Clethra alnifolia ‘Anne Bidwell’ 26/6 Restock the foliage

the foliage

Tom Ranney at North Carolina State University

cut the tired fronds back before the fiddleheads climb

we found this plant growing behind the dunes on Dauphin Island

larger and showier than the desert willow's and borne over a long

Clethra alnifolia ‘Anne Bidwell’ 26/6 Restock the foliageSummersweet, Clethra alnifolia, is one of the great fragrant natives of the eastern United States, a shrub of moist woods and pond edges whose white summer spikes carry a honey and clove perfume across the whole garden. Colonists called the plant Sweet Pepperbush, for the peppercorn like seed heads that follow, and Summersweet, for the scent; the flowers even lather softly in water and once served as a field soap. 'Anne Bidwell' is the selection to