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:Edible Pear
Botanical name:Pyrus communis

This plant is the common edible pear. It is long-lived if properly pruned and managed.

Common name:Floribunda Rose
Botanical name:Rosa floribunda

This group of roses is characterized by short stems topped with clusters of small flowers. They tend to have a rounded, mounded form, generally as tall as they are wide. They have thick, leathery leaves, sometimes producing lovely fall color, but also helping to grow vigorous, sturdy shrubs. Flowers are in the typical rose colors (though maybe less of the kaleidoscope that are the hybrid teas), from single-petaled to cabbage, and maybe with fabulous fragrance. Some bloom once, but most bloom off and on all summer. Most produce great hips, quite suitable for harvesting, though leave some for the song birds.

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.

Common name:European Beech
Botanical name:Fagus sylvatica

European beech is a large deciduous tree growing 50 to 60 feet tall and 30 to 50 feet wide, with a dense, upright-oval to rounded-spreading crown. Trunks have distinctive bark that is thin, smooth, and gray. Leaves are oval and a lustrous green with wavy margins and prominent parallel veins. Foliage turns golden bronze in fall. Flowers are insignificant, but followed by triangular nuts enclosed by spiny bracts. Beechnuts ripen in fall and are edible. Many cultivars are available in commerce in a variety of different forms, leaf shapes and leaf colors.