Viburnum 'Eskimo' for your June borders
With the summer here, the best place to be on a sleepy June afternoon is lolling in the shade of a woodland oasis. The praises of having even a small area of woodland somewhere in the garden are often sung. A shaded area makes a comfortable place to enjoy some hard earned summer 'R & R' and the extra foliage can offer secluded places for local wildlife. So what makes a woodland oasis? Well you don't need a lot of space and mature trees to get started. A small tree and a few well-chosen shrubs can provide the impression of lush growth, shade and seclusion which starts to create the peaceful haven that a woodland theme can offer.
When making a decision about which shrubs to include, the Viburnum family has some exciting choices. Members of the Viburnum family occur naturally in thickets and woodland in mainly northern temperate regions so are perfect for the job of creating an interesting, leafy understory to your woodland oasis, (they are also found in east Asia and South America). They offer a vast range of foliage, flowers and even ornamental fruits to choose from.
Of the semi-evergreen shrubs the Viburnum 'Eskimo' has the right credentials to make it a useful choice for a woodland scheme. It's semi-evergreen foliage is lush - it's leaves grow to 10cm long in an elegant ovate shape. Their glossy dark green colour and leathery texture give the plant a dense luxuriant feel. Eskimo's flowers provide a crisp attractive contrast to the leaves as they are pure white. They are borne at the tips of the branches in mid to late spring developing from pink-tinged buds to dense domed bunches.
Viburnum 'Eskimo' loves the shade or semi-shade. It does best in a moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil. It is a compact, mound-forming shrub which grows to a height and width of approximately 1.5m. This sort of shape and height is useful in providing structure and help in developing a woodland planting scheme. Another advantage with Viburnum 'Eskimo' is that it requires limited maintenance. Late winter or early spring, when the plant is dormant, is the best time to give it the attention it needs. Remove any wayward of crossing shoots to maintain a healthy framework. To complete it's credentials for a place in the garden 'Eskimo' lives up to it's name by being fully frost hardy!