Common name:Purple Smoketree
Botanical name:Cotinus coggygria 'Purpureus'

Purple Smoketree is a deciduous shrub with a multi-stemmed, upright habit, growing about 12 to 15 feet tall and wide. Can be pruned to be a small tree. Leaves emerge a deep maroon purple and fade to dark green; fall color is orange to purple. Panicles of wispy dark pink appear in the summer after spring flowering, creating a billowing, soft effect.

Common name:Cloth of Gold Yarrow
Botanical name:Achillea filipendulina 'Cloth of Gold'

'Cloth of Gold' is a yarrow cultivar with a stiff, erect habit, growing about 3 to 4 feet tall and about half as wide. It has elegant, deeply-cut, fern-like, deep green leaves. Foliage has a spicy odor when crushed. Flowers are yellow, plate-like, dense, clusters. Good as a cut or dried flower. Long summer bloom period may be extended by prompt removal of faded flower heads. An impressive perennial for a sunny border.

Common name:Dallas Blues Switchgrass
Botanical name:Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues'

Dallas Blues switchgrass is a dense, erect grass known for it's steely gray-blue foliage, which is wider than most panicums, and turns shades of rust brown to warm tan in winter. Stems typically retain vertical form without flopping throughout the growing season and into winter. Foliage clump is topped in early September by large, finely-textured, purple-tinged flower panicles that hover over the foliage like a cloud. Seed plumes persist throughout winter, providing visual interest as well as food for birds. Grows about 4 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide.

Common name:Bur Oak, Mossycup Oak
Botanical name:Quercus macrocarpa

Bur oak is a large, deciduous tree somewhat columnar in its youth, but growing broader with age; eventually reaching 50 to 80 feet tall and wide, though it has a slow rate of growth. Its leaves are large, deeply lobed, and dark green above and whitish, slightly furry undersides. Fall color is a yellowish brown. Brown spring catkins are followed by suprisingly small acorns with a mossy cap. The bark is a greyish brown, with older bark having a distinctive flakiness. An absolutely beautiful tree for shade or as a specimen. There is a lovely tree by the science building at Westminster College.