For me, however, it falls into the category of supporting act. While it may have fragrance, and look quite pretty, there's nothing really distinctive about it that would justify pulling it out of the corps de ballet, as it were, and raising it to the rank of ballerina.
A very quick flick through the multiplying piles of gardening books on my shelves (do they breed, do you think?) found only a couple of mentions. Stephen Lacey, in his very readable book Real Gardening, calls it "a stalwart background shrub of the season" (he's talking about autumn).
So I was astonished, when wandering round the Penelope Hobhouse garden at Wisley, to find that this despised Cinderella was the flamboyant beauty that had caught my eye as it frothed around a stone bench at the far end.
Of course, you need a large garden to give it this sort of treatment. But what an imaginative piece of planting. And what a sensible choice, given the long flowering period, the fragrance and the fact that you need to be up close to appreciate the pretty little trumpet flowers. Most people would go for roses, or something formal and evergreen, such as yew or perhaps choisya.
How nice to have one's prejudices turned upside down. And how wonderful to see this shrub flowering away in early December.
This is how the rest of the Hobhouse garden looked this week. As you can see, there's still lots of interest, even at this time of the year - thanks to the very mild autumn we've had in the south-east of the UK. I love the view of the mock Tudor brick chimneys in the distance. They give a rather cosy, domestic scale to the garden - although they actually belong to the laboratory building where the RHS plant pathology team are based.
11 comments:
It does transform a grey bench (which would be attractive to start with because benches nearly always are) into something spectacular.
Your comment about the chimneys is disconcerting. It's given the view a slightly sinister air - as if there's a plant crematorium on site, an incinerator for spare body parts (stalks and the limbs of trees). There must be a lot of disease to warrant such big chimneys!
I 've twice tried and failed to grow abelia it might be a chalk hater. You have reminded me just how much Wisley has to offer - I usually only do a small chunk per visit and some areas are long overdue a wander around
Esther: How interesting that you thought the chimneys look sinister. Now I look at it through your eyes, they do look a bit like factory chimneys. This is what the house really looks like (with its chimneys).
I suppose I know what it looks like, so me it looks quaint and cosy.
http://tinyurl.com/d5zxg5n
Arabella: You are absolutely right, of course - they like acid soil.
Such a lovely shrub! What does the fragrance remind a person of?
I have two Abelias which I bought for a few pounds each. They are flowering their socks off at the moment and I love them
The Abelia is beautiful over the bench. Thanks for sharing some more views from your walk/run at Wisley.
I look at abelia and think I should take this home. It has a long bloom time, it's a little fragrant and it's semi-evergreen here; but, I never do. Now if I had that marvelous bench and expansive sky view I might! gail
It really does look stunning around that bench - quite romantic too and adds a bit of privacy. Always nice to be able to enjoy a thriving, flowering plant in winter when so many other plants have finished!
Funny I was just thinking about writing about that middle plant that takes a beating and makes everyone else look great. Think my Australian tree ferns fit in that category too.
I agree that it's an imaginative piece of planting as it hovers around the circular seating area, love it, looks romantic!
We must make an effort to visit Wisley before the year end, there's still plenty of interest outside, then there's the glasshouse too.
This garden is genius! I love how the abelia surrounds the bench and terrace. The remaining deep pink bracts. I have a hedge of abelia in my front garden that was here when we moved in many years ago. It looks great. The plants never need summer water, rarely lose their leaves since we have mild winters [knock on wood]. The flowers are fragrant and attract bees and butterflies. What's not to love? Oh yeah. The fact that it can get quite large. LOL It would not work in my small backyard at all. Another case for right plant, right place. Great post!
Post a Comment