Friday, May 25, 2012

Viburnum - Snow Ball Bush

This old fashioned bush is always a show stopper when it is in bloom.  Not many plants produce this many flowers or flowers this large!  They really do look like snow balls and let me tell you they throw like snow balls too!  Fortunately they aren't as cold as snow balls nor do they hurt!
 As the flowers drop it even looks like we have some snow on the ground.  It looks like a messy bush but really it isn't. These white flowers dry out and turn to compost quickly when it is done blooming. 
 When it is in bloom almost everyone who visits the garden asks about it.  This is another one of our shrubs that came with the original property plantings.  My guess would be this bush is 70 or more years old!  We cut it fairly hard when it is done blooming and yet it easily grows to 10 feet in height.   There are many varieties of Viburnums but I love this one and it is the perfect backdrop in the far corner of the garden.   Nestled underneath this shrub, amongst the ferns is a fairy house designed and crafted by artist sister Marj.

3 comments:

Marilyn Miller said...

This is one of my favorites. When my children were growing up we had a very old, large plant. There was a time that I let them and their cousins even have a snowball fight with the blossoms. Oh did they think that was fun.

Cindy Adkins said...

I love the snowball bush. It reminds me of a dear aunt who always loved them, too. I'm your newest follower!
Cindy

Maryanne Schwartz said...

We had those in our side yard when we were kids. I used to wear them over both ears, imitating a character in the old Steve Canyon cartoon series! We have looked and looked for this particular plant and planted several viburnums, but none were the "real" snowball bush.
Could I beg a cutting or two in the fall to try to start a real one in our yard>