Don't miss our January 23rd article where we explore the first blooms of garden shrubs in winter. Discover the vibrant colors of Japanese quince, Forsythia, and Mahonias, and learn about the fascinating Chinese Wychhazels. We'll also highlight the beauty of evergreen shrubs and the early-flowering rhododendrons at Kew Gardens and Wisley. Whether you're a gardening enthusiast or just love nature, this article will brighten your winter days.
Article
Garden Shrubs
The first hesitant blooms of Japanese quince Chaenomeles, Forsythia and some Mahonias usually open around about this time. The ever faithful Laurustinus Viburnum tinus is still pink in the bud, not yet showing its waxy white flowers unless it has been a mild winter.
The numerous varieties of dogwood Cornus spp. are both popular and widely planted. Their upswept branches vary from lime-green through red and orange to the deepest crimson. Whereas you could be forgiven for not noticing the leaves and flowers of these plants in the summer, this is not true for their vividly coloured winter canes.
There are only a small number of garden shrubs which could be described as doing well this month. Chinese Wychhazels Hamamelis spp. are one group and they have representatives in most of our large parks. The Isabella Plantation in Richmond park has some fine specimens. They come in a variety of different colours both from America and Asia and generally have strong, sweet scents except perhaps for the Ozark wychhazel Hammamelis vernalis which is more pungent. Their ribbon-like flowers defy the cold by rolling up when the temperature is low and then rolling out again when it gets warmer.
The American species arrives first and it is thought their English name derives from the early settlers who used their forked branches as divining rods. However, it was the native Indians who knew of their healing properties already using extracts to treat eye inflammations. Although they first arrived in the mid eighteenth century it wasn’t till over a century later that Veitch introduced the first Asian species. Specimens that in Japan might reach twenty feet in height only manage half that in places like the Dell in Hyde Park. E. A. Bowler, London’s most famous bulb man, called them Epiphany plants as they were often at their best around this Christian feast and like the three wise men brought gold with their flowers, incense with their scent and myrrh with their healing properties.
Evergreen shrubs are always common. Eleagnus spp. and their numerous cultivars are a great favourite on account of their striking yellow and green leaves which stand out even more so after rain. Although satisfactory in the shade, they do not produce good variegation of leaf colour unless they get enough sun and so different specimens can vary widely in the quality of their markings.
Laurels of all kinds fill London’s gardens, particularly Victorian favourites such as the spotted laurel Aucuba japonica and the Portuguese laurel Prunus lusitanica. They tend to be dull unless in berry, but do provide good cover for birds. The bole on old specimens of the latter is worth attention, being a handsome glossy-grey and worth lifting the branches to see. Other shrubs typically in flower include Berberis, Fuschia, Kerria, Garrya elliptica, Winter jasmine and the occasional Hebe.
Winter jasmine Jasminum nudiflorum is probably the most noticed. It has exceptionally vivid yellow yet scentless flowers and is widely planted all over London. Robert Fortune, who first found it, described the flowers as ‘little primroses’ on naked branches.
The Chinese added its petals to their aromatic green tea. Garrya elliptica is equally as common with its long grey-green tassels which in some varieties can reach an astonishing twenty centimetres in length. These delicate tassels are amazingly unaffected by the harshest weather. They only appear on female plants, disappointed gardeners with no tassels obviously possessing only male plants. A visit to Kew Gardens or Wisley will be rewarded by the very first sight of some red, pink and purple rhododendrons.
There are not many such early-flowering varieties and they have yet to enjoy a wider planting e.g. Rhododendron douricum paruiflorum., R. rosamund, R. eclectum, and R. pulcherium. Recent milder winters has meant a lot of shrubs more typical of February or even March are starting to be seen in flower much earlier than usual.
