Garden Questionnaire: Viburnum Garden

Eighth in a series

GARDEN NAME: Viburnum Garden

Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park
2400 S. Scenic Ave.
Springfield, MO 65807

When was the garden first created?

2008

Who created the garden?

Dr. Bill Roston

Who maintains the garden?

Adopted by Carolyn Tripp

Assisted by FOG Volunteers

How many plant types are in the garden?

15 types of fragrant viburnums plus others .

How many plant varieties are in the garden?

About 60

Are the plants in this garden grouped in any special way?

No, random planting spaced according to the size of the plants.

When is the garden in peak bloom?

Something will be in bloom from mid-spring to late summer.

What's especially interesting about this garden that visitors would like to know?

All have berries and some berries are real showy like 'Cardinal Candy.' An excellent food source for birds. A great deal of variety in size and shaped, the ball form, pyramidal, doublefile, layered.

Are there any special concepts or strategies shaping this garden?

Spaced according to the size of the plants.

Are there future plans for this garden?

We plan to expand it as new cultivars become available. One supplier has 200, Gary Ladman of Classic Viburnums, Upland, NE.

Is there anything else you'd like people to know about this garden?

Our intent was to provide visible samples of viburnums that can be used for landscaping or for emphasis points in the garden. Certain species are very fragrant. Korean Spicebush. Viburnum carlesii. 8-10 feet high. Burkwood and Judd are hybrids of carlesii and they're fragrant, too. Additional viburnums include, sargentii, tatum, dilatatum, utile, plicatum, rhytidophylloides, trilobum.

Historical note: V. x Sarcoxie. Sarcoxie is many peoples favorite of all of the fragrant viburnums. Introduced in 1972 as the result of a cross between V. carlesi and V. x Burkwoodii. by Sarcoxie Nurseries of Sarcoxie MO.

Script for the Guide by Cell phone project: THE VIBURNUM GARDEN

Written by Dr. Bill Roston and recorded by Peter Longley on Prompt 30#

This is our Viburnum Garden . A garden without Viburnums is like a symphony without strings. These flowering shrubs are the most versatile of all the flowering shrubs. They are truly the shrub for all seasons. Our garden has 60 varieties, including 15 types of fragrant viburnums. One type, Pink Dawn, has fragrant flowers as early as February. In the fall and winter, viburnums have colored fruit—Blue Muffin blue fruit, Cardinal Candy red fruit, and Michael Dodge yellow fruit. In the garden, these three are clustered together for easy observation. All viburnum have handsome foliage, some evergreen through the winter. There are viburnums that produce tea and cranberries. Do not forget the shrubs are loaded with white or pink flowers. You will have to go a long distance to see this many viburnums in one area.