Halimium
In moments of forgetfulness many gardeners still refer to hebe as veronica and, no matter what name we give them, most hail from New Zealand and are not entirely hardy in every garden. The majority flower white or a milky blue. A well-drained, not too rich soil is the best, and in my garden shelter from the dehydrating east winds of early spring is necessary.
On first aquaintance H. armstrongii looks like a refined dwarf conifer until July when the branches are starred with white flowers. A deep shining gold foliage intensifies with the first frost to a glorious bronze. After 12 years on my rock garden it has reached a towering 12 in. and is a delightful dwarf shrublet which is full of personality. Autumn Glory I grow tangled with the pink Calluna Camla (County Wicklow) which gives it the protection so essential in inland districts. The violet spikes open from July until the first frost to mingle with the pink spikes of heather.
Hamamelis is a shrub of immense value and beauty for in February the dark branches are festooned with the yellow spider-like flowers and in autumn the foliage colours, unless the weather is impossibly wet, to a deep red. I grow three bushes of Hamamelis japonica arborea beside the silver stems of a group of birch and most years they flower for weeks on end. The scent, so much a part of this bush, seems to be much stronger after dark so that in the bright moonlight of February I need no encouragement to take my evening walk making sure that it includes that part of the woodland.
Hebe cupressoides like armstrongii bears a strong resemblance to a cypress, only this time with grey foliage. This species makes a brave display of blue flowers against the grey back ground of the leaves and is at its best in July. It grows to between 24 and 48 in. depending on soil. Another very adaptable ground cover plant is H. pinquifoliapagei with glaucous grey leaves and white flowers in June. A neat 12 in. represents the full stature so it will fit into even a modest rock planting.
The types of hebes available is immense, but a selection would not be complete without a mention of the well-loved H. salicifolia. In really hard winters on a clay soil the bushes are damaged by frost and may even be cut down but they quickly refurnish themselves with new leaves in the spring. Flowering often depends on the severity of this vicious pruning, but it continues from July until autumn in most years.
The Chinese member of the Witch Hazel clan is H. mollis which claims quite rightly to be the most floriferous member, each branch becoming a picture in fragrant yellow, even in the dullest, wettest February and they continue in colour for many weeks. Perfect drainage is an essential requisite or growth slows almost to a halt. Layering of young shoots suitably placed to pull down to the ground is the easiest, indeed, the only way of increasing one’s stock short of grafting. Make a tongue in the branches 8 in. or so from the tip, peg this 6 in. deep into a compost well laced with sharp sand, and leave for at least 12 months until well rooted.
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