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What
Could Possibly Be In Flower Today?
National Arboretum
2/11/08 Mark Burchick
I had a
meeting
at the
National
Arboretum
this
morning.
The
outdoor
temperature
was
24-degrees,
and that
was
without
the wind
chill.
As soon
as my
meeting
ended I
went out
to take
a quick
look at
a witch
hazel,
possibly
in
flower,
which I
could
not
find.
I was
told
about a
patch of
Lenten
rose,
but that
I would
have to drive
to that
location.
So I
walked a
garden
right
next to
the
Arboretum
Headquarters.
As I
walked a
circular
path I
could
smell a
lemon
scented
flower
in the
air.
Could
that be
possible?
I found
a
planted
shrub
coming
into
flower
that was
called
fragrant
wintersweet
(Chimonanthus
praecox). It is a
deciduous
shrub
native
to China
that is
quite
uncommon
in the
US, as
an
ornamental
planting.
When I
got home
from
work
this
evening
I looked
up the
plant to
read
about
it.
It
flowers
in late
winter,
typically
in mid
to late
February,
with
flowers
lasting
upwards
to
three-weeks.
The
flowers
are a
pale
yellow
and can
have a
tinge of
red in
the
center.
They did
smell
great,
and are
likely
the most
fragrant
possible
smell
available
in any
plant in
the
world
for late
winter.
I could
only
find one
source
that
sells
wintersweet
through
the
Internet,
which
was Lazy
S Farm
of
Barboursville,
Virginia,
at a
cost of
$11 for
a
one-quart
container.
Here is
what
Lazy S
Farm had
to say
about
wintersweet:
An
unknown,
unassuming
plant
that
delivers
the same
impact
in your
garden
in gray
days of
winter
as when
you're
walking
thru a
mall and
some
store
(Victoria's
Secret
comes to
mind) is
pumping
scent
out the
door!
Ranking
up there
with
magnolias,
lilacs
and
winter
honeysuckle
in the
scent
department,
the
fragrance
is not
overpowering
but
spicy
and
lemon-like
and
romantic.
Like
lilacs,
most of
the year
it
doesn't
add
anything
to the
garden
but its
mass,
which
isn't
unattractive,
just not
particularly
noticeable.
HOWEVER,
the
scent in
the
dreary
dead of
winter
earns
this
plant a
spot in
your
shrub
border.
Just
under-plant
it with
bulbs
and let
a
Clematis
or other
vine
scramble
around
through
it for
interest
if you
need to
dress it
up for
the
other
season
when it
isn't
the
absolute
star of
the
garden.
Has
fairly
nice
yellow
fall
color.
Can be
pruned
to tree
form.
This catbird
was the only
other
critter in
the garden,
and was
eyeing the
holly and
juniper
berries.
What
Could Possibly Be In Flower Today?
