March Woodlands

We gardeners are inordinately tuned to the weather. At night we think, Will it rain tomorrow? Will it freeze tonight? In the morning we poke our heads out the door first thing. Wonder if those clouds will last? What's the temperture now? Will it warm up this afternoon? Will it storm? We consider all those things, then hurry back inside to turn on the weather channel for an official forecast. Not trusting that, we look it up on the internet, then ask our family members and friends for their own weather predictions.

This March has teased us with just about anything we could anticipate: thunderstorms and frosty nights and cool days and gray days and blue skies and warm days, staggering back and forth like a drunk, headed toward April, where finally there is no going back but only forward into the glory days of spring.

Every chance I get, I search the woodlands for new growth, and I am not disappointed:

A fern frond unfurls:

Tree buds are opening, and this is the most conclusive evidence of springs' entrenchment. Below is Japanese maple 'Orido Nishiki':

This Orido Nishiki is one of my favorite woodland garden trees. I not only love its foliage; I also love the color of its bark:

Trilliums are popping up in the woodlands. These natives inspired me to add a secondary path in the woodlands, just so I could more easily enjoy them:

Here are some larger views of the March woodland garden. Recent rains have made the moss path lush and velvety:

And how about this for evidence of spring: The Easter bunny! Those pretty little yellow flowers are Nacissus bulbocodium (Hoop Petticoat Daffodil - a perfect name!)

May you have the hope of rebirth and restoration, even as spring comes surely after the winter.  Happy Easter!   Deborah

Burkwood Viburnum in the Scented Garden

The most satisfying garden is a sensual experience, pulling you in with enticing melodies and wrapping you in voluptuous layers of texture and color and powerful, though often subtle aromas. You breathe it in and it seeps into your consciousness, where it lies like opium, drawing you back again and again.

Viburnum x burkwoodii belongs in a garden like that. Burkwood viburnum has sweet, spicy flowers, perfect for the scented garden.There are over 150 species of Viburnum, and I grow a few of them. One of my favorites is Burkwood viburnum, a wonderful plant for the shrub border or as a specimen. Though it looks a little gangly in its youth, it will mature to a dense shrub up to 8 to 10 feet with either a rounded or upright habit. The leaves are lustrous green with downy undersides. Usually deciduous, it may be evergreen in the mildest regions. Mohawk and Chenaultii are cultivars that have impressive fall color. 

Birds and butterflies love this shrub. Red to pink flower buds appear in 3 inch snowball shaped clusters in spring, opening to creamy white flowers with a marvelous sweet, spicy scent. Its green berries turn red, then black as summer arrives.

Burkwood viburnum will grow in hardiness zones 4-8, in full to part sun. It likes moist, well drained, slightly acid soil, but it can tolerate less than ideal conditions. An easy care shrub, it is heat and drought tolerant. It needs little if any fertilizing.

Burkwood viburnum is an ornamental shrub with multiseasonal interest, and my scented garden would not be complete without it.