Syringa "Tinkerbelle". Photo courtesy of Song Sparrow Perennial Farm.
A lot has changed since my grandmother’s time, including the old-fashioned shrubs in her garden. Most of her shrubs were tolerant of poor conditions, provided color with flowers and a lot of green in the summer, and were large enough to serve as foundation plants.
These deciduous shrubs were adaptable and easy to propagate. People shared cuttings with friends and family, thus spreading the shrubs’ popularity and ensuring their survival from generation to generation.“I think of old-fashioned shrubs as plants that have been in the garden for many decades, from the turn of the 20th century up until the 1960s,” says Vincent A. Simeone, Director of Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay, New York. Simeone recently wrote a book entitled Great Flowering Landscape Shrubs (Ball Publishing, 2005). “Old fashioned shrubs are staples, reliable favorites that the homeowner knows and trusts,” he adds. And although you can still purchase these shrubs in nurseries, there are many new plants that offer a larger variety of color as well as extended color displays and smaller sizes. Nowadays, many homeowners have smaller lots, smaller gardens, and very little time. Without the time (or knowledge) to nurture a 6-inch stem cutting into a 6-foot shrub, they opt instead to buy a 3-gallon container plant. They have little time for pruning and even less time for spraying, and homeowners want lasting color—not just a flash of white in the spring.
“With old-fashioned shrubs, people liked the plant as a whole, but usually there was a major con, something people did not like,” explains Gene Sumi, Education Coordinator of Homestead Gardens in Maryland. “Years ago, people had limited choices and were more tolerant of the drawbacks. Now gardeners want a perfect plant, so anything less is rejected. If there is at least one major drawback, people tend not to buy it.”
To be fair, gardeners have so much more available to them now than in times past. Many types of plants are available locally, through mail order catalogs, and even from other countries, so there is no reason to settle for less.
“Now there are many new and exciting varieties that offer improved aesthetics, durability, and function in the garden,” says Simeone. “Many new varieties offer better flowers, fruit, and foliage displays; improved drought and heat tolerance; and pest resistance.”A great example of this improvement is the weigela. The weigelas in the nursery today are very different than the old-fashioned Weigela florida, which was a standard in grandmother’s garden. The large shrub reaches 6 to 8 feet tall with graceful arching branches covered with small, tubular flowers that bloom for a few weeks in the spring and vary in shades of pink to red. It is an adaptable, easy-to-care-for shrub that thrives in full sun and tolerates poor soil. But today’s gardener sees two flaws in Weigela florida: a short bloom time and an overly large, shabby shrub that requires pruning.
“Weigela florida went out of fashion, because after the spring blooming period, the stems changed from green to a dark brown woody color so all you would see were brown stems with green leaves,” explains Sumi. “The base would become bare and brown, making the shrub look ratty by summer.”
New cultivars are much smaller with colorful foliage to extend garden interest throughout the season. The two smallest introductions are the 2-foot-tall “Midnight Wine,” which has dark burgundy purple foliage, and “Minuet,” which has green leaves tinged with purple and red-purple flowers. Their compact size makes them ideal for townhouse gardens and perennial beds while eliminating any ratty appearance. Those the next size up, although still smaller than the species, are around 4 to 5 feet tall. “Wine and Roses” has burgundy-purple leaves and wine-colored flowers; “Rubidor” has yellow leaves; “French Lace” has yellow-edged leaves; and “Variegata” has green leaves with a cream-white variegation. Using leaves for color in addition to the spring flowers provides plenty of interest throughout the season.
Lilacs are practically synonymous with old-fashioned gardens. Grown for its spring flowers that sweeten the air, the common lilac has been a favorite since Colonial times. The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, arrived in America from Europe in the 1600s, when early English settlers brought cuttings on ships. From then, gardeners passed cuttings down from generation to generation until the lilac became a commonly grown shrub in American gardens. Despite the popularity of the flowers, the shrub itself, which can grow to be as big as a tree, has significant drawbacks.
“I don’t recommend the common lilac for several reasons,” says Simeone. “It gets too big; it gets borers and powdery mildew; and it is a one-dimensional plant.” Lilac is grown for its May flowers only, not for other attributes such as fall foliage. The alternative, Vincent recommends, is shrub lilacs, which are native to Asia, smaller in scale, and not prone to powdery mildew.“All of the shrub lilacs grow in the 4- to 6-foot range, so they don’t have to be pruned to the ground,” Simeone says. “They can be used as informal hedges, mass plantings, or low screens or planted with perennials.” Although the flowers and leaves are smaller, they still have plenty of fragrance for use as cut flowers in the house.
Shrub lilacs include the Meyer lilac (Syringa Meyeri), which has purple-pink flowers, and the little leaf lilac (Syringa microphylla), which has clear lavender-pink flowers that bloom sporadically throughout summer and into fall. The Manchurian lilac (Syringa patula) is usually found in the cultivar form “Miss Kim,” which shows off her blue flowers in May and ends the year with maroon fall foliage, an unusual find in lilacs.
Another possibility is the Fairytale series that was developed to be cold hardy to zone 3, and their smaller size, 5 to 6 feet, makes them suitable for small gardens. “Tinkerbelle’s” wine-red buds open to pink, and “Prince Charming’s” deep, wine-red buds open to lavender-pink, creating a two-tone appearance. “Sugar Plum Fairy,” the smallest member of the family at 4 to 5 feet, blooms rose-lavender, and “Thumbelina” provides the sweetest fragrance when its pink buds open to light pink flowers.
Like weigelas and lilacs, deutzia (Deutzia spp.) is a 6-foot high, old-fashioned shrub known for its short spring display of fragrant flowers. Deutzia is a simple shrub, providing a white flash of color in the spring, green background in the summer, and is extremely resistant to diseases and pests. With more color, more interest, more bang for your buck, what more could you want? There are several varieties with pink flowers—“Pink Minor” only grows to 3 feet, making it more suitable for smaller places.
One of the best introductions is “Nikko,” which only grows to a foot or two, making it possible to grow it in a perennial bed. “‘Nikko’ blooms in May with pure white, bell-shaped flowers that look like something you would plant for a wedding reception,” says Sumi. “It looks like a huge bridal bouquet with white flowers against dark green leaves that turn burgundy in the fall.”
For a unique way to extend color and interest well into the summer, try “Chardonnay Pearls,” topping at 3 to 4 feet, again a perfect size for a small garden. In the spring, the round white flower buds, like pearls, open to fragrant star-shaped flowers. Summer brings unique lime-yellow leaves, making “Chardonnay Pearls” the perfect complement to purple-colored perennials.
Glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora) is another large, 6-foot tall shrub, but unlike the previously mentioned plants, its pink or white trumpet-shaped flowers bloom from spring until frost. During mild winters, most of the green leaves stay on the branches. While it sounds like a perfect shrub, many homeowners today see its large size as a major drawback.
“Because of its size, glossy abelia needs to be trimmed about 2 to 3 times a year, in the spring and summer,” says Sumi. “People either don’t have time or are physically not able to prune it.” Fortunately, there are several new compact forms at half the size or less, making them ideal for small gardens and for people with little time. Consider planting “Prostrata,” “Sherwood” (also known as “Sherwoodii”), “Bumblebee,” and “Little Richard,” or try the smallest member of the family, “Rose Creek.”
“The newest, ‘Rose Creek,’ is truly a dwarf,” says Simeone. “It gets to be 18 inches tall and 3 feet wide. The flowers are pink and white, and the foliage turns red-purple in winter.”
Some of these compact plants offer interesting leaf color changes that will extend homeowners’ interest. “Edward Goucher” has young bronze leaves in the spring that turn green in the summer and then bronze once again in the fall. “Canyon Creek” has young copper leaves in the spring that also turn green in the summer and turn bronze in the fall. “Confetti” is unique with pink, white, and green variegation; “Francis Mason” has yellow variegation; and “Golden Glow” has all yellow leaves. “Golden Anniversary” also has gold-yellow variegation, and “Silver Anniversary” has silver-white variegation. Between the diminutive forms and the colorful leaves, today’s gardeners have an expanded menu of glossy abelias from which to choose.
Old-fashioned shrubs do serve a purpose, but gardeners should not limit themselves to what they remember from their grandmothers’ gardens. Today’s gardeners have plants available to them that differ so much from the species that they seem like completely new plants. There are shorter plants, plants with different flower colors or unusual leaf variations, and plants requiring even less maintenance than before. By visiting nurseries frequently or reading mail order catalogs, gardeners can learn of new introductions. The more you know about what is available, the more you are able to choose the perfect piece to complement other members of a beautiful garden.
Peggy Riccio is a Contributing Editor to ChesapeakeHome.
Contacts:
Ball Publishing:ballpublishing.com or 888-888-0013
Homestead Gardens:homesteadgardens.com or 800-300-5631
Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park: plantingfields.org or 516-922-9200
Additional Resources:
Fairweather Gardens:fairweathergardens.com or 856-451-6261
Forestfarm:forestfarm.com or 541-846-7269
Longwood Gardens:longwoodgardens.org or 610-388-1000
Monrovia:monrovia.com or 888-PLANT-IT
Niche Gardens:nichegardens.com or 919-967-0078
Rare Find Nursery:rarefindnursery.com or 732-833-0613
Roslyn Nursery: roslynnursery.com or 631-643-9347
Song Sparrow Perennial Farm: songsparrow.com or 800-553-3715
Wayside Gardens: waysidegardens.com or 800-213-0379
