Your Garden By JUDE COSTELLO
WITH several hundred to choose from, Viburnums are very useful garden shrubs. Tinus is a common plant in a wide range of climates and frequently grown as toparies, hedges and as an evergreen shrub, having pretty flowers and dense green foliage. There are numerous cultivars although not often seen. Suspensum, davidii and odoratissimum are also useful evergreen species, although the latter can be frost-affected in our climate.
For me, the deciduous species hold the greatest charm with their seasonal beauty, they are best grown as shrubs in a border or as a specimen. V. plicatum f. tomentosum is spectacular with its layers of flowers. I did find it was not very happy with the drought conditions this summer but worth the extra effort. Some good cultivars are Molly Schoeder, Mariesii, Pink Beauty, Lanarth and Shasta. V. burkwoodii has the most beautiful perfume which makes it a must in a border or in a light woodland situation. V. bodnantense is not particularly memorable visually but has wonderful scent and flowers in winter which wins points for me. V. carlesii is fragrant, pretty and has red berries to follow making it rank on the list of musts. V. judii, another good one is an offspring of carlesii. V. opulus, the snowball or guelder rose has lots of cultivars and puts on quite a show. V. plicatum f. plicatum is very floriferous with ball-shaped blooms, Triumph and Newport are available cultivars. V. sargentii has lovely flowers, berries and autumn colour on a vigorous shrub.
I have barely scratched the surface but hopefully may have sparked your interest enough to go looking for these beautiful shrubs, exhibiting blooms, berries and autumn colour. They are on my ‘have to have’ list and am always delighted to find another in a nursery. They will grow in the sun but prefer some protection as most are woodland species.
