When my mother was a child the family referred to the Calycanthus floridus in
their back yard as "Shrub." Years later, she was delighted to find the same
big, overgrown shrub with small sweet flowers in the garden of her new house
(built in 1780). We did a little detective work in local nurseries and the
library before finally learning the correct name.
32 years ago I was helping my late mother-in-law select three evergreens to
plant in pots on the terrace of a new condominium in the Netherlands. I asked
the nurseryman what the attractive shrubs we were looking at were called, and
he
said "Conifer." (He understood and spoke English, although not with the fluency
of my in-laws).
"I know they're conifers, but what kind of conifer?" I asked.
"Conifer."
I then named genuses of conifers--abies, picea--skipping over pinus because I
was not sure how the Dutch pronounced that
-- juniperus, arborvitae, chaemacyparis--and he confirmed that they were indeed
chamaecyparis plants. In Dutch, these are called "conifer."
Barbara van Achterberg, Easton, Connecticut, waiting for the next big snow
________________________________
From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Mon, January 10, 2011 12:17:19 PM
Subject: [Alpine-l] Japonica Bush
"Do you know what a bubbie bush is?"
I think I have heard that "pet name" given to the Sweet Shrub, Calycanthus
floridus. That is another one that dates back to my childhood. My great aunt
had one in her yard and I liked to pet the dark red flowers that are rather
velvety. They have a strong scent.
Elin Johnson_______________________________________________
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