Clethra alnifolia "Sixteen Candles" Open House The species name mutabilis

The species name mutabilis

stony ground

and the difference is not subtle: the white

" a nod to the swampy bottomlands

The flesh is sweet and low-acid

Clethra alnifolia "Sixteen Candles" Open House The species name mutabilisSummersweet has long been a shrub gardeners plant by the nose. Native to the moist woods and pond margins of the eastern United States, Clethra alnifolia earned the old country names Sweet Pepperbush and Summersweet for the honey and clove perfume that pours off the white summer spikes, a scent that carries clear across a garden on a warm afternoon. Colonists found a further use for the plant: the flowers, crushed in water, raise a soft lather, and