On Christmas day, I smelled something lemony sweet as I walked through our front parking strip en route to the car. How nice to enjoy a floral fragrance on Christmas. It only took a second to spot the first tiny but powerfully-scented blooms of Lonicera fragrantissima looking as sweet as they smelled!
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"Lonicera fragrantissima forms an arching and somewhat suckering shrub to 8 feet in height, and remains partially evergreen during the winter months. From late December through March, a steady supply of small, white flowers are produced along the stems to atomize the winter air with spicy, sweet perfume. If hard winter frosts damage the flowers, they are quickly replaced by densely packed flower buds waiting in line to blossom." Dan Hinkley, Winter Ornamentals
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I've had one of these in my last two gardens so it's been 24 years that we've been together and I'm still surprised and thrilled every December when they start blooming!
Stolen from Missouri Botanical Garden's website is the following information:
Common Name: fragrant honeysuckle
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For much better images and lots more information about this plant, visit Plant Lust here and Dave's Garden here. To see what's turning the heads of other bloggers this week, go to Danger Garden here. For delightful winter fragrance, that breathes the promise of spring, add this shrub to your garden! Do find a place where it's summer-dull foliage will blend in or train a small summer flowering vine up it's branches to give it some summer interest.
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"Lonicera fragrantissima forms an arching and somewhat suckering shrub to 8 feet in height, and remains partially evergreen during the winter months. From late December through March, a steady supply of small, white flowers are produced along the stems to atomize the winter air with spicy, sweet perfume. If hard winter frosts damage the flowers, they are quickly replaced by densely packed flower buds waiting in line to blossom." Dan Hinkley, Winter Ornamentals
Stolen from Missouri Botanical Garden's website is the following information:
Common Name: fragrant honeysuckle
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 6.00 to 10.00 feet
Spread: 6.00 to 10.00 feet
Bloom Time: March to April
Bloom Description: Creamy white
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Hedge
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Attracts: Birds
Fruit: Showy
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Erosion, Clay Soil, Dry Soil, Black Walnut
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Adapts to wide range of soils, including dry ones, but prefers moist, loamy soils. Prune to shape after flowering.Noteworthy Characteristics
Winter honeysuckle is a somewhat stiff-branched, deciduous shrub with a bushy, spreading habit. Typically grows 6-10' tall and as wide. Extremely fragrant (lemony), short-tubed, creamy white flowers appear in early spring before the leaves emerge. Flowers are followed by small, somewhat inconspicuous, red berries which mature in late spring to early summer. Oval, dark green foliage sometimes has bluish tinge. Flowers are a harbinger of spring. Budded branches may be cut for an early, fragrant, indoor arrangement.
For much better images and lots more information about this plant, visit Plant Lust here and Dave's Garden here. To see what's turning the heads of other bloggers this week, go to Danger Garden here. For delightful winter fragrance, that breathes the promise of spring, add this shrub to your garden! Do find a place where it's summer-dull foliage will blend in or train a small summer flowering vine up it's branches to give it some summer interest.
How about you? What's your favorite plant this week?