Common name:Annabelle Hydrangea
Botanical name:Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'

Annabelle hydrangea is a no-fuss hydrangea, well suited to a part or filtered-sun border or foundation planting. It has a rounded, dense form, and grows to about 3 to 5 feet tall and wide. Leaves emerge a soft green and slightly pubescent, and grow into roundish, salad-plate-sized leaves. White flowers appear June thru August in huge, symmetrical, rounded heads which typically grow 8 to 12 inches across. Flowers persist well through the fall. Excellent cut fresh or dried. Wonderful in a shrub, mixed, or foundation border.

Common name:Diabolo Ninebark
Botanical name:Physocarpus opulifolius 'Monlo'

Intense reddish-purple foliage holds its color all summer long on this upright, arching deciduous shrub. Adding to Diabolo ninebark's attractions are the summer-time clusters of creamy white to pinkish flowers. Plant in full sun for best color, though in periods of extreme high heat it may become more deep bronzy green than purple. Fall color is orange. Moderate grower to 8 to 10 feet tall and wide.

Common name:Dwarf Globe Blue Spruce
Botanical name:Picea pungens 'Globosa'

Globe-shaped evergreen shrub is is flat-topped, densely branched, and dwarf, making it a nice evergreen for small spaces or in a mixed border. Bright blue needles hold their color all year ut are brighter in summer. Full sun to light shade. Slow grower to 3 to 5 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide.

Common name:Dwarf Japanese Juniper
Botanical name:Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'

This attractive, evergreen groundcover grows to about 12 inches tall and up to 6 feet wide. It is very low, spreading, and mound-like -- resembling a natural bonsai. One of the best Junipers for small garden spaces. Dense evergreen foliage is blue green. This juniper is great for erosion control, difficult hillsides, raised planters, cascading over walls. It is frequently available in a staked form, to be maintained as sort of a miniature tree.

Common name:Purple Robe Locust
Botanical name:Robinia pseudoacacia 'Purple Robe'

Purple Robe Locust is a medium-sized upright tree, growing 40 feet in height with a compact, rounded form. The trunk is long and straight with an interesting branching pattern. Leaves are dull, dark blue-green and pinnately compounded. Fall color is yellow. Flowers are dark rose-pink, in dense clusters, May to June. Lonf, slender pods follow flowers and persist into autumn. Bark is warm gray and furrowed; branches have spines.

Common name:English Ivy
Botanical name:Hedera helix cultivars

English Ivy is a self-clinging vine used as a groundcover or climbing vine. Though usually green, with lobed leaves, there are many varieties of ivy with variations in leaf size, shape, and color (some ivies have variegated leaves with margins or splotches of white, yellow, or red). All ivies are evergreen but not all are winter-hardy, so check the plant label. A bit slow to establish in our region, once it gets going it spreads quickly up walls, chain link fences, or over the ground. It is praised for its ability to cover an area quickly but loathed by others for the very same reason.