Sometimes you’re looking for a fast growing easy care evergreen that can take some punishment and fill some space and ‘Hetzi Columnaris’ does that as well as any evergreen you’ll find. This selection laughs at poor soils, dry conditions, cold spots, and even deer while putting on up to a foot of growth a year as you just sit back and watch. ‘Hetzi Columnaris’ is a great plant for hedging or for a taller, narrower spot as long as you have full sun and enough space to let it work its magic.

Dense, compact, spreading form and unquestioned dependability are this juniper’s calling cards. Prickly, fine-textured, medium green-colored needle foliage is attractive as well as functional, contributing to this plant’s optimum uses as a low border planting or as a grouping plant for groundcover purposes.

Juncus effusus is a clump forming, wetland plant. Upright, fanning, deep green stems make a great accent in a container or water garden. Soft Rush can be planted at the edge of a pond or in up to 6″ of standing water. Inconspicuous golden flowers appear atop the stems in summer. Native to most of North America, soft rush provides food and shelter for birds and other wildlife.

A clump-forming, wetland plant with large, twisted reeds of deep green spirals. An excellent accent in a container or water garden.  Inconspicuous golden flowers appear atop the stems in summer. Unique form is great for rain gardens, or pond edges. Birds enjoy the seeds in the fall.

Black walnuts are very tall, statuesque, shade trees best planted in informal settings. Their wood is prized for furniture building and over-harvesting has caused a serious decline in native populations. They are host plants for over 100 species of butterflies and moths! Plant this tree in full sun where it will have room to grow and falling nuts will not be a problem.

Little Henry® may sound small, but the landscape show it puts on is anything but small! Low and mound forming, this selection starts the show with an explosion of pure white flower spires in late June that stand out especially in group plantings. Little Henry’s® show springs to life again in the fall as the cool temperatures inspire a red foliage explosion that may outshine even that of Euonymus alatus ‘Compacta’. What a beautiful package!

It’s amazing how little used this selection is when you consider all it has going for it. Start with dark green, lustrous foliage on a tight, slightly spreading form that is perfect for grouping or for using alone. Add in its show of 2-6″ long racemes of white flowers that open in early June with a little fragrance to add a kick to the late spring garden and help attract a number of colorful butterflies. Finally, its amazing fall foliage color of brilliant reddish-purple will really make you stand up and take notice. An added bonus is this American Beauty tolerates many soils, from moist to dry, and partial shade while still performing at its peak. In sum, ‘Henry’s Garnet’ is an outstanding plant!

Dense growing and globose, this selection has deep, dark, shiny foliage and a multitude of landscape uses. Great for foundation use or in hedging, this plant is easy to grow and prune.

Handsome columnar holly. The Castle Ilex are compact, pyramidal varieties of blue holly. Dark glossy leaves, superior vigor and branching make them an improvement over other older varieties. Their narrow form makes them great for hedges, foundation plantings, or even as a dramatic specimen. The lustrous green foliage provides season long interest. Use Castle Wall® holly as the pollinator for Castle Spire holly, or grow it on its own as a narrow hedge. This is a male variety that will not produce fruit.

The Castle Ilex are new varieties of blue holly compact, pyramidal forms. Their dark glossy leaves, superior vigor and branching make them an improvement over other older varieties. Their narrow form makes them great for hedges, foundation plantings, or even as a dramatic specimen. The lustrous green foliage provides season long interest. Castle Spire will produce bright red berries for fall and winter enjoyment; use Castle Wall™ as the pollinator.