Common name:Alkali Sacaton; Alkali Dropseed
Botanical name:Sporobolus airoides

Alkali dropseed is a warm-season, clumping grass with soft green blades and airy pinkish seed plumes. Clumps grow about 12 to 20 inches, and the plumes can reach 20 to 40 inches. Plumes emerge June and persist until frost. Flowers are excellent for arrangements; the grass is a good choice as a large scale ground cover or for erosion control. Though too tall to replace a traditional lawn, it does make a lovely meadowy-sort of space.

Common name:Dwarf Vinca or Periwinkle
Botanical name:Vinca minor

Periwinkle is a hardy, evergreen groundcover with glossy green leaves and cheery periwinkle blue or purple flowers in the spring. This plant is best suited to large areas and shrub borders, as it would overwhelm most perennials. Avoid its use along the riparian corridor or in urban/open space interfaces as it is aggressive and can escape, overtaking native plants. Easier to control in dry shade areas. Grows about 6 to 8 inches high, and spacing for planting purposes is about 2 to 3 feet, but its spread is indefinite.

Common name:Amur Maple
Botanical name:Acer ginnala

Amur maple is a relatively small tree or large shrub, generally multi-stemmed, with deeply lobed, palmate leaves. There is a great deal of variability due to a wide range of seed source and grafting stock. This may make it a little tough to predict size and fall color, the two characteristics that make this a stand-out selection for a smaller landscape or parkstrip. If those characteristics are very important to you, shop for plants in the fall, when you can see both it's color and judge its growth rate. Figure about 18 to 25 feet tall and wide.

Common name:Hybrid Tea Rose
Botanical name:Rosa x ssp.

Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of roses that were created by cross-breeding two types of roses, hybrid perpetuals and tea roses. It is the oldest group classified as a modern garden rose. Later hybrids were created by crossing other rose species. They typically have large, well formed single flowers on long stems. Hybridizing has introduced a wealth of colors, blends, and combinations, but frequently at the expense of over-all robustness, foliage appearance, and fragrance.