Great Wall or Garden Wall? Chinese Garden Plants – Forsythia

Great Wall or Garden Wall? Chinese Garden Plants – Forsythia

Name – The Forsythia is named for a very interesting man: William Forsyth was born in 1737 and he was a Scottish botanist, a royal head gardener and a founding member of the Royal Horticultural Society. The interesting thing is that Forsyth wasn’t a plant collector – and his contribution to the world of horticulture became a deeply controversial subject. He invented a 'plaister', like a poultices made of cow dung, lime, wood ashes and sand which he claimed helped heal trees that had been damaged by canker and even promoted new growth. This was important because in 1789 England, fighting the Napoleonic wars, needed wood to build and repair warships. A parliamentary committee recommended that the recipe for the plaister be purchased at the cost of £1500 (around a million now) but later there was huge public argument about the issue – the truth is that the treatment may have prevented further infection of the trees but could not have promoted new growth as trees don’t work that way! Even so, Forsyth became a rich man from his recipe.

Description – Forsythia is both the common name and botanical name of a plant that is part of the Olive. The notable feature of this shrub, apart from its willingness to grow anywhere, are the flowers which are produced very early in the year, before the leaves appear and are numerous and bright yellow.

Origins – This family comprises six species of deciduous shrubs – reaching about eighteen feet tall if untrimmed. Most are native to Asia, specifically China. It’s an amazingly hardy shrub and will stand almost total neglect which makes it ideal for the novice gardener. Forsythia can be grown as a stand-alone specimen shrub or a long-lasting and reasonably dense hedge.

China Forsythia photograph by dan4th, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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