Color Me Happy

And so he’s mine: Kerria japonica Golden Guinea five-petal cultivar, not the double-flowered, less hardy Pleniflora cultivar! Victory!

To wit, I’ve been lusting after him ever since I saw Kerria at the garden center many weeks ago (the garden center only sold Pleniflora, and at a hefty price). Last weekend, I just happened upon him by accident (or was it fate?) at the UD Botanical Garden Society sale while scouting for a dwarf witch hazel, all of which were reportedly sold out, though I secretly hoped someone had stashed one away behind some bush for me to find, purchase, and steal away to 410.

I also purchased Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus) Athens cultivar, and a “Waterfall” Japanese maple. Who knew happiness came in so many colors and shapes?!

Why I masculinze Kerria I do not know. His flower —such a vibrant, arresting yellow— is delicate, yet his stems are strong. He sits back in the corner, of 410's shade gardens, his foliage unassuming, his flowers drawing attention to this presence. In the winter, his stems stripped bare, he displays an inspiring fortitude of chartreuse stems—green (a non-evergreen green!) in the dead of winter! How robust! How daring!

Kerria and Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo or False Bamboo) shall look divine together during the barren winter months, I am sure; his green will offset her green and red foliage, as well as the intensity of her crimson fruit.