I would like to finish the year with my most favorite plant of all - and the reason I finish the year with it, is because it is just now starting to strut its stuff! Corylus 'Contorta' or commonly known as Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. Here is a hardy shrub (also grown single stem for small tree shape) that during the growing season, is your basic ordinary looking plant covered with curled / somewhat twisted green leaves. But when the leaves drop in the fall, this plant is exposed to its twisted curling stems and branches which is quite an attraction during the winter season. Male catkins will form over the winter, with the 1/16" magenta female flowers showing up in late winter. (Yes, 1/16" in size, so get out the magnifying glasses!)

Truly a specimen plant like no other, Harry Lauders Walking Stick isn't a plant for everyone. But it certainly is my favorite - especially during the winter.