You said "tacky"? I say "indestructible", "unwearable", in short, "essential": a plea for a return to grace for aucuba and skimmia!
These two genera of bushes have much in common: the same number of species, the same Asian origin, the same evergreen foliage, the same tolerance to shade and pollution, both dioecious (they produce male and female flowers on separate plants)… and even a bad reputation! "Mundane", "tacky", or even downright "ugly", such cruel and unjust labels for these rather "good-natured" bushes.
Good-natured? An adjective derived from "good-naturedness", feminine noun: kindness of heart, combined with simplicity of manners; familiarity (Larousse). And what could be more good-natured than these two bushes whose silhouette is so familiar in the collective unconscious, having been massively planted in squares since the late 19th century?
They are not particularly demanding regarding soil type or fertility, moisture, or exposure; they are not susceptible to diseases, require little pruning and maintenance… In short, they meet all the requirements of the modern gardener. Whatever the situation, skimmias and aucubas thrive… without asking for more! In particular, they excel at filling a spot in the shade, preferably cool, but also the most challenging: dry, dark shade, whether from trees or a wall.
In summer, they can be easily forgotten, only to reveal themselves in winter when the competition is in dormancy. Thanks to their bright foliage (for aucubas) or their red fruits (most often, for skimmias) and sometimes both for female aucubas, they pleasantly warm the clear but cold winter days, like this February weekend at Parc de la Beaujoire in Nantes where these photos were taken.
I willingly leave the final word to the famous English gardener Christopher Lloyd, who wrote back in the 1970s: "Give the aucuba its chance - in shade, if you like, but nice damp shade and not too dark - prune it for shape, choose your cultivar carefully and you will be rewarded"*. This applies equally to skimmias…
[*in original: "Give the aucuba its chance - in shade, if you like, but nice damp shade and not too dark - prune it for shape, choose your cultivar carefully and you will be rewarded" (in: Lloyd, Christopher (1973) Foliage Plants. Gardeners Book Club (Collins), Newton Abbot, p. 63.)]
Comments