Deciduous Shrubs,
Part I

Sometimes plants are best arranged and studied in groups. So for the next several months, I plan to feature deciduous shrubs, highlighting some that are relatively unknown or completely forgotten--but still worthy contenders for precious space in our modern home landscapes.

I collect books about gardening, the older the better. Many of my favorites were published in England four or more decades ago. Their authors were deeply experienced, hands-on gardeners, very opinionated about what makes a garden worth growing. I can "hear" their authoritative tone and their accents as I read their words on the page. These ladies and gentlemen cut no corners, gave no quarter, and made it clear with their prose and their literary style that their readers were expected to pay close attention. Their books had no photographs beyond the one on the front cover and another as a frontispiece. Sometimes there was a small photo on the back cover; but more often this space was used to squeeze in quotes, recommendations, and suggestions for additional reading. There were black-and-white line drawings to illustrate technique, but none of the gorgeous photographs that would begin to replace text in gardening books by the early 1980s.

These English authors of another generation gave more space in their gardens and in their books to deciduous shrubs than to anything else. Herbaceous perennials served to accessorize borders defined by these shrubs, and annuals were considered short-term and strictly seasonal decorations. Deciduous shrubs were the walls to those famous garden rooms and formed the then equally famous but now--alas--nearly forgotten mainstay of English cottage gardens, the hedgerow.

For these authors and the many gardeners who shared their sensibilities, deciduous shrubs defined the concept we now call "year-round interest." They considered form, eventual size, bark, foliage, time of bloom, the particulars of flowers, fruit, and seed pods, as well as the careful selection of suitable companions. They knew that to perform as expected, shrubs required a regimen of regular care that paid close attention to soil type, pH values, light, water, pruning, and likely pests and diseases. It was assumed shrubs would demand extra care when "new"--which for our English friends might be the first five to ten years of their lives. Interestingly, that regimen called for little if any pruning for most deciduous shrubs.

As those regimens of regular care became more difficult in busy, twentieth-century American households--along with smaller landscapes and the end of conceptualizing gardens as investments made over several sequential lifetimes--many shrubs fell victim to disinterest. Others were cast aside in favor of what the neighbors were growing or the current stock at the neighborhood nursery. In the 1946 edition of a popular and authoritative American book, The New Garden Encyclopedia, the authors wrote: "Considering their permanent character and importance in the garden and landscape picture, less imagination has been displayed in the selection and arrangement of shrubs than in that of any other group of garden plants. As a result, too many plantings are dull and uninteresting for the greater part of the year…. There is no good excuse for the small variety found in the shrub plantings of most localities."

So there you have it: my reason for writing this series. I'd be delighted to research and write about any shrub you'd care to suggest. Left to my own devices, I'll start next month with Exchorda, the genus of the several shrubs known as " pearlbush." In nearly every listing about Exchorda species--there are just four of them--it's noted that the genus is woefully underutilized in landscapes. Phillips & Rix describe them as "most attractive, hardy shrubs for early flowering."

I know of only one in Bellingham; I'm sure among Master Gardeners there are more. Send word if you spot one--pearlbushes bloom in May--take a picture, and we might include it next month. Till then, enjoy spring--don't forget to tell everyone you know about the plant sale. And by all means, let's send hearty congratulations to all the new "sprouts"--members of the 2006 Master Gardener training--and applaud them as they start their new projects.

As Master Gardeners, they're on their way to changing the world.