More Fragrance in the Winter Garden

This is the second in my series of Fragrance in the Winter Garden. This past fall and early winter I haven't been in my garden as often as usual. A couple days ago I went out, camera in hand to see how things were doing and get reacquainted with my garden. I was so thrilled to see so many plants in bloom. There are a number of winter bloomers that do quite well in my zone 7b/8a garden.
This post showcases Edgeworthia chrysantha. Its common name is Paperbush plant. It reliably blooms from January through March and yes, is incredibly fragrant.
This deciduous shrub is native to China. The inner bark is used to make quality paper, hence the name. While my focus for this post is the fragrant blooms, its leaves that emerge in the spring are noteworthy as well. These oblong leaves are large, up to 5 inches long and a couple inches wide, are fuzzy and deer resistant. With the large canopy of leaves in the growing season I get a micro-climate under the Edgeworthia for ferns, hosta, Hellebore, and other shade loving plants.

The fuzzy umbelliferous flowers have up to 40 tubular florets, white on the outside and sunny yellow inside, visible once open. These flower buds form in the late summer, undetected because of the large leaves. After a few frosts and the leaves fall off the buds are quite apparent. Before the flowers open one might say the fuzzy buds look like pussy toes.

Once the whole bush is in full bloom, the entire yard is filled with its fragrance. The shrubs are hardy zones 7- 10. They can take direct sun but do better when protected from hot afternoon sun. Edgeworthia is said to get between 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. I am finding that to be pretty accurate. It does put up a lot of suckers at the base of the shrub. These suckers can be dug up and shared with friends.

One side of my house has four full sized Edgeworthia and the fragrance that wafts from these beauties makes sitting on the deck enjoyable, even on a chilly day.


©Copyright 2019 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Fragrance in the Winter Garden

Do you have blooms in your winter garden? Those of us who live in the moderate climates can have blooms AND fragrance. In the next few posts I will share some of my reliable favorites. The first one is Prunus mume 'Hokkai-bungo', a Japanese flowering apricot. It blooms January through February, though I have had a few buds open in December.

The first one I saw was in a friend's garden. Hers was in bloom and I was sold! You can read about my visit here. These double blooms are dark pink-red and have a spicy cinnamon fragrance. The fragrance really fills the air when all the blooms are open. Mine is planted by the driveway so I can enjoy both the blooms and fragrance. It is so nice to have something blooming in January.

Hokkai-bungo grows to 15 to 20 feet at maturity and is hardy to zone 6. My tree is still young and is about 7 or 8 feet tall. Many Prunus are used as Bonsai trees. As this tree ages its growth pattern is said to be gnarly with dark bark. 

I have read this tree produces edible apricot fruits but the fruit is reportedly quite sour and often pickled. As I only have one tree I am not sure that mine will fruit. I can't find information on whether it needs a second tree to cross pollinate to produce fruit.

Prunus is susceptible to freezes. The bark will split and crack causing stress to the tree.  I know mine has some bark peeling, I hope it is minor and will not cause it to die. I am keeping an eye on it. Watch for more posts in the coming years as this flowering apricot fills the front part of my garden.

Stay tuned for more posts on fragrant plants in the winter garden.

Look at all those buds ready to pop

©Copyright 2019 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Crane-fly Orchid, Wildflower Wednesday

I seldom have the stars line up to be able to participate in Gail's Wildflower Wednesday post. Yesterday while walking through the garden I happened on a number of happy surprises. Crane-fly Orchid, Tipularia discolor is one of those surprises. There are multiple spots on my property where this evasive native pops up. I say evasive because it disappears over the course of the spring and early summer, then surprise- a flower stalk in August/September.

One might walk by this cluster of leaves in the woods. The ovate acute leaf is green with smooth (entire) margins, green on top sometimes with small purple spots.  I came across these leaves in March and made a note to come back to this spot late summer.

March 28, 2018 Tipularia discolor

 The underside of the leaf is purple, making this identification very easy. See how distinctive the coloring is? This orchid's native range is pretty large, as far north as New York, west to Texas and Oklahoma, and south to Florida. Look for this perennial in woodlands in humus rich soils. I used the term evasive because from year to year it might disappear, this could be due to drought conditions. 

March 28, 2018

My surprise in the woods yesterday- a flower stalk!! I think it is a little early to see the flower stalk, though this has been a crazy year weather-wise. This little beauty is difficult to photograph, even the slightest breeze makes it dance. It is pollinated by moths via pollinaria (specialized structures that contain pollen in orchids) that attaches to the moth that carries it to other flowers. 

July 24, 2018 Tipularia discolor bloom

 See how tiny these are? 

Please visit Gail's blog to see her post and the links to other native wildflower posts.

©Copyright 2018 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.