Viburnum carlesii. http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com
Happy Good Friday to all! As I was pondering over one of the themes of the day, the anointing of spices of Jesus’ body by Nicodemus after his crucifixion, the scent of this particular plant ran through my mind. Korean spice Viburnum is one of my favorite spring flowering shrubs for its fragrance, and its beautiful pale pink heads of flowers. The deciduous shrub is native to Japan and Korea, and blooms between April and May, in clusters with striking dark pink to red buds opening to a very pale pink, star shaped flower. The flowers never seem to last long here, since by the time these shrubs bloom its hitting the 70-80 degree range most days, but otherwise they can bloom up to a month. After the flowers fade, the bracts hang on for a while and are proceeded by red fruits that ripen to black.
The scent is so wonderful even though the bloom period is often short. The fragrance is heady and spicy, like fine spice cookies, with a definite clove hint. Its the kind of fragrance that is not only liveable but loveable, and it belongs in my personal favorites list with Gardenia and Jasmine. The shrubs are not shy about the fragrance either, and its detectable a ways away from a single plant, and perfumes a city block if planted in a cluster. On warm and windy days when Korean spice Viburnums are in bloom, the entire air in my hometown becomes fragrant with the essence; not cloying in the slightest, but only causing the most delightful olfactory feeling that rivals bliss. It has no rival in fragrance to me, as nothing is as sweet and spicy, not even the Russian Olives with their sweetness compare!
Viburnum x burkwoodii. Victorgardener. Davesgarden.com
There are numerous cultivars of the species, including ‘Aurora’ which is a mainstay for gardens in this city, perfuming blocks with a wonderfully sweet scent. There are crosses with other viburnums, the most famous being V. x burkwoodii, which is a smaller leaved version of Korean spice Viburnum, with the same sweet and spicy scent. They are more often used as hedges than the standard V. carlesii, but either will suffice for a hedge or stand alone planting.
Lastly, there are many native Viburnums in my region of the world, as the climate and geography tend to favor the species in my area. Few are fragrant enough (or at least pleasantly fragrant) to be mentioned, although blackhaw (V. prunifolium) is sweet enough on the breeze, but slightly cloying like privets. They bloom slightly later than Korean spice Viburnums.
Happy Easter Weekend to all! I hope to have enough time to post a couple things this weekend.
Fragrant Earth 