Specialty Gardening: Fragrance for shade, 1 by rcn48

rcn48 wrote:

Quoting:Right now my garden looks so dreary that it is hard to imagine it being either green or fragrant!

LOL, hang in there Happy, it won't be long before everything is popping up green!

Velnita, I love Clethra and your photos are beautiful :) We planted Sherry Sue and Ruby Spice last year and I can't wait for their fragrant blooms this year! Another of the Clethras I love is C. barbinervis http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1689/. We had one we planted years ago and was the most beautiful 5' tree. "Was" being the key word here - not sure why but after the first few years it began suffer, continued going downhill and finally painfully cut it down last summer :( I also planted a variegated one a couple of years ago and lost that one when we experienced severe drought - they really prefer moist soils and the hose wouldn't reach that far. I haven't given up yet though, if I can find another one I'm going to try one more time!

If you decide to plant a Corydalis - look for 'Blackberry Wine' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/76485/. I really like the blue flowering Corydalis and especially the dark foliage of 'Purple Leaf' but alas by mid summer here they melt away and leave a bare spot in the gardens. However, 'Blackberry Wine' keeps on ticking all summer and if you cut it back after flowering in the spring, it will usually rebloom when the cooler temperatures arrive in fall! I planted the gold leaf form of 'Blackberry Wine' - 'Berry Exciting' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/158557 last year and although it drooped when I forgot to water the area, it was still trying to send out a few blooms when I took this picture in late September!

Has anyone tried Sweet Box (Sarcocca confusa)? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/81925/ I read about the wonderful fragrance of Sweet Box in late winter/early spring, evergreen foliage and its ability to bloom in the shade so have some to try in the gardens. I've read differing reports of its hardiness, Dirr says no colder than 6b :( We've just experienced a brutally cold winter although actually a "normal" winter for us but after being spoiled with the recent warm winters I hope I'm not making a mistake "testing" it.