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The Bitter Melon Short Fu Qwa, Foo-Gwa, ‘Momordica charantia’, is widely used in the Orient. You will quickly enjoy its bitter flavor. It is refreshing, cooling, and a compliment to beef, poultry, and seafood. The Bitter Melon is also called a Balsam Pear. The bitter flavor of bitter melon is due to quinine, and is a taste that is quickly acquired by adults and kids. This soft flavor softens as it absorbs other flavors. It is used in stir-fry, stews, steamed, braised, or curried. When mature, the melons are very showy, which is why it is commonly used as an ornamental.Plant in the spring, 1 to 2 weeks after the last frost when soil temperatures are warm. The Bitter Melon prefers light and well drained soil. Keep the plant moist but not soggy. Harvest the fruit when they are no longer than 6 inches and are still light green in color.

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The Mustard Mizuna Siu Cai, Xiu Cai, ‘Brassica rapa’, is the perfect mustard green with its mild, sweet, earthy, mustardy flavor that tolerates cold and heat. It is so attractive that it is used as an ornamental. Commonly used as a graceful bedding pla

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The Yellow Buckeye tree, Aesculus octandra, is an ornamental tree and may also be known as the big buckeye, buckeye, large buckeye, Ohio buckeye, and sweet buckeye. The smallish creamy yellow or occasionally pinkish flowers appear in 6″ panicles from late spring to early summer, followed by fruits each with 2 to 4 seeds. The dark green leaves turn yellow before falling. The bark is dark brown, becoming furrowed with age. Yellow Buckeye trees have nuts that are attractive to squirrels.

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Red Sprite Winterberry, Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’, is a dense compact plant that produces multitudes of bright red, one half inch fruits that persist throughout the winter. The deep green foliage turns purple-bronze in fall. Winterberries are the “queens” of the fruiting shrub world when ranked for ornamental value. The fruiting branches are great for decoration in the garden or in the house. The leaves drop off the plant in late fall to expose the beautiful berries. You’ll need both male and female plants to produce fruits and Red Sprite requires Ilex ‘Jim Dandy’ for pollination and berry production. A wonderful shrub for winter interest, the Red Spire Winterberry shrub reaches 2-3 feet in height and width.

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The Sweet Potato Vine Sweet Carlone Purple, ‘Ipomoea batatas’, a Proven Winners selection, has a trailing habit and traditional velvety, fan shaped leaves that are a dark burgundy color. This ornamental plant provides color and interest like no other plant.

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Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, is also known as Cottage Ivy and Japanese Ivy. This deciduous vine has tendrils which have 5 to 8 branches, each ending in adhesive-like tips; it has the ability to literally cement itself to the wall and therefore needs no support; good on trees, will also crawl along the ground; secretes calcium carbonate which serves as adhesive. This vine can reach a height or spread exceeding 30 feet. The plant tolerates dry soil .The glossy, dark green, three-lobed leaves turn bright red in the fall. The showy leaves are held late into fall or early winter. The plant produces bluish fruits that are not highly ornamental. The blooms of the Boston Ivy are fairly inconspicuous but they attract multitudes of bees. Use in full sun to full shade, salt tolerant, handles most all conditions.

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The Lace Shrub, ‘Stephanandra incisa ‘Crispa’, features maple-like, deeply cut, bright green leaves, up to 3″ long, that turn yellow and orange in autumn. The red-purple to red-orange fall color is very attractive. The leaves are borne on arching branches which tend to weep downward and root at the tips, when soils are moist and organic. The leaf foliage and arching habit are the best ornamental features of this shrub. The Lace Shrub is used best as a dense, shrubby ground cover, very low hedge or foundation plant. This plant is also effective for erosion control on steep banks and slopes. Lace Shrub prefers moist, acidic, well-drained soil and it will flower in late spring.

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The Cuphea Susans Little Gem, ‘Cuphea varia’, is a Proven Selections plant that has an upright habit and flowers all season long. Susans Little Gem can be used as a landscape plant, ornamental plant, in containers and groupings.. They produce masses of white flowers from spring through fall. Summers heat will not stop these unique flowers. The stems become slightly woody, arching and weather tough conditions. Place them in well drained soil and then look for Hummingbirds as they begin to flower. Pinching in early summer will promote branchingFor zones 9-11, this plant can also be a perennial.

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The Allium ‘Ostrowkianum’, ‘Allium oreophilum’, a fall planted ornamental onion bulb, will produce pinkish-purple flowers. Ostrowkianum displays starbursts of deep pink to brighten your landscape. They are lovely for the rock garden and easy to grow. Watch them multiply year by year. They are great for ornamental value and widely used for both landscape and cut flower purposes. The blooms are pleasantly fragrant and this plant is an easy and prolific addition to the garden. Plant in groups of ten or more for an eye catching focal point. Alliums prefer to be dry during their dormancy. The Allium Ostrowkianum is ideal for containers, mass plantings, borders, and cut flowers. These plants are rabbit, squirrel, and deer resistant. Ostrowkianum has a bloom period of about 3 weeks and they bloom in late spring to early summer.

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The Mimosa tree, Albizzia julibrissin, sometimes called Silk tree, was introduced to the United States in 1745 for use as an ornamental plant because of its unusual, attractive and fragrant pom-pom like flowers and interesting fern-like foliage.This deciduous tree is attractive to bees, butterflies, and birds. In gardens this tree grows to 20′o30′. Mimosa trees are fast-growing but rather short-lived. It has a single trunk with smooth gray bark. Each bipinnate leaf is made up of hundreds of tiny leaflets coated in white hairs, giving the foliage a silvery cast. In late winter or spring the domed crown is decked in sprays of small, globular, golden yellow flower heads. It is able to survive winter in southern U.S., but flowers better in climates with a longer, drier summer.

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The Mustard Mizuna Siu Cai, Xiu Cai, ‘Brassica rapa’, is the perfect mustard green with its mild, sweet, earthy, mustardy flavor that tolerates cold and heat. It is so attractive that it is used as an ornamental. Commonly used as a graceful bedding pla

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The Allium ‘Azureum’, ‘Allium caeruleum”, a fall planted ornamental onion bulb, produces beautiful uniquely colored sky blue flowers with a diameter of 1.5″. This Allium is easy to grow and does well in average to rich, well drained soil. Plant in groups of ten or more for an eye catching focal point. Divide mature clumps in August if areas become overcrowded. Alliums prefer to be dry during their dormancy. The Azureum is ideal for containers, mass plantings, borders, and cut flowers. These plants are rabbit, squirrel, and deer resistant. The Azureum has a bloom period of about 3 weeks and they bloom in late spring to early summer.

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The Allium ‘Atropurpureum’, ‘Allium atropurpureum”, a fall planted ornamental onion bulb, produces beautiful intense dark purple flowers with a diameter of 3″. This Allium is easy to grow and does well in average to rich, well drained soil. Plant in groups of ten or more for an eye catching focal point. Divide mature clumps in August if areas become overcrowded. Alliums prefer to be dry during their dormancy. The Atropurpureum is ideal for containers, mass plantings, borders, and cut flowers. These plants are rabbit, squirrel, and deer resistant. The Atropurpureum has a bloom period of about 3 weeks and they bloom in late spring to early summer.

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The Crabapple Dolgo produces pink buds that open to fragrant, white flowers. The glossy, dark green foliage turns yellow in the fall. Dolgo Crabapples are large and are bright red. They are excellent for jellies. This hardy tree is upright with an open habit and is very ornamental. The Dolgo is a superb apple pollinator for other apple trees.

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The Sweet Potato Vine Sweet Caroline Bronze, ‘Ipomoea batatas’, a Proven Winners selection, has a trailing habit and traditional velvety, fan shaped leaves that are a bright bronze color. This ornamental plant provides color and interest like no other plant.

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The Rudbeckia ‘Indian Summer’O, Rudbeckia hirta, is an easy to grow perennial with large flower heads of golden yellow with dark eyes that bloom form July to September. Rudbeckia ‘Indian Summer’O has a plant spread of 12-18′ and a height of 34-48′. The dark green foliage sits at the bottom on the tall daisy-like flowers and turns to mahogany in the fall. ‘Indian Summer’O in an AAS winner, and one can see why. ‘Indian Summers’O need to be grown in full sun in somewhat moist soil conditions in a well-drained area. It is great in borders, for cut flowers or for naturalized areas. Rudbeckia attracts butterflies, provides food for birds in the winter and is mildew-resistant. Plant in masses with Veronica ‘Goodness Grows’O or with ornamental grasses.

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The Endive Tres Fine Maraichere, ‘Chicorium endiva’, is the classic ingredient for mesclun mixes. Tres Fine Maraichere has very narrow, finely cut leaves that add dramatic texture to salads, and it is a very attractive ornamental. Once you have tasted

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The Snow White Flowering Dogwood tree, Cornus florida, ‘Cherokee Princess’, exhibits a early and heavy white flowering habit. It is an erect growing white flowering dogwood with a straight central leader that displays four inch flowers. Large snow white blooms appear in abundance on this vigorous growing upright tree. The fall color of the upper leaf surface of the Cherokee Princess Flowering Dogwood is dependably red or red-purple, but the lower leaf surface still retains a silvery hue for a bicolor effect. This deciduous flowering dogwood tree is an excellent ornamental tree.

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The Black-Eyed Susan, ‘Rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm’, was the 1999 perennial of the year. This plant exhibits bright golden yellow daisy-like flowers with dark button eyes. The Black-Eyed susan is great for cuttings. This is a terrific choice for mass planting, combining especially well with ornamental grasses. Removing faded flowers regularly will greatly increase the blooming time. Plants may be easily divided in early spring and they are attractive to butterflies.

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