Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)

My source tells me that this shrub is "native to the eastern seabord" and its "natural habitat is moist woods". We've had the Clethra in a container for at least the last 6 or 7 years and it does very well. I dutifully drag the container after a frost into the garage for the winter where I water it lightly about once a month. I say drag because that is literally what I do. I slide it onto an old plastic toboggan that we have and drag it into the garage. The container is far too heavy to do anything else with it.

The Summersweet is in bloom as I write this and when we go out first thing in the morning, the fragrance fills the air. Some people find the fragrance a little overpowering but not I. I've found it easy to care for. It gets full sun from about noon till sundown and has been in the same container since we purchased it. It is about 5 feet high now with a spread of about 4 feet. The source suggests that it can be subject to mites especially in dry soils but we have yet to experience it.

There are several different varieties of Clethra to consider and from our experience it is well worth it.

Whistling Gardens Ltd

Every Summer, the Kitchener Master Gardeners go on a 'bus' trip. I say 'bus' trip because the last few years we have been car-pooling. This year we went to the Paris area and one of the places that we stopped at was Whistling Gardens. What an incredible experience. If you haven't been there yet, it is well worth the visit.

Located near Wilsonville, ON the Gardens are open in the Summer, Thursday through Sunday, 9:00 to 5:00, and Wednesdays for tours and construction only. The brochure that I have recommends that you call ahead. They have a website at whistlinggardens.ca and an email contact at info@whistlinggardens.ca. Various parts of the property are under construction at the moment as the proprietor is building an amphitheater, a large gazebo a wedding area and a number of gardens.

We toured a tree garden where they have many rare and unusual trees. They specialise in conifers and feature quite a variety of dwarf trees. The brochure indicates that they have over 1000 varieties of conifers and claim to have the widest selection in Canada and a full line of deciduous trees including several hard to find Carolinean species. They have a Butternut tree in the collection and are sending seeds(I think he said) to the University of Guelph for propagation.

We were very impressed with Whistling Gardens and the knowledge of the proprietor and most of us left with at least one purchase. They sell to John's Nursery locally as well as to many other nurseries.