Spring is here (well sort of, we’ve had a few days of uncharacteristic rain!) so it’s time to start taking a peek outside in the container garden, and send a little positive energy to all the plants who are now waking up from their winter slumber! Oh and to all those aphids who I hope will find a home elsewhere, or just pack up and go, the sooner the better!
Lest I digress, I wanted to share with you a nice ornamental plant, called Nandina. I was given a tiny specimen by a neighbor who didn’t have luck with plants, and it’s been slowly growing over the past four or so years. At the end of last summer, I forgot to water it, and all of it’s leaves fell off, but look at it now, phew!
N. domestica, grown in Chinese and Japanese gardens for centuries, was brought to Western gardens in 1804. Nandina is widely grown in gardens, as an ornamental plant, and is a shade/partial sun lover. The species is particularly popular in Japan, so it’s a great addition to a sculptural or Japanese style garden.
Nandina can be grown in USDA zones 4–10, and can take heat and cold, from 10–110 °F (-12–43 °C). A true low-care plant, it needs no pruning, and interestingly enough, this plant is commonly used in rabbit, deer, and javelina resistant landscape plantings.
Nandina has red berries (though my plant has yet to bear any) and while the plant you see here is quite small, it’s most commonly seen as a shrub. Infact, there were two large wooden planters holding Nandina bushes next to the front door of my childhood home, which means I do have a soft spot for this little plant of mine!
That’s all for now, hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Nandina!
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