Its trunk bark ages to a blue-gray. The foliage is glossy and rounder than that of other redbuds. Give these good drainage and an organically enriched soil. This evergreen shrub has graceful, arching branches with dense, glossy foliage that is bronze when new. Leaves become dark green, then bronze again in the fall.
Abelia tolerates partial sun and is drought-resistant but likes water when the soil is dry.
The yellow flowers are followed by blue berries that are food for the birds. The pest-resistant Chinese mahonia likes an organically enriched soil that drains well. Mature height is about 4 feet. I like to use Dietes bicolor and Dietes vegata for their evergreen clumps of swordlike foliage and beautiful flowers. D. vegata , or butterfly iris, produces slightly larger white flowers with blue markings.