So, I'm teaching a spring perennials course at the USDA Graduate School here in DC this semester. It's a refreshing change from the woody plants course I teach at Columbia and of course, it requires me to brush up on some of my herbaceous plant knowledge. To that effect I've been scouring the gardens around DC looking for good class routes.
The Mary Livingston Ripley garden, on Independence and 9th, is a treasure trove. I was there last week, noting what was in bloom. But today, when our class met there, everything had already changed. The Iris bucharica had dwindled and the Erythroniums were merely ghosts. Dozens of other species had replaced them though. It was a nice reminder that spring is fleeting, and we should enjoy it.
If I didn't have more self-restraint, I'd dovetail into a discussion of Viburnum carlesii with some quip about stopping to smell the flowers. Lucky for you, dear reader, I'm not that cheesy. But Koreanspice Viburnum is an amazing plant, and if you walk past it, you really should take in the fragrance. Its heady floral aroma is almost overpowering, but not.
It's also tough as nails. The plant handles drought, has few disease or pest problems and is not a favorite of deer. It also has great fall color and blackish berries in autumn (they don't last long; though this is native to Korea, the local bird populations seem to like the fruit).
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