Lonicera henryi

The Lonicera henryi, also known as Henry's Honeysuckle, is a truly evergreen honeysuckle with dense foliage that remains elegant throughout the year. This vigorous climbing plant, however, has a relatively moderate growth. It wraps its long stems around tree branches and the mesh of a fence, quickly concealing them and adorning them with clusters of slightly fragrant and brightly coloured tubular flowers in late spring and early summer. This botanical honeysuckle, curiously not widely planted in our gardens, was recognized at Courson for its real ornamental qualities and ease of cultivation.

Henry's Honeysuckle is a plant from the Caprifoliaceae family, native to China and Tibet. In the wild, this plant shows vigorous growth, making it suitable for slightly wild open spaces. In our climates, depending on the growing conditions, it rarely exceeds 5m (16ft) in height and 3m (10ft) in width. In spring, its bronze-coloured young shoots give way to 10cm (4in) long, entire, leathery and evergreen oval-lanceolate leaves with a medium green colour, smooth and shiny in appearance. This foliage withstands inclement weather, but sometimes curls slightly under the cold. Flowering occurs from June to July, in the axils of the leaves and at the ends of the branches, in the form of cymes. The slim trumpet-shaped flowers are yellow to ochre and tinted with pink-purple, releasing white and prominent stamens. This fragrant, nectar-rich and honey-producing flowering is followed by the formation of small fleshy black-purple berries, toxic to humans but highly appreciated by birds.

This superb Henry's Honeysuckle can be planted directly in the ground, in any exposure as long as the base remains shaded. Truly evergreen, robust and adaptable, it is perfect for covering a fence mesh or filling out a hedge, even in winter. It forms a beautiful combination with clematis, for example on a trellis, wrapping its voluble stems around the support provided. It will delight you with its fragrance on the terrace or near an opening (window, entrance), even in shady areas. It can also be planted in a hedge, alongside flowering shrubs such as lilacs, mock oranges, deutzias, or arbustive ceanothus.