(Tall Ornamental Onion)

One of a host of alliums native to Central Asia, this ornamental onion bears large globular heads of star-shaped flowers on tall stems in late spring. The cultivar 'Mount Everest' has snow-white flowers. The long, strap shaped, grayish-green leaves wither as the flowering stems appear. The leaves, stems, and bulbs carry the typical "onion scent".

Plant the bulbs in autumn at a depth three times their height in fertile well-drained soil and full sun. Lift and divide the clumps only when they become...

(Chinese Chives)

There are lots of reasons to love and hate garlic chives, also called Chinese chives. On the upside, they’re easy to grow, attractive and delicious to eat. The downside is they're impossibly invasive if one doesn't remove their flower heads before they set and drop seed. Each seedhead produces copious amounts of viable, black, wedge-shaped seeds that germinate fast. You’ll be weeding baby garlic chives out of every garden nook and cranny. The plants originate from Southwest China but have become...

(Oneleaf Garlic)

This ornamental onion, a bulbous perennial, is grown for its showy dense umbels of star-shaped lavender-pink flowers, which bloom in the late spring. Strappy, blue-green leaves wither before the flowers emerge. Alliums belong to the onion family and thus all have the familiar pungent fragrance when their leaves or stems are crushed. Allium unifolium is native to California, where it grows in full sun and well-draining, often sandy soil.

In the fall, plant this bulb two inches deep in well-drained...

(Italian Alder)

Glossy heart-like leaves and the persistent brown seed fruits make Italian alder a great shade tree with multi-season interest and grace. An upright deciduous tree that does not get too wide, it hails from southern Italy and Corsica. Its barks becomes light gray-sandy brown with shallow fissures and small plates, often blotched.

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

(European Alder)

Black alder is a medium-sized, fast-growing, deciduous tree native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, but has naturalized in other regions including the northeastern and central United States. It bears handsome, glossy, dark-green leaves from spring to fall, and its catkins provide mild interest in winter and early spring.

Requiring sun but thriving in most soils, it excels as a shade or screening tree in sites that are too damp or barren for other trees. It may be invasive in some...

(Cutleaf European Alder)

Black alder is a medium-sized, fast-growing, deciduous tree native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, but has naturalized in other regions including the northeastern and central United States. It bears handsome, glossy, dark-green leaves from spring to fall, and its catkins provide mild interest in winter and early spring.

Requiring sun but thriving in most soils, it excels as a shade or screening tree in sites that are too damp or barren for other trees. It may be invasive in some...

(European Alder)

Black alder is a medium-sized, fast-growing, deciduous tree native to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, but has naturalized in other regions including the northeastern and central United States. It bears handsome, glossy, dark-green leaves from spring to fall, and its catkins provide mild interest in winter and early spring.

Requiring sun but thriving in most soils, it excels as a shade or screening tree in sites that are too damp or barren for other trees. It may be invasive in some...

(Thinleaf Alder)

Ranging from a large shrub to a medium sized tree, thinleaf alder has red and golden pendent flowers (catkins), green and gray foliage and persistent fruit nutlets and smooth bark that make it interesting even in winter. A deciduous large shrub to small tree depending on severity of winter or availability of soil moisture, this species is native to Europe and the Caucausus as well as in North America from California to Canada and across the northern United States. The bark is usually smooth and gray,...

(Golden Thinleaf Alder)

Ranging from a large shrub to a medium sized tree, golden thinleaf alder has red and golden pendent flowers (catkins), yellow-green foliage and persistent fruit nutlets and smooth bark that make it interesting even in winter. A deciduous large shrub to small tree depending on severity of winter or availability of soil moisture, this species is native to Europe and the Caucausus as well as in North America from California to Canada and across the northern United States. The bark is usually smooth...

(Weeping Thinleaf Alder)

Ranging from a large shrub to a medium sized tree, weeping thinleaf alder has red and golden pendent flowers (catkins), deep green foliage and persistent fruit nutlets and smooth bark that make it interesting even in winter. A deciduous large shrub to small tree depending on severity of winter or availability of soil moisture, this species is native to Europe and the Caucausus as well as in North America from California to Canada and across the northern United States. It is an upright tree with drooping...