Arlene Marturano

Arlene Marturano a master gardener, writer, and educator. As an advocate of gardening as a tool for learning, she helped develop the Carolina Children's Garden at the Sandhill Research and Education Center. She is an education consultant with T.E.A.C.H. marturano@yahoo.com Nostalgia brought three flowering shrubs to my garden. Once part of the background of my childhood, today they are at the foreground during their season of bloom. Each shrub embroidered sensory impressions to last a lifetime.

The deciduous Spiraea japonica Anthony Waterer greeted me daily on my way to and from school. In the snow of winter, it became a white mound; in spring and summer a mound of pink blossoms resembling roses, the family to which it belongs. The leaves are tinged with purple. Even the rusty spent flowerheads are decorative.

Spiraeas thrive in well- drained soil in a location sheltered from the hottest rays of sun in zones three to 10. They are not prone to insect pests or diseases. In fall each year, the challenge is to prune them to maintain their natural mounded growth habit. My grandmother propagated the shrub from cuttings taken in summer.

Spirea Japonica "Anthony Waterer' is in the rose family. Today I use spiraea as a single accent shrub but many homeowners use it as a border or foundation shrub.

Another shrub remembered from childhood is the mock orange, Philadelphius syringa in the Hydrangea family. Two ten foot deciduous shrubs flanked our front entrance door. Silent in winter but in summer the white petaled flowers with yellow centers exuded a scent of driving through Florida orange groves in early spring. Flowers remain pure white and fresh looking even as they fall off. We made nosegays and tabletop bouquets with them.

The shrub tolerates acid or alkaline soil and thrives in full sun but will grow in semi-shade. They are drought tolerant and have few pests or diseases associated with them. Aphids, powdery mildew, and leaf spot can be minor problems.

Pruning should be done right after flowering. Propagate from seed or from summer cuttings.

Mock Orange are fragrant, hardy, and easy to care for shrubs. Our family dining room looked out upon a lovely arching shrub with trumpet- shaped crimson blooms covered with bumblebees throughout the summer. Or perhaps, the deciduous shrub native to Japan with pointed elliptical leaves looked in at us dining.

I would watch the bumblebees stuff themselves inside the tubes as if preparing to be hor d'oeuvres.

The adults in my family spoke the names of plants as if they were family friends.

"Weigela" intrigued me as much for its name as its flowers. The tubular flowers with easily visible stamens and pistils make it a useful specimen for teaching children about pollination and plant reproduction.

Weigelas prefer full sun or light shade like their kin flora in the honeysuckle family. Few pests and diseases bother the shrub although verticillium wilt, root knot nematodes, and Japanese beetles can affect them.

They should be pruned within six weeks of flowering. Softwood and hardwood cuttings root readily in spring and summer.

The memorable trilogy still flourishes at my childhood home in Illinois. The ancestors shaping the garden of my childhood were as hardy, dependable, and tolerant as the plants they selected.