|
 pen heathlands in June & July are often awash with the delicate charms of the broom plant.They produce billowing masses of fragrant flowers in late spring and early summer. With their two lateral petals (wings), an upright dorsal petal (the standard) and two lower petals (the keel) - and as their group name, Papilionaceae, suggests - they resemble butterflies.
The 50 or so species, native to many parts of Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, have spawned numerous hybrids, giving something to suit every garden.
Cytisus multiflorus, white Spanish broom, is a fast grower. Erect, with greyish shoots, it produces masses of tiny white flowers in early summer and makes a wonderful specimen in a white garden. Another, native to the UK, Cytisus scoparius, has butter yellow flowers smelling of vanilla, and provides a delightful display in June and July, while its green branches also bring colour to the garden in midwinter. Growing to three feet (one metre) in a year, it makes a useful starter in borders before slower growing shrubs get established. Cytisus nigricans, a yellow flowered erect shrub, takes the flowering brooms into late summer and early autumn.
Cytisus battandieri, the pineapple, or Moroccan, broom, is in a class of its own. It's a tall open bush with large silvery leaves and dense spikes of pineapple scented yellow flowers that appear in early summer. Slightly tender in northern gardens, the shrubs can be trained as wall specimens but need pruning after flowering to maintain their floriferous habit.
|
|
 |
|
