The infertile, fragrance-free flowers emerge apple green and mature as white inflorescences. Eventually, the flowers become light brown, persisting on the plant for several weeks. The flowers are commonly used, both fresh and dried, in floral arrangements.

Distylium is a genus of evergreen shrubs in the witch hazel family native to Asia. Hybrids in this genus are compact, coming in many sizes, and are very insect- and disease-resistant as well as tolerant of drought and heat. Some cultivars even grow well in wet soils.

Loropetalum, also called Chinese fringe flower, is a broad-leaved evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree of the witch hazel family. This low-maintenance shrub has a lovely rounded to vase-shaped, multi-stemmed habit with arching branches.

Despite its common names that include the words borage, mint, thyme and oregano, Cuban Oregano is not a borage, mint, thyme or even oregano (although they are all members of the same family – Lamiaceae). Some people call it "Vicks plant" because its camphor and menthol aroma -- particularly strong when the leaves are crushed -- is similar to the cough salve.

Eye-catching solitary hibiscus-like 1 ½ - to 2 ½-in. pink flowers appear on Seashore Mallow from July to October, with their nectar attracting pollinators like hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators.

Ginkgo is a long-lived, medium-maintenance, woody, deciduous tree native to south-central and southeast China. It is often called a living fossil because the ginkgo has existed for hundreds of millions of years. It arrived in North America in 1784, in Philadelphia, via England.