Gardens
Nandina ‘Blush Pink’
For something a little different, I think this beautiful little shrub from America is hard to beat. Often called heavenly bamboo, Nandina is a neat and compact evergreen shrub, which has red young foliage in spring that gradually turns green in summer, before colouring once again in autumn and winter. Small white flowers in summer are followed by decorative red berries. ‘Blush Pink’, which is available in a number of Irish garden centres, was originally a ‘sport’ growing among many thousands of plants. What makes it special is that the pink young foliage retains its colour into summer and deepens in colour in autumn. In fact, it takes a whole year for the leaves to become green. ‘Blush Pink’ is easy to grow in any reasonably good soil in a sunny sheltered position. It will eventually reach a 1x1m height and spread.