Forsythia
Forsythia Flowers
Often in my garden, as in life, I think I know it all. Then I'll discover something new - like a flowering Forsythia, a shrub purchased in an Easter plant sale, planted, and totally forgotten about. Until this spring...
All the Rage!
Forsythias used to be all the rage for suburban gardens. A succession of shrubs would grow along the fence-line, just one of each. The blooming succession went something like this - first a Wintersweet, then a big blobby pink (or red) Camellia, then a bright yellow Forsythia.
Suburban Spring...
This shrub was special - it heralded the beginning of proper suburban spring. Spiky stems of the bright yellow flowers would be picked and squashed into a vase. It would soon be time to abandon the housework and get some trays of colourful flowering annuals (probably Petunias and Pansies) from the nursery...
Things aren't quite as linear and small-minded in my garden. Nor do I necessarily have many old-style suburban shrubs - and I'm certainly allowed more than one of each.
Garden Guilt
But I did dig out and burn an original Forsythia which was growing in an area I wanted to revert to lawn. This naughty act is well recorded in a very early journal - it's one of my first moments of glorious garden guilt, an original sin... Hmm... I know I didn't take spring flowering shrubs seriously enough in the early days as a country gardener.
Great with Daffodils
But my budget Forsythia replacement (cutely called 'Goldilocks') has finally helped me bury the past and move on. And this shrub does complement the bright yellow trumpet daffodils which grow nearby. There can't be too much yellow in the spring garden.
Forsythia Goldilocks Shrub
Enjoy!
