Incredibly, I recorded all three plants on my site while walking around with a snow shovel. Lots of snow from our last storm still remains on our sites. We had to clear away snow and ice from areas the caretaker couldn’t get to. So we jumped the orange fencing and went to work. At least we had work.
Sarcococca humilis
Dwarf sweet box is used as a ground cover on this site. It’s mass planted. We gently cleared snow off the top where it made sense. What popped out was flowers.
Sarcococca flowers in February and its flowers are fragrant. Which is why it’s a good idea to mass plant it. When you walk by you can’t miss the fragrance. In winter that seems like a gift. I can’t wait!
The leaves are simple and leathery. Later you will see fruit in the form of black drupes.
This is a dwarf ground cover plant so no maintenance is required unless it’s spilling onto lawn or sidewalk. I don’t touch them too much. I just enjoy the fragrance in winter.
Bonus: see how long it takes you to learn the correct spelling. Sarcococca. Two single c-o followed by double c and a. It took me a while to get it right.
Hamamelis (Witch hazel)
I hate spiders. But the spider-like flowers on Hamamelis are very attractive. I don’t even think of spiders. The flowers remind of party confetti. There is something playful about it. I even touch the flowers, unlike spiders. Four-sided seed pods are still visible on the shrub.
I like both the red and yellow versions but, pressed, I would pick the yellow version. I love seeing the flowers when snow is still on the ground. It reminds me that there is hope. I can clear away snow today and think about spring.
As for maintenance, after flowering you can hand clip the branches to eliminate collisions with passersby.
Viburnum x bodnantense
Many people are surprised when they hear this is a Viburnum because they are they are only used to seeing V. davidii and V. tinus.
This Viburnum is used a an informal screen. The photo is a close-up but the shrub actually separates a patio and a lawn. A beautiful screen. We usually hand prune it to keep it at a decent size. It should be a screen, not a barrier.
This plant definitely has winter interest with its showy fragrant flowers. The cinnamon colored bark isn’t bad either. Yellow leaves provide fall interest.
This plant is also drought tolerant.
I can’t wait to see even more colour in our West Coast landscapes.
