27-Aug The Unsung Shrubs of Summer

Bittersweet and the Duke of Argyll’s Teaplant are two climbers that do tend to get noticed. Bittersweet or Woody nightshade Solanum dulcamara has bluish-purple and bright yellow flowers. Its first English name refers to the taste of its root and stem if they are chewed and its second to an association with the poisonous nightshades. It was used to treat people who had just fallen from a great height, although paradoxically it can sometimes cause vertigo.

The berries, when eaten, cause some “staggering” before “a severe bout of dark-coloured diarrhoea”. The Duke of Argyll’s Teaplant Lycium barbarum also has purple and yellow flowers. It was originally sent from the near East to one of the Dukes of Argyll in the seventeenth century, misidentified and labelled as a tea plant. The mistake was not realised for nearly two centuries, by which time there was little point in rectifying it. The flowers go on to produce very inviting red berries which unfortunately are slightly poisonous.

Garden Shrubs

Others e.g. Wisteria and Viburnum at times may be enjoying a second flowering. In contrast it is, however, a good month for both wild and garden climbers. Wild climbers seen everywhere are Russian vine and bindweed. In gardens, equally common climbers include clematis, honeysuckle, passion flower and morning glory. Less common are Campsis, Tropaeolum, Clianthus and, more recently with warmer temperatures, Bougainvillea.

Rarer shrubs. sadly, seem to be confined to large collections such as those at Kew or Wisley and occasionally the gardens of country houses. Sub shrubs, shrublets or dwarf shrubs are occasionally found in borders or rockeries, but often go unnoticed. One or two exotics escape from conservatories in central areas and some get planted in tropical borders. Considering the excitement that met the arrival of new shrubs in the last two centuries, especially from the Americas and Far East, it is sad there are so few in any abundance now.

Chilean shrubs such as Crinodendron, Desfontainia and Grevillea all deserve wider plantings and similar lists of native shrubs could be made for Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania and China.

The shrubs most commonly seen while walking around London are Hydrangea, Hypericum, Viburnum, Lavatera, Berberis, Deutzia, Ceanothus, Spiraea, Hibiscus, Salvia, Leycesteria, Yucca, roses and to a lesser extent Escallonia, Punica, Abelia and Olearia.

Olearias are sometimes called Mother of Stars on account of the huge number of daisy-like flowers some species can produce. In their native New Zealand some are subalpine shrubs. Other shrubs such as Elder, Pyracantha, Cotoneaster, Skimmia and hawthorn all just get noticed because of their berries. There is also a significant group of shrubs with pea-like flowers e.g. Cytisus, Genista, Indigofera and Robinia. Interesting ericaceous shrubs include tree heathers, Oxydendron and Irish heath Daboecia cantabrica. Irish heath is a dwarf shrub with lazy clusters of flowers that are usually purplish-pink but in one form D. c. bicolor white, purple and pink flowers all appear on the same plant. Even more special is a crimson form which occurs in among rocks in the wilds of Connemara.

Then there are the aromatic shrubs e.g. Aloysa triphylla (lemon verbena), Caryopteris (spearmint), Callistemon (lemon and pine) and the very special allspice Calycanthus whose petals smell of apples, leaves of camphor and bark of cinnamon. It is little wonder it is found in so many London spice racks. The most special of these aromatics is Myrtle Myrtus.

Although the flowers are rarely seen in London they have been admired for centuries. In ancient Greece they were a symbol of youth and beauty. Their scent is similar to myrrh hence their name. Even the berries and wood are all deliciously scented. If eaten, it has the ability to perfume the urine in less than twenty minutes much as asparagus does, but in this case the urine smells of violets.

Two exceptionally handsome shrubs worth seeking out are Hoheria and Clerodendron. Clerodendron bushes are native to China and Japan. They may have been noticed in the spring for their unusually deep purple unfolding leaves. Now they have round clusters of unusually coloured flowers C. trichotomum has crimson coloured ‘petals’ with a China blue pea-sized berry set in the centre of the petals. Others have apple or even clove-scented flowers. C. bungei is worth avoiding as, although it has attractive rosy-red flowers, its branches when handled release an unpleasant odour which is quite difficult to get rid of. A good collection of shrubs can now be seen in Fenton house, Hampstead including bugbane Actaea simplex with its particularly glossy berries.