..or more accuratley a shrub profile…It is not often that I pick out one plant from my garden and give it it’s own special post ( unless it is a clematis of course) ,but  after a busy week speaking including two lectures that were all about shrubs added to the fact that the forsythia is in bloom here there end EVERYWHERE I though this one deserved a calling out.

The shrub is Lindera benzoin, or spicebush as it is commonly called ,and it is a real winner in the border. It’s attributes are many, starting with the fact that it is native to the east coast and thus not on any invasive plant list

– it is perfectly happy in light shade( at the edge of a woodland garden for instance)

-it is perfectly happy in the full sun  ( my garden for instance)  where it will grow dense and rounded and have the best fall color

-and perfectly happy in the full shade although there  it may grow with a more  open spreading habit .

-it grows to about 6-10 feet and rarely requires pruning

As if that were not enough, it has vibrant yellow-green flowers that emerge before it leafs out and approximately the same time as that ubiquitous harbinger of spring  ,forsythia, but the shrub itself is far more attractive in form and thankfully I have yet to witness any ridiculous pruning to it as  the poor maligned forsythia is subjected to. Some say the name comes from the spicy aroma released when the stems are bruised, some say the smell is from crushed leaves. I struggle to find a scent strong enough from either to warrant the name, but no matter, it has so much else going for it.

Wait, there is more!  The leaves are a lovely bright shade of green  all season long , then turn a buttery yellow color in the fall.

As if that were not enough, if planted in pairs ( a male and a female as spicebush is  dioecious) the female will produce red berries in the fall

and last but not least, my favorite part, the Spicebush is an important  food source for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. For the uninitiated, the  aforementioned caterpillar is one of the great surprises in the garden . Open any curled leaf on a lindera in the summer and you are likely to see “staring ” back at you the back end of a very cool caterpillar disguised with two large “eyes” to fend off predators.

So much fun to show off to garden visitors of all ages! Followed promptly by, what else?  Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies!

For some reason this shrub has found it difficult to get promoted in commerce, but it is worth seeking out. I have noticed it in a few smaller nurseries as of late that are carrying a line of plants called American Beauties Natives, but any large nursery will probably carry it as well.

P.s. did you hear me say ” a harbinger of spring”  given our lackthereof in these parts , I  that deserves repeating dontcha think?