GARDEN ADVICE

Forsythia

This magnificent plant is a favourite spring shrub. Profuse rather than elegant, it flowers generously in March and even when it is in bud, you can cut some branches, bring them into the warm house and you will see those delightful yellow flowers open before they do outside.

Forsythia is deservedly one of the most popular spring shrubs bursting forth with clouds of yellow blossom every year without fail. A number of species are available. The most spectacular is probably Forsythia Lynwood. This variety came originally from a plant growing in a garden in Ireland, and has large bright yellow flowers on a bush growing to about 1.8m tall. One mistake sometimes made is to prune the bush hard in the autumn. This can remove the mature wood that will flower the following spring and leave you with a sorry display. If you do need to prune, do so after the plant has flowered so you may enjoy that great display, and still have one next year! Some varieties such as Spectabilis are wall shrubs and can be used to adorn sunny walls with the same bright yellow flowers.