borne in clusters above gray-green hairy foliage. Mountain Gold is one cultivar that is worth its weight, since it covers itself entirely with yellow flowers that its foliage becomes hardly visible.

Mountain Gold madwort thrives best in dry rocky soil and has a preference to full sun, although it will tolerate light shade. Add vibrancy to the facade of stone walls by planting...

(Love-Lies-Bleeding)

Though grown in American gardens primarily for its curious tail-like clusters of colorful flowers, this large annual has long been a staple grain in the northern Andes, where it originated. Once more popular than corn, amaranth grain and greens fed the Incas for thousands of years, and are still a vital crop for peoples of the Andes. Two other species of amaranth are important grain (and ornamental) plants: Amaranthus cruentus and Amaranthus hypochondriacus.

This fast-growing,...

(Mexican Grain Amaranthus, Prince's Feather, Purple Amaranthus)

Nothing beats this tough, heat-loving annual for big, bold summer bedding displays. This Central American native has been grown since ancient times for its grain and greens, as have two other amaranths: Amaranthus hypochondriacus and A. caudatus. Purple amaranth was central to the Aztec culture, playing an important role in many of its religious rituals. Most contemporary gardeners cultivate it purely for its showy flower spikes, though it is increasingly grown...

(Prince's Feather, Prince-of-Wales-Feather)

This large, colorful annual is probably a naturally occurring hybrid originating in Central Amercica. It has been grown since ancient times for its grain and greens, as have two other amaranths: Amaranthus cruentus and A. caudatus. This amaranth was widely cultivated and revered by the Aztecs, playing a central role in their diet and in many of their religious rituals. Most contemporary gardeners cultivate it purely for its showy flower spikes, although it is increasingly...