Want to plant something in your yard that is somewhat unusual yet isn’t too terribly hard to find? Try a corkscrew willow. The corkscrew willow is also known as "curly willow". It grows well in zones 4b to 8a.

It’s a full sun to partial shade plant, and can be poisonous if ingested, so don’t go eating your corkscrew willow tree! It gets to be about 30 feet high with a 15 foot spread, so it takes up less space than the more popular weeping willow. It easily tolerates even poor soil, and actually likes soil with poor drainage, so if you have problems with drainage, a corkscrew willow makes a good plant to plant there.

It needs plenty of water and hates to be dried out, so be sure to water your corkscrew willow if you are in drought conditions!

[Photo credit: Harry Harris on Flickr]