Date: Fri 13-Jun-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SUEZ

Quick Words:

Gardener-Bleach-shrubs-winter

Full Text:

Suburban Gardener: FAVORITE SHRUBS FROM OLD GARDENS

By Anthony C. Bleach

"Distinct yellowish green to bright green in winter, very noticeable and

actually not objectionable...."

The indispensable Michael Dirr is referring to the twigs of Japanese Kerria, a

member of the rose family which was brought to the West in the early 1880s by

William Kerr, the first plant collector to live in China.

I have often wanted to write about this. It is now uncommon but charming.

Kerrias grow feet high and have gracefully arching, bright green stems, which

in May are covered with yellow ‹ to 1«-inch flowers.

Donna Bickley writes in Flower and Garden that there is no prettier spring

combination than single kerrias and white azaleas. I have noticed they thrive

in light-to-heavy shade, which allows them to be used as our gardens get more

shaded as the years go by.

The double-flowered kerria cultivar, "Pleniflora," is more popular than the

species. It is more upright than the species which tends to sprawl. However,

the larger, ruddier flowers are not so dainty. K. japonica ("Variegata") has

single flowers, low spreading growth and white-edged leaves.

"Aureo-variegata" leaves are yellow-edged. All are useful in borders or in

massed plantings, all they need is a well drained soil. The green twigs in

winter on all of them are very attractive.

Very popular in the 1920s, Rhodotypos scandens , jet bead, has lance-shaped

leaves like Kerria, flowers like single roses followed by black berries that

hang on the plant in clusters of four, throughout winter. It is a tough plant

that is good in shady areas. It has a delicacy the more obviously decorative

viburnums do not have.

An even stronger candidate for a comeback is Clethra alnifolia ,

"summersweet." It has spikes of sparkling white flowers of spicy fragrance at

a time when things are quiet in the garden. The foliage is very handsome and

the fall color is pale yellow to golden brown. It scores over Weigela in its

clean habit of growth.

Weigela tends to throw out masses of branches which do not leaf out. This

gives the plant a ratty look unless it is frequently pruned. Its most happy

virtue is that it thrives in wet conditions where most shrubs would die.

The long neglected Cornus mas , "Cornelian cherry" is often considered a

shrub, but can grow to 20 feet and can be pruned to a tree form. It can also

be kept smaller or sheared into a hedge.

In March, clusters of tiny, bright yellow flowers open before the leaves come.

Cut branches are easy to force for indoor flowers which are showier than witch

hazel. The leaves have the parallel veins common to all dogwoods.

A shrub that only Donna Bickley, and sometimes the White Flower Farm, seems to

have noticed for its ornamental value is the gooseberry. I remember it as a

gracefully mounded plant with fruits as red as rubies in August, and

mouthwatering, too. But that was in Devon, England.

However, I was happy to learn that Al Avitabile, of Columbine Gardens in

Bethlehem, has tasted them in many places in Litchfield County. They need very

little attention.

Simply remove one older branch to rejuvenate the plants. One or two bushes

will provide you with enough berries for jam, pie and gooseberry butter.

To make the butter, simply heat the berries until most of the skins pop, then

force them through a colander. Add sugar in equal proportions to the pulp and

simmer until thick. Apparently it is delicious on toasted English muffins!

(Anthony C. Bleach coordinates the horticulture degree program at Naugatuck

Valley Community-Technical College in Waterbury.)