Common name:English Boxwood
Botanical name:Buxus sempervirens

This group of boxwood is comprised of many cultivars that vary in size and somewhat in form. Those most commonly available here in clude 'Grahm Blandy' (columnar to 8 feet), 'Suffruticosa' (rounded form to 3 feet), and 'Inglis' (pyramidal to 7 feet). All are evergreen, with medium to dark green foliage and are generally very cold hardy.

Common name:Shasta Doublefile Viburnum
Botanical name:Viburnum p. var. tomentosum 'Shasta'

'Shasta' is a doublefile viburnum with its spreading, layered horizontal branches. Grows about 10 feet tall and probably wider, and it should be pruned for risk of ruining the lovely horizontal layering. Clusters of pure white, lacecap-like flowers in May are followed by fruit that ripens to red and then black in August and September. 'Shasta Variegated' is a sport with leaves that are margined yellowish green, though in our heat, the variegation is not stable due to stress.

Common name:Pyramidal European Hornbean
Botanical name:Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata'

This Hornbeam is narrow when young, spreading into a broad cone-shape with age. Grows 35 feet tall and about 20 to 25 feet wide. Dark green, slightly toothed leaves turn yellow in the fall, and the foliage persists into the early winter months. Flowering catkins form in early spring before the foliage emerges; male catkins are yellowish and female catkins are greenish. Fruits are small nutlets in 3-lobed bracts that appear in drooping 5-inch long clusters in summer. Symmetrical and formal in appearance.