Now the fun part: Plant shopping!

There are about four groupings of plants to consider: specimen, companion, massing and foliage.

For today let’s talk a little about specimen plants.

Specimen plants are typically planted individually. They serve as a focal point in your landscape design, and are often grown by themselves as an ornamental effect. Here’s a fun Latin language trick: The Latin root, spec– means “to look at.”  Consequently, a specimen plant is one you would single out in your landscape as being particularly noteworthy, deserving of “center stage” in your yard. Most often this will be a tree, but it could also be a shrub if the latter is sufficiently large and showy. Types of these plants include Korean Dwarf Lilac and Tree Form Hydrangeas. For a non flowering variety, consider a Weeping Spruce or Weeping Birch.