t> species 'vas descr ibed, localised in a

creek in ri.1il1Sil1Sippi. Named H. ov11lis il

has large leaves an d winered flO\\'e rs
an d . re po r1edl)' vibrant a utu1nn fol iage.
H. virginituu' 'vas lh e lil"$l of th e g roup

to be grown in Europe. introduced to

Britain in lh e 1740s b)' Peter Collinson>a

Yellow-flowered forms

tah h y clolh rnerchanl and gardener 'vho

1
\\

had the plant sent lO h im lrorn An1erica.

Often overlooked, Collin.son , .,as a prime
n1over in the d eveloprnenl of Bri1ish
gardens, irnporting seeds and plan ts lrorn
the Ne''' World and distributing thern to
gardeners. scientists and n uiser ies.
You "'ould no''' be hard prtssed to
fin d a specimen of H. virgi11in11n for sale in
a British nursery as, aroun d lhe turn of last
centu r)'. two ne''' species were introduced
that \\'tl"t considered by nurSery1nen lO
be superior garden planlS. The first,
1-1. jnponit'tl) has mut.'h larger n{)wers and
n1ore vibranl autun111 fl)liage than either
o f its US rousins and caused a sensation
an1ong the gardening cognoscenti
A Chinese species., H. 1110/fis> "'as
collected in the late 19th centur)' by
Charles Maries, ' "ho was working !or
Veilch & Sons in London.and fir st sold in
1902. Although its llo,ve rs a re sn1aller than

H. MOLL IS 'WISLEY SUPREME'

H. X JNTERMEDfA ' PAL LIDA"

Th~ cleaf. y~llO\v

Popular fof both for its penetrating perfume

and b~gin to appeaf as early as Novembef.

and the mass~s of paleyellO\v flowefs that

those of 1-1. jnpo11it't1> it has a much stronger

scen1and becan1ee"en mort pop ular. Plant
breeders i1n 1nediately Sa\\' the benelits o f

Th~ autumn

have a ghostly glov1 at twdight. thrS is pefhaps

flowefs afe sw~etly scent~d

fohage is bright ~110\v. The shrub

spreads with age. eventually becoming 3m

the most widety ava1labkt hamamehs.

w;de. Jm.AGM. RHS HS. USDA SaSb.

Jm. AGM. RHS HS. USDA SaSb.

combining the best attributes of the t\vO

sp:ies and began \VOrk o n d e"eloping
hybrids that rtsulted in H. x i11terr11c1li11.
Cu hival"$ ol ti. x i11tcn11edir1 "'ere b red
throughout lh e early part of the last
cenlury lO acllieve RO\\'el"$ ra nging fro1n
pale Je1non to deep burgundy, au \\ ith lh e
hardinffl and scent of their parents. It
1

is these c uh ivar s th at are rnost interestin g

for gardener$. Planted in g roups on
car pels of sno,vdrops, hellebores an d
'vin ter acon ites>they have becorne an
ind ispensable ele1nent of 'vinter gardens.
Isola led speci1nens, lOO.. c.-an loo k
in1prel1Sive: I know a garden \vith a single
specin1en of H. x intern1e1lfr1 'Arnold
Pron1ise' that is planled so that its
sulphurrello'v llowerS are seen against

the rising sun. On so1ne dull February

n1ornings it is so dazzling thal it seerns
b righter than the sun itsel ~ as if urging il

H. MOlllS 'IMPERIALIS'

H.MOLLIS

o n and rem ind ing us that we are on our

"'ay - just a fe''' more \\ teks and we 'viii

peffumed ftO'lvers. In autumn the pale gfeen

lafg~st of

be out olthe dark days and into sp ring.

fohage melts to a soft. buttery yellow. Slow

fed ltnt at the base of the petals. Young plants

Johns reconvnendations forhamameks

gfOwns. it wll take 20 y~ats to feach full

hav~ s~rs~

continue over the next soc pages.

he;ght. m. RHS H7. USDA SaSb.

matures. 3m. RHS H7. USDA SaSb.

70

Th~ best ot th~ speci~s. \vrth

strongly

Its strongly scented flowers are pefhaps the

the genus. Th~yre pale yellow wdh a
flowers. incfeasing as the pla.nt