Warm spice

November 08, 2018  •  Leave a Comment

Most of the colorful foliage is fast falling off the trees and shrubs, but if you take the time to look for autumn leaves, you can still find them in a few favored places. In fact, some of the hardwoods are well-known for holding onto color later into the season than most of their dendrological cousins. Here's one of the latecomers to the foliage parade: a luscious shrub known as Carolina Allspice. Also called Sweet Shrub, Strawberry Bush—I think the floral scent is more that of watermelons than strawberries—Sweet Betsy, and, perhaps my favorite, Sweet Bubby Bush—that name may have been derived from the use of the flowers that, when placed in a woman's bra, functioned as a kind of deodorant—Calycanthus floridus is a native of the American Southeast. It's perfectly happy in our area, and long after its floral show is over, the plant displays the warmest of leaf color.


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