(Calico Cactus, Engelmann's Hedgehog Cactus, Hedgehog Cactus)

Cloaked in ferocious spines, this low spreading cactus is so adaptable it can be grown just about anywhere in the American southwest and even some states further north. This beautiful mounding cactus is from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, with populations occurring from sea level up to very alpine locations. It varies widely across its native range, resulting in the naming of several subspecies and varieties.

Engelman’s cactus is composed of many cylindrical stems...

(Hardy Hedgehog Cactus, Lace Hedgehog Cactus, Reichenbach's Hedgehog Cactus)

Fabulous flowers and a short, tidy habit make this a highly rewarding cactus for containers and rockeries. Rare in the wild, it occurs in dry, rocky scrub and grasslands from southeastern Colorado to northern Mexico. It is noted and named for its interlacing, starry clusters of stem-hugging, flattened spines.

The small, upright, football shaped stems of lace hedgehog cactus are initially single. Over time they produce pups and create clumps. Mature stems produce lots of striking pink, lavender-pink...

(Pride of Madeira)

With tall flower spikes of cool blue and lavender, pride of Madeira is a magnificent, easy to grow subshrub that shines in spring and summer. This tender, bushy evergreen is native to Madeira but has escaped from gardens and populated many subtropical countries where it is often considered invasive.

Its upright stems have whorls of slender, gray-green leaves covered with soft white hairs and distinguished by light midribs. In spring and summer each stem produces a tall flower spike with hundreds...

(Giant Viper's Bugloss, Pine Echium, Tree Echium)

Small, unassuming rosettes of linear, dusty green foliage develop floral columns lined with small violet-blue flowers that burst upward to heights of 8- to 10-feet (2.5- to 3.25-meters). A native of the dry inland laurel forests of the Canary Islands, tree echium survives as a half-hardy biennial. It is a spectacular plant in bloom and has become endangered in its native habitat, though it is very popular in cultivation.

Dense rosettes of linear, silvery or dusty green foliage overwinter and...

(Paperbush)

Paperbush is a small deciduous shrub with interesting open branching that bears late winter blossoms. The small yellow flowers are covered in fuzzy hairs on this native of China. These fragrant flowers eventually fade to a creamy white. The large leaves are nice dark green on this unusual shrub. Young leaves emerge with a felt texture. The branches are relatively few, but are very architectually appealing. After blooming, little purple-green berries develop. New flower buds, interesting in themselves,...

(Common Water Hyacinth)

Common water hyacinth is beautiful aquatic plant native to South America. It is a floating plant that forms dense mats, sometimes rooting in the mud. The leaves are elliptical to oval arising from rosettes on inflated petioles. The roots are dark blue-black and feathery. New plants form readily along floating stolons or horizontal stems. The flowers are held above the foliage in dense spikes when the weather is warm. The flowers are generally 2-lipped with blue to lavender petals and a central yellow...

(Elaeagnus)

A pleasant upright-shaped shrub with gently arching branches, the Quicksilver silverberry glistens with silvery gray-green foliage and red fruits. A hybrid originating in England as a chance seedling, 'Quicksilver' is a fast-growing deciduous shrub.

The thin branches have thorns. At first, the branches are held upright, but as they lengthen and carry more weight they begin to arch. In early spring, the oval leaves emerge with a whitish silver hue. They mature to silvery gray-green. In late spring...

(Silverthorn, Thorny Olive)

Thorny olive is a large evergreen shrub to small tree native to China and Japan where it exists along open slopes and thickets near the oceanside or waterways. It has also become naturalized in the southeastern United States where it is considered a problematic invasive shrub. It is fast-growing, tough and grows well in difficult areas but has a coarse, informal look that is visually unappealing.

The oblong to elliptical leaves of thorny olive are dark green on the top and silver-gray on the...

(Fruitland Silverberry, Silverberry, Thorny Olive)

The unique thorny olive,'Fruitlandii', is distinguished by its larger, more rounded and wavy-edged foliage. It is also said to have a more uniform habit than ungainly wild forms.

Thorny olive is a large evergreen shrub to small tree native to China and Japan where it exists along open slopes and thickets near the Oceanside or waterways. It has also become naturalized in the southeastern United States where it is considered a problematic invasive shrub. It is fast-growing, tough and grows well...

(Thorny Olive)

This more compact form of thorny olive has a pleasing rounded to umbrella-shaped habit, unlike ungainly wild forms. 'Glen St. Mary' is also a fast-grower that boasts fewer thorns than uncultivated types.

Thorny olive is a large evergreen shrub to small tree native to China and Japan where it exists along open slopes and thickets near the Oceanside or waterways. It has also become naturalized in the southeastern United States where it is considered a problematic invasive shrub. It is fast-growing,...