THE SPRING MAGIC OF ENGLISH DOGWOOD
Its huge blooms and hypnotic fragrance last well into season
This time of the year as our native dogwoods and azaleas have completed their glorious spring display, something magical happens. At least it does in those old cottage gardens, seen in small towns and hamlets found on America’s backroads. Today’s young gardeners will see, and utter: “Is that a dogwood? Where is that fragrance coming from?”
The answer is that’s an English dogwood and that fragrance is the mock orange, which is also the other name of the plant. You are probably wondering how can this be, a shrubby dogwood with a fragrance that is almost hypnotic. Surely if there was such a plant it would be at every garden center in the country.
Last year, I stopped at a small mom-and-pop garden center in LaGrange, Ga. I immediately knew it was something special, as it looked like the headquarters for the rare and unusual. There were mountain laurels blooming and, yes, a good selection of English dogwoods. The huge, fragrant blooms last for weeks and make it one of the showiest plants of mid- to late spring. The Garden Guy got one, and it has already proved to be a treasure.
I am already guessing you are not familiar with this shrub. Botanically speaking it is known as Philadelphus coronarius, after an ancient Egyptian king in 283 BC. It’s from Southern Europe and not a dogwood, nor is it related to the orange. There are other species and hybrids of Philadelphus such as Phildelphus x virginalis, and even a native Phildelphus lewisii, all with the mock orange name and worthy for the garden.
The taxonomic placement of this shrub has been a little fun to watch over the years. For a long time it was listed as a member of the Saxifragaceae family, giving it relatives such as Astilbe, Bergenia, and Heuchera. Many still place it there. But now the taxonomic hierarchy has placed it in the Hydrangea family, and this has been accepted by official government agencies.