Fuzzy White Stars

You know when you have a picture hanging on the wall for years, you hardly even notice it, because it has always been there - well, that's how it is with some garden plants for me.  The Viburnam Tinus which I use as hedging and a windbreak in a couple of places in the garden, hardly gets a second look.  But yesterday, whilst I was pottering about, I suddenly  caught sight of the Viburnam in flower, and thought 'when did that happen'.

For part of the year it is quite a dull-looking plant, which serves its purpose on the shady side of the garden, then it comes alive with beautiful pink, tight-curled buds, which open out into little fizzy white stars, which have a rather nice fragrance and are handy for bringing indoors when little else is flowering.  One of the downsides to this shrub is that they grow very quickly to a great height, but they can take a severe pruning and recover well. 

Last year I cut one of them down to nothing, as it had well outgrown its space - and now it is showing lots of new leaves which are a lovely fresh green before they turn to their rather dull colour again.  After flowering it produces little berries - so all in all I think it warrants a place in the garden.  Oh and they grow easily from cuttings as well.