For winter flowers and fragrance, not to mention attractive leaves and berries, then you would be wise to look at some of the viburnum family, says Graham Clarke
It’s time the viburnum received some good press! Often, gardeners will raise their eyes to the heavens when you mention a viburnum, sighing; “oh but they’re just boring!” Well, I’m here to tell you that viburnums are such a diverse range of shrubs, that there’s bound to be one, or several to suit all tastes!
Many viburnums have beautiful summer flowers, or gorgeous autumn colours. In total, there are well over 150 species and cultivars of viburnum, and around half are evergreen. But it’s those with winter interest that I feel deserve much more attention.
Even better news: viburnums are some of the easiest of shrubs to grow. There are few pests or diseases that cause them problems, and all forms will grow on any soil; they succeed in sun or partial shade, are frost-hardy, and they make excellent structure plants to boot. But boring? Never.
Let’s start with Viburnum tinus, probably my least favourite viburnum
You will be amazed at what it offers. It came originally from the Mediterranean region and was introduced to gardens in the 16th century. It is known by many under the common name Laurustinus. Like many Mediterranean plants it’s a real survivor, tolerant not only of inhospitable conditions and poor soil, but surprisingly of the cold and wet of the British winter.
I have it in my garden because of its evergreen nature and the fact that it can flower sporadically for some nine months of the year (or at least it does for me, living on the south coast).When you list all of the sought-after qualities of plants, actually V. tinus has them: low-maintenance, evergreen, free-flowering over a long period, and responsive to trimming. In cities it is quite resistant to pollution, and by the sea it even copes well with salt-laden wind. It makes a medium-to-large shrub of dense and bushy habit, the flattened heads of pink buds opening to white flowers which are produced continuously from autumn through to late spring.
It is probably the best-suited viburnum for making into an informal hedge or screen. But I’ve also seen it trained and trimmed as a cone, a ball, and a standard lollipop – it makes a softer and prettier alternative to the more traditional bay or box.
Other recommended varieties
The cultivar ‘Gwenllian’
It is a top seller with its slightly redder flowers. Some people even prefer it to ‘Eve Price’ (which for many years was considered the best variety). There
