Some things can be done at leisure but other things demand
to be done right away. Orders have to be shipped in a timely way, and a lot of
outdoor gardening tasks have to be done at a certain time of year. Yesterday
was a glorious sunny day. When I went out to inspect the garden, I saw that the
cyclamens and primroses were in full bloom, the hyacinths were poking their
heads up, and the red hellebores were pushing up their new growth. I realized
that if I didn’t prune the roses and fruit trees immediately, it would be too
late. So prune I did.
After the roses and fruit trees, I started in on a butterfly
bush that had become a problem, growing to the height of a tree and encroaching
on neighboring vegetation. It was a huge job, and I’m not through yet because I
have to go back with a saw to hack away the bigger pieces.
A few years back I planted a tiny sprig of a butterfly bush,
a Buddleia species or hybrid, and it’s grown into the monster in question. I am
confident that, even with severe pruning, it will again grow huge in no time. I
planted it because I’d seen small, well-behaved Buddleia bushes in Europe, and
didn’t think about the fact that in the Pacific Northwest everything grows to
many times the size it does elsewhere.
Buddleia is native to North and South America, Europe, and
Asia, and has been bred and domesticated in gardens throughout the world. I recently
learned that it’s considered a “noxious weed” in Washington state, but if given
the choice, I’d rather have it growing everywhere than blackberries. Bring on
the armies of Buddleia to do battle with the hordes of Himalayan blackberry
orcs!
Last spring the butterfly-tree was completely covered with
electric purple flowers, and was quite a sight to see. With such colorful
flowers, I expected a correspondingly colorful fragrance. However, this
particular specimen isn’t the star member of its genus when it comes to scent.
Yes, it’s fragrant, but it’s not perfume-worthy. It has its floral facets,
including a generic lily-of-the valley type scent along with a bit of
heliotrope, but it also has a flat, sour-milky smell along with the florals, and
it has a little bit of that “semen” smell that’s characteristic of a lot of
shrubs with small white flowers (more on that in another post).
Other butterfly bushes have a pleasant fragrance. There’s a
magenta one down the street that has a light, floral fragrance with citrusy
notes. There’s an even redder one on the university campus that has a deep,
full floral fragrance that’s altogether pleasant, if not really novel. I
suppose the moral of the story is that if you want to make sure that your
garden shrub has pleasantly fragrant flowers, you need to check it out in bloom
before buying it.
[All photos are mine, from my garden]
Posts
Butterfly bushes volunteer everywhere around here. I have even seen them growing under the gratings of the run-off drains! Noxious weed or not, I usually just leave them alone and spend my dedicated weeding hours on the ivy and the blackberries. Next summer I will check if any have a good fragrance.
ReplyDeleteGail, I agree that the ivy and blackberries are what really need to be eradicated! The butterfly bush is a very local problem - the ivy and blackberries are everywhere.
DeleteI understand the consternation that wildly-growing "noxious plants", or non-natives can cause us gardeners! I have a large "Mother of Millions" in my backyard (a Kalanchoe). It grows like crazy here, drives Floridians nuts, but provides excellent shelter for several endangered and threatened reptile species. It is also being investigated for some splendid new cardiac medicines. So what to do with the creature?? Yours at least has pretty flowers, mine just has ugly spots....
ReplyDeleteMarla, I would be happy to trade some ivy and blackberries for a "Mother-of-Millions"! I wonder if it would grow here? It's probably too wet. Speaking of climate, I hope everything on your dune has weathered the latest winter storm.
DeleteThanks for sharing very good information.
ReplyDeletePolitely behaved buddleias can be had, but to keep them short you have to prune them right to the ground every spring. When I used to do that, mine stayed at about 6-1/2 feet; now that I have only done partial pruning the last couple of years, it's as tall as the house. (it's a species, not a named selection) It's never had a baby seedling. 'Black Knight', on the other hand, with stunning dark flowers, has babies everywhere!
ReplyDeleteMany shrubs & trees need to be given the scent test before bringing them home. Some mock orange are scentless (something I didn't learn until after I had a bunch of them planted) and some are heavenly; wisteria also has this problem. Sadly, by the time some plants are old enough to bloom, they are very large and expensive to buy! And while named varieties can be researched for comments on their aroma, you can't always trust them. Sometimes people will say a plant is fragrant because they assume all of the family is and then the error gets propagated. (why, yes, this is a sore spot to me)
Laurie, Maybe I should just take a saw to the whole thing and cut it to the ground this year. I'm with you when it comes to wanting accurate info on flower fragrance. It's a huge disappointment to find that a plant that's supposed to be fragrant isn't.
DeleteDoes anyone know a perfume that smells of buddleia? The light blue ones smell honey sweet. Any suggestions or ideas? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be perfume worthy, but it could be a candle scent worthy!!! I wish I could make it!! It’s a glorious smell♥️
ReplyDeleteIt's always great to hear about the joys of garden maintenance and the beauty of blooming plants! I recently learned about a fascinating technique for propagating the Butterfly Bush in water. If you're interested in expanding your garden with this method, you might find this guide on Butterfly Bush in Water quite useful. Pruning your roses and fruit trees is definitely essential, but don't forget to explore new propagation methods to enhance your garden's diversity.
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