The shrubs and flowers are really wonderful right now. My lilacs are pretty much gone, with only a few still blooming and lots of brown on those, but the irises are all out now and lime mound spirea is bright yellow green, brightening up the walkway they line and bringing the warmth of the season indoors since I can see them from my living room window. The color is pure spring.
I have a bush in my front yard which I picked up a few years ago at the local nursery when it caught my eye. I remember walking by it and stopping in my tracks to take a closer look at this fascinating little potted plant, wondering what it was. It was tiny but the small yellow blossoms that came off the long stalks which grew up and then cascaded down like a waterfall were so interesting and different that anything I'd every seen. I picked one up and bought it, knowing I had to try growing it in my front yard. I'm not sure how old it is exactly, but its a nice size now, about 5 ft. across, and fully in bloom now with its pretty yellow and green totally brightening up my front yard. I'm so glad it survived and is thriving here where I can see it from my front window. Every time I notice it blooming at the end of May it makes me smile. The common name for it is "Scotch Broomstick" but I have no idea what the technical botanical name is, and in my experience common names differ from region to region.Whatever the name, its become one of my favorites and I'm so happy to see it again this year.
3 comments:
The Latin name for the European native is Cytisus Scoparius,and no, I didn't know that without looking it up!
My Grandfather had a "Scotch Broom" bush growing in the hedgerow along his driveway. I've loved it since then. It grows down here along the roads,as a 'volunteer' (otherwise known here as a weed) We don't have one in our yard, but we'd love one. Funny...Mike has always known it as Scotch BLOOM, rather than Broom.
When I was growing up in Perthshire, Scotland, we just called it "broom." We had a bush in our garden, but in the Highlands it grows wild and in profusion. It is often mixed with heather, so the hillsides are yellow in the early summer and purple in the fall. I've never seen it growing wild in this country, but I've seen it in New England gardens.
How wonderful that must be! Perhaps it is my Scottish heritage that makes me love it so!!! Someday I hope to visit the Highlands myself and see the broom and heather where my "Scott" ancestors roamed!
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