Forsythia is now in rampant bloom around our village. The sunny yellow flowers compete with the Daffodils for a place in the yellow spectrum of colour.

Blossom arrives before any leaves on the twiggy growth from earlier years. This cloaks the shrub in a mass of yellow blossom that really takes some beating. Only the very old wood has not got blossom this year and I will be tempted to encourage new twiggy stems by selective pruning when the flowering has finished. This will only be a light trim like they say at the barbers not a No 1.

Forsythia grows 1-2 feet per year from cuttings taken in late spring when the wood is green. Push 6 inch stems into a gritty soil preferably with some peat added as they like acidic soil. The shrub grows to 7-10 feet tall and almost as wide if left untended but it is then open and erring towards straggly, so I recommend the post flowering trim.

Flowering Currants also called Ribes sanguineum are also early spring blossoming shrubs. The sprays of flowers are like racemes of red or dark pink that are on show as the scented grey green leaves start to open. There is also a light pink variety that is a strong grower reaching 10 feet tall if left to its own devices.It is best kept at a 4-5 foot height.

Some better know varieties include ‘King Edward VII’, with red flowers, ‘Pulborough Scarlet’, also with red flowers and ‘White Icicle’, with white flowers.

Tips for Spring Shrubs

• Prune after flowering. This encourages new flowering wood to grow for next year.
• Take cuttings to propagate new shrubs in spring or early summer.
• Mulch shrubs after summer rain or a good watering to see them through a dry summer.
• Both Flowering Currants and Forsythia are east shrubs to grow.