Looking to add a bit of colour to a rock or small garden? Try the new Golden Treasure Dwarf Birch. The small, fine-veined leaves start bright yellow-green in spring and turn golden in summer!

This dwarf shrub grows in a spherical shape and will be 3 ft. tall at maturity. Golden Treasure can be pruned into any shape or can be sheared, hedged or trained into a dwarf patio tree.

This Birch is extremely cold hardy, being a zone 2. It is low maintenance and should only be pruned in summer after it's leaves have fully formed, as it may "bleed" sap if pruned too early in spring or too late in fall.

Did you know that Crabapple trees come in a weeping variety??? I only found out this year and I am in love this variety - Royal Beauty! These gorgeous flowering Crabs are extremely cold hardy and are a zone 3 - perfect for our cold neck of the woods!

Come mid-spring, the luscious pink flowers will be out, soon to be followed by small, dark-red, ornamental fruit. Once the Crabapples start to fall, you may need to do an occassional clean-up as the fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways. The leaves start as brick-red but change to purple as the season progresses, finishing as burgundy in fall. 

At maturity, Royal Beauty will be 8 ft. tall and 6 ft. wide. It's best planted in full sun with well-drained soil. If you do want to prune, wait until very late winter when the threat of extreme cold has passed.

Lilacs are gorgeous! Sometimes though, there isn't room in your yard or landscape to include one of these large bushes. If this is the case, try the new ​Little Lady lilacs. These were created by combining the large, fragrant flowers of the Miss Kim variety with the compact, dwarf habit of the Syringa Mereyi variety (a dwarf Korean lilac). At maximum height, this bush only reaches to a maximum of 4-5 ft in height.

Little Lady lilacs are best planted in full sun and in well-drained soil. They are also very hardy and are a zone 2 perennial. These lilacs work great as a hedge, screen or accent.

Water deeply and regularly in the first growing season to establish an extensive root system. In subsequent years, only increase the frequency of watering before and during the spring bloom period. It's best to prune these only after flowering.