I have come to the conclusion that this retrospective of the photos from my previous garden is not necessarily a good thing, the more I see of it the more I miss it. Nostalgia has set in!

Dregea sinensis

Here is a real oddity, a beautiful almost hardy evergreen climber which I was lucky enough to grow from seed. Hailing from China it has scented hoya-like flower clusters and is thought to be related to stephanotis, although there appears to be some debate about its true nomenclature. Plants are available from some of the more specialist nurseries, certainly worth a go.

Elaeagnus

Elaeagnus are not the showiest of shrubs, the attractive foliage tends to be rather muted, but they do make a good foil for other showier plants and make useful hedges particularly when salt tolerance is required. Originating mainly from China, there are several established hybrids and their cultivars available which bear fragrant blossoms during the summer. They are a good choice as a tough, resilient garden stalwart.

Eucryphia

Definitely not in my back garden, but photographed on the west coast of Scotland, I have always wanted to try eucryphias but is something I no longer have room for. They all prefer a moist soil in full sun and, as they originate from S.America and Australia, a mild climate. Generally evergreen trees although E.glutinosa is best described as semi-evergreen. Not for the small garden.

Euonymous

The spindle trees originate mainly from E.Asia but are now widely distributed. Tough, easy to grow shrubs, their cultivars exhibit a wide range of foliage colours. They are very adaptable and, depending on the variety, can be grown as anything from single specimens to use as ground cover. They always put me in mind as being the showier cousins of the elaeagnus.

Forsythia

In my experience too many “garden snobs” tend to look down on the likes of forsythia as a “common” garden plant forgetting that 60 years ago forsythia and its ilk were very often all that was available to the ordinary gardener to brighten up the day. Personally I regard it as a shrub for a large garden as there is far too much down-time when not in flower on a not too attractive bush, one certainly wouldn’t want to make it a focal point. Moving on there are now many cultivars available as the breeders have picked up and carried the torch but it still comes down to why is it “common”? Because it is popular and does the job as a harbinger of spring like a familiar old friend.

Hamamelis

Chinese witch hazel gives both fragrant flowers at a time when the garden needs them along with the turning winter foliage. A bit too vigorous for some gardens, there are now however many cultivars available, some are bred for the smaller garden and even patio and have a developed a wider spectrum of flower colour including red. A good, tough, deciduous shrub.